The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has created more than three miles of accessible trails since 2016 when the Overlook Trail at Arcadia Dunes opened. It’s all part of the conservancy’s work since 1991 under the leadership of Glen Chown, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from U-M’s School of Environment and Sustainability.

Research-driven collaboration with community leaders is nothing new, but the Michigan-Mellon Project on the Egalitarian Metropolis tweaked the model in a subtle but profound way. Faculty leaders prioritized history, literature, and the visual arts on the mission toward Detroit’s inclusive recovery. With a decade’s worth of results on the books, they’ve built a convincing case for the humanities.

U-M has seen a boom in extended reality and virtual reality technology since launching its XR Initiative in the fall of 2019, with many faculty members using it in their classrooms. The Center for Academic Innovation offers more than 100 VR headsets for instructional use and access to a full virtual production studio.

U-M professor and beekeeper Brian Stork was brainstorming a unique Mother’s Day gift for his wife when he created a honey chocolate confection that he now sells to uplift unsupported young adults in Muskegon, Mich.

Irene Butter, a pioneering professor emerita in the School of Public Health, has educated German audiences for years about the Holocaust and genocide. At U-M, she co-founded the Raoul Wallenberg Medal and Lecture series. In Ann Arbor, she co-created an Arab/Jewish women’s dialogue group with the motto “refusing to be enemies.”

Student leaders of the Arab-Jewish Alliance, an on-campus social club, prepare for the 2024-25 academic year with open doors and open minds.

Uncovering a surprising connection between the families of Michigan Public Health faculty members Irene Butter and Kate Bauer, dating to World War II and the Holocaust.

The team covered 2,120 miles before reclaiming U-M’s title as national champions. Michigan students had won six consecutive American Solar Challenges, held every other year, until finishing second in 2018. This is the first U.S. race they’ve competed in since then, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeffrey Veidlinger, the Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies, has been appointed the inaugural director of U-M’s Raoul Wallenberg Institute. He brings significant scholarly expertise and administrative experience to the position; his research focuses on modern Jewish history, the Holocaust, and antisemitism.