A moving legacy

Ian Clemens, of Livonia, Mich., knew he wanted to be a Wolverine since he was three years old. In 2012 he started his freshman year at U-M. Only weeks later, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Ian passed away shortly thereafter. His parents, Michelle and Al Clemens, immediately set up a scholarship in his name to support outstanding students from Wayne County.

In a journey to help their son’s legacy achieve what he could not, the family recently embarked on a 300-mile bike ride across the state. They hope to start a dialogue about college affordability and ensure that Michigan Engineering is top-of-mind for talented in-state high-school students

“Ian had said that he wanted to make a positive change in the world, and this is our way of fulfilling that for him,” Michelle Clemens says. On May 22, she, her husband, Al Clemens, and their daughter, (Ian’s sister) Kylee, mounted up outside the Duderstadt Center on U-M’s North Campus and pedaled north for five days. Their destination was the high-profile Mackinac Policy Conference, where 1,700 business, community, and government leaders were gathered to chart the state’s economic future.

“We have always been ones to take on big challenges like this,” says Ian’s father, Al Clemens. “Go big or go home.”

The first of many

Boyd Falconer, the College of Engineering’s advancement director for Southeastern Michigan, joined the Clemens family on the recent ride to Mackinac. He is an avid cyclist, and envisions the recent journey to be the first of many rides dedicated to the topic.

“U-M is a public university that was founded with Michiganders in mind — educating our state’s future leaders and creating economic opportunities,” Falconer says. “But because of increasing enrollment competition and tuition costs, more and more Michigan high-schoolers disregard U-M as an option.”

President Mark Schlissel raised the issue in his inaugural address, and he called for the University to encourage every talented high school senior in Michigan to apply to U-M.

“I’m wondering if Michigan high school students see U-M as their No. 1 target, or do they intentionally dismiss it for something they think of as safer? And if so why? Is it expense, fear of failure at an elite institution, or something else?” Falconer says. “For both the students’ career prospects, and from the state’s economic development standpoint, we should be doing all we can to keep our talent in Michigan — and at the state’s best university.”

In future years, Falconer and the Clemens family envision the ride expanding to include more scholarship opportunities and events, including demonstrations of research projects and visits to high schools.

“My hope is that this ride will grow into an annual event and become a large source of fundraising for current and future scholarships,” Kylee Clemens says.