Yvette Rock, a teacher at The School at Marygrove, earned her MFA in painting from U-M in 1999 and created the Live Coal Gallery in Detroit. Among its offerings, Live Coal has an 18-foot traveling gallery and workshop space and hosts an arts-infused greenspace and arts hub in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood. While at U-M, Rock conceived Detroit Connections, a program that continues today and links U-M students, staff, and faculty with Detroit schools. Read more.

Research by Ford School students has been foundational in the growth strategies of Michigan’s Port of Monroe, says port director Paul LaMarre III. Their work has contributed to policies, legislation, and investment; their efforts have led to new jobs, improved port infrastructure, and an increased number of state ports with Green Marine environmental certification. LaMarre is chairman of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Port Advisory Committee. Read more.

Project Healthy Schools is a community-U-M collaboration created to reduce childhood obesity. It’s designed to get kids  exercising and socializing in a way that reinforces healthy choices. The program began in 2004, and is one of only a few school-based programs to demonstrate immediate and lasting improvements in health behavior and cardiovascular risk factors. More than 150 middle schools within 47 Michigan counties have implemented Project Healthy Schools; the retention rate is 75%. Read more.

Cadillac Urban Gardens on Merritt in Detroit’s Mexicantown was the brainchild of U-M grad Sarah Clark, who earned her master’s in urban planning and is now director of Land and Water Programs at Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision (SDEV). The organization has repurposed 331 shipping containers from GM and turned them into raised beds to grow fresh peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, kale, and other vegetables and fruits the community can harvest without cost. Read more.

ArcPrep is a collaboration between the U-M Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and Detroit Public Schools Community District that expands opportunities for high school juniors who want to learn about the field of architecture. It also connects students with architects and designers throughout the city. Nearly 500 students have gone through the program since its founding in 2015. Read more. 

Orbion designs and manufactures plasma thrusters that move small satellites around in space. Alumnus Brad King (right), a space systems professor at Michigan Technological University, founded the company in 2016 in Houghton, Mich., in part because of its vibrant community of innovators connected with Michigan Tech. Orbion now counts Raytheon and General Atomics among its customers. (Also pictured is alum and Orbion co-founder/CTO Jason Sommerville.) Read more.

A free clinic for stroke, Parkinson’s and other patients is boosting the quality of life for uninsured and underinsured patients in Genesee County. The HEART Clinic (Health Equity. Action. Research. Teaching.) is a no-cost student and faculty clinic that offers physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and more. The clinic, founded about 13 years ago, is staffed by UM-Flint graduate students in occupational therapy and physical therapy and undergraduate nursing students. Read more.

It’s estimated that only 23% of U.S. kids get the recommended hour of daily physical activity. InPACT at Home, a fitness program developed by U-M with state and national partners, received $1 million in COVID-19 CARES funds during the pandemic and solidified a partnership with PBS Michigan Learning Channel to air exercise videos that acclimate kids to at-home fitness. Programming includes cardio routines, nutrition messaging, and learning activities, all accessible on smartphones, tablets, and computers. Read more.

The Michigan College Advising Corps is a U-M partnership that helps high school students determine and pursue their academic goals. They do this through training — and providing guidance to — a team of advisers, all recent college graduates, who work full-time in schools statewide. The program, started in 2010, has helped more than 20,000 students select and apply for colleges and scholarships. Read more.

U-M researchers found 1 in 4 adolescents self-reported at least one concussion in 2020, up from about 20% in 2016. The U-M Concussion Center created the Michigan Sports-Related Concussion Training Certificate to satisfy a state-mandated requirement for concussion training for coaches working with Michigan High School Athletic Association athletes. Coach Stefanie Miller relies on the training as a Paw Paw high school math teacher and cheerleading coach. Read more.