As the Russia-Ukraine war developed, soccer fan Michal Lorenc found an unexpected calling, reuniting him with his birthplace in Lublin, Poland, to bring joy to its most vulnerable — the children. The profound odyssey began with a ball, a scarf, and a 13-year-old refugee.

This proven and peer-led mental wellness program, created by a U-M scientist (and WW success story), seeks to help people who shun or can’t afford traditional therapy. Like the popular weight-loss program, it’s community-based, inexpensive, and — best of all — scaling up.

The Gifts of Art Bedside Music and Art Program at Michigan Medicine is staffed by musicians specially trained in providing acoustic music for patients at the bedside. Artists will go “where patients, families, and staff members need us,” says coordinator Sam Vandiver.

The power of the narrative can be harnessed to “change perspectives, promote social progress, and particularly amplify the voices of marginalized individuals and communities,” SMTD professor Antonio Cuyler told attendees of the October ’23 DEI summit. Narrative storytelling is where CRT converges with hip-hop, he said.

In October 2023, the University’s Board of Regents approved agreements related to land donation and purchases, and a $100M gift from top donor Stephen M. Ross to build the U-M Center for Innovation at Grand River Ave and West Columbia Street in Detroit.

Nominees may be individuals who have advanced their field of endeavor in significant ways, or who have made compelling contributions to society. Nominating deadline for candidates to be considered for the 2024 Spring Commencement Exercises is 5 p.m. Oct. 16.

School of Information students are looking through the ‘lens of an information professional’ and using data to tackle urgent water-related issues in Michigan and around the globe. Partners in the school’s inaugural ‘theme year’ include representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As college admissions officers adapt the Supreme Court’s ban on race-conscious admissions, U-M researchers find that contextualizing high school grades and test scores can help identify students from diverse backgrounds with strong academic achievement who will graduate.

Targeting aquatic life and shoreline species in and around Douglas Lake in Northern Michigan, researchers and private citizens logged a total of 503 species during an intensive three-day initiative in July. And yes, that’s a bald eagle.