Two students in Professor Michelle Adams’s Race, Law and History class were so inspired by class readings on school desegregation that they launched a digital project to extend and share their learnings. Now, they hope their work will in turn inspire others to create similar projects all around the country.

The Schooner program first hoisted its sails four years ago as an opportunity for local students to experience the Detroit River and learn about the environmental and cultural heritage of their home communities from the decks of a tall ship.

When Stamps Professors Ron Eglash and Audrey Bennett were invited by leading artificial intelligence developers to help democratize AI, they didn’t stop with the original prompt. Their research also explored how digital fabrication tools might benefit small worker-owned shops in Detroit. ​“With so many of them located in Detroit’s Black communities, it seemed like a unique opportunity to explore how AI and platform-based technologies might create new collaborations between African heritage communities on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean,” Eglash said.

It took some time for U-M alum Taylor Traub to find his dream job. Honing his skills while working in real estate got him where he wanted to go.

“And learning from a place like Detroit. I mean, there’s so much history here. It’s so unique. If you can pull on the uniqueness of Detroit, I mean, you can take that method and be successful anywhere. Learning about culture, learning about how to actually work in a community.”

~ Nando Felten, U-M alum and community manager for Google’s Code Next Detroit

M1DTW Architects, a firm founded by Taubman College’s Christian Unverzagt, is being recognized for an innovative project to turn an abandoned commercial building in Detroit’s East Village into a multipurpose facility that supports several local galleries.