1. Breaking ground in Detroit

    President Ono closes the year with a groundbreaking report from Detroit and news of an institute honoring Raoul Wallenberg.

  2. U-M will break ground on Detroit-based Center for Innovation by year’s end

    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.

  3. Michigan Central Station set to open in 2024 with U-M grad turning the key

    Michigan Central CEO Joshua Sirefman, MUP ’96, is confident this 30-acre mobility district will become a global hub for innovation. The historic but long-abandoned Michigan Central Station is an icon in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood.

  4. Live Coal: Bringing the spark for artists and neighborhoods

    Live Coal Gallery in Detroit is a safe place for young artists to create and express their artistry to the world — and has had an impact on more than a thousand students since its founding. Creator Yvette Rock, MFA ’99, says she takes children under her wing (like the young artist above) because she knows they’ll be steered away from the arts as they get older.

  5. The ‘breathtaking’ job of reviving an icon

    As a kid growing up in southwest Detroit, Manuel “Manny” Martinez played paintball in the hulking, long-abandoned Michigan Central Station. Today, he’s a construction superintendent helping Ford Motor Co. drive the $1 billion transformation of this historic landmark.

  6. U-M program places dozens of educators in Michigan classrooms, addresses teacher shortage

    In the 2022-23 school year, M-ARC is training and supporting 49 early-career teachers in 42 schools across southern Michigan. The program merges the U-M School of Education’s 100 years of experience with contemporary alternatives to support educators learning as they teach.

  7. Michigan maritime: Ports set to grow economy throughout the state

    A new law that gives Michigan’s 32 ports tools to expand and grow the maritime economy started out as a community project for a handful of U-M students.

  8. Healthy schools: Project reduces childhood obesity

    More than 150 middle schools in 47 Michigan counties have implemented Project Healthy Schools since 2004. The community collaboration with U-M is one of the few school-based programs to demonstrate lasting improvements in participants’ health behavior and cardiovascular risk factors.

  9. Community-builder Leon Pryor takes Detroit’s FIRST Robotics program to new heights

    Having excelled in careers at Microsoft, Amazon, and now Meta, this 1997 electrical engineering alum and renowned video game engineer co-founded The Motor City Alliance to make Detroit a powerhouse for FIRST Robotics teams.