Photo by Connor Titsworth, Office of the Vice President for Communications

Many universities are committed to public scholarship as a vital academic pursuit. At Michigan, that commitment is exceptional.

President Grasso has been a consistent, vocal advocate of the role our educators play in U-M’s compact with the public – of the idea that visible, multidisciplinary scholarship and civic involvement have shaped our history and will define our future. He has also been adamant that every member of the faculty has the potential to be a public intellectual. The 2025 presidential awards for public engagement, presented to professors Samuel Bagenstos and Carolyn Kuranz, are only the most recent examples of our transformative service and leadership.

This spring, the 26th tour in the history of the Road Scholars program will provide a weeklong, open dialogue between U-M faculty and our neighbors, business owners, and community leaders throughout the state. I’ve always enjoyed the natural interplay of Road Scholars: unfamiliar audiences experience our public service to Michigan firsthand, while faculty inevitably return with fresh questions, ideas, and classroom materials that make them better researchers and educators.

Through the Arts Initiative, we continue to celebrate and propel creative expression as integral to a better society. Last year during “State of the Arts,” U-M’s Symphony Band toured 11 Michigan communities to perform concerts and host interactive clinics allowing high school students to collaborate with U-M musicians. This followed 2024’s theater tour, “With Love, From Inside,” an original play featuring undergraduate students as well as currently and formerly incarcerated writers and performers.

Preparing students for full participation in civic life is fundamental to a U-M education, and a network of partnerships is at the root of that preparation. The Ginsberg Center fuels hundreds of connections and collaborations with community organizations, students, faculty, and staff each year. One of these is a close alliance with UMICH Votes, a broad campus coalition that promotes voting accessibility and has helped the U-M Museum of Art facilitate 37,000 voter registrations and ballots since 2020. We explored UMMA’s key position in Ann Arbor’s civic infrastructure in this month’s newsletter here.

The work of civic engagement is ongoing, and it takes many forms. I’m grateful to be part of a community where that work is taken seriously, and I hope this semester at Michigan has given you room to pursue it.

If you ever have thoughts, feedback, or successes to share, I can be reached at [email protected].

Warmly,

Laurie

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Research With a Public Purpose, with President Grasso in The Atlantic