Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, a Detroit native and resident, graduated from U-M in 2005 with a BSE in computer engineering. “Like you,” he told the Kessler Scholars, “I attended the University of Michigan on scholarship. A scholarship prepares you and positions you for a new set of opportunities. Be open to those opportunities and possibilities.”

Ahmina Maxey was shocked when the incinerator closed in late March. “It was so abrupt,” she said. “The incinerator (owner) has the best poker face I’ve ever seen because… they were pretending it was going to be open for 20 more years.”

Kimberly Dowdell, a lecturer at U-M’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, decided to become an architect at a young age in an effort to repair Detroit’s disinvested building stock. Her firm, Century Partners, redevelops single-family homes in Detroit with an eye toward stabilizing and revitalizing residential neighborhoods.

Selden Standard is known for its sleek interior, its celebrity chef Andy Hollyday and the beautiful food served within its sleek walls on Second Avenue in Detroit. Let’s just say that its Roasted Cauliflower and Charred Octopus have earned rave reviews from foodies locally and around the nation.

Over twelve years ago, University of Michigan undergraduate Rachael Tanner asked herself a simple question: Why doesn’t U-M provide substantive opportunities for students to engage with Detroit?  Her urban studies professor, Stephen Ward, was intrigued by her motivation and encouraged her to write up her ideas for her final class project.

James Macmillen, assistant professor of urban planning at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and a postdoctoral fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows, is the featured speaker in this Detroit School Series talk.

As Detroit emerged from the largest municipal bankruptcy in 2014, city officials knew they needed to boost collections of income tax—the city’s top source of revenue.

Jerry Davis is the associate dean at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and leads the Business + Impact initiative. Davis’ research at the University of Michigan is broadly concerned with corporate governance and the effects of finance on society.

University of Michigan researchers are monitoring Detroit’s vegetation from space to understand its connection to urban decline — and gaining insights into a public health threat emanating from the city’s vacant lots.