Lauren Williams will join Taubman College as an assistant professor of architecture and digital studies in the fall of 2023. Williams is a Detroit-based designer, researcher, writer, and educator working with visual and interactive media to understand, critique, and reimagine how social and economic systems distribute and exercise power.

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, eight artists gathered at the University of Michigan Detroit Center to share some of the tough conversations around Detroit hip-hop culture and whether the musical genre is still relevant.

José Lemus, who earned his Master’s of Public Policy from the University of Michigan Ford School in 2022, works as a senior advisor for the Jobs and Economy Team in the city of Detroit’s mayor’s office. He is focused on public-private partnerships to support the city’s infrastructure and economic development objectives. 

The trust she has built has allowed Lisa DuRussel to integrate her deep connections into the projects she designs for her students. She says that these projects tend to attract SEAS students who are interested in both community engagement and the questions surrounding the future of vacant land in Detroit.

Darcy Brandel, a lecturer in creative writing in the Residential College and with U-M’s Semester in Detroit program, has worked as an end-of-life doula, also referred to as a “death doula,” for more than three years.

The event kick-offs the Wolverine Outdoor Stage as part of the 31st Annual Concert of Colors that honors the diversity in Metro Detroit through music, food, and art, this Saturday to Sunday at the Detroit Institute of Arts south lawn. 

The Detroit Financial Well-Being Innovation Challenge brought teams together at a showcase event this spring hosted by GreenLight Fund at Durfee Innovation Society. The five-year challenge that launched in February 2022 is run by United Way for Southeastern Michigan in partnership with the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions.

For the first time in its 16-year history, the Elementary Mathematics Laboratory, a program tailored for teachers, education leaders and researchers, will be held at The School at Marygrove in Detroit. The week-long classes, July 24-28, will be hosted by TeachingWorks, a center at the University of Michigan’s Marsal Family School of Education dedicated to harnessing the power of teaching to create a more just society.

Recently, a group of Stamps students led by Professor Ron Eglash harvested electronic waste from household appliances to create jewelry for the African Bead Museum.