Working through a series of prompts, several whiteboards, and, yes, many sticky notes, we set parameters for a one-year graduate program that equips students with the systems and business models to improve housing, water, mobility, and other urban systems. The master’s degree will be among the first educational offerings at the new University of Michigan Center for Innovation, which will open in Detroit in fall 2027.

Detroit had approximately 18 Black-owned or Black-operated hospitals during the 1940s and ’1950s. Their decline followed structural and policy shifts. Hospital desegregation after World War II opened previously white-only hospitals to Black physicians and patients.

Taubman College’s John Marshall was awarded a $500,000 grant by The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to transform a decommissioned electrical substation in Detroit. Marshall, professor of architecture, is also a professor of art and design at the Stamps School of Art and Design.

“Detroit’s resurgence must be shared broadly, with meaningful opportunities for all Detroiters to participate in and benefit from the city’s growth. Strengthening neighborhood stability, improving quality of life and expanding equitable access to opportunity remain central priorities for the Hudson-Webber Foundation.”

~ Donald Rencher

Professor of Rhetoric and Composition Liz Rohan has taught classes about landmark U.S. trials for nearly 20 years — and a new museum opening in Detroit enhances learning opportunities for…

Detroit’s unemployment rate, which has been on a gradual but steady rise since 2024, is expected to increase to an average of 10% this year. However, economists forecast it will edge down one-tenth of a percentage point next year and drop to 9.5% by 2030.

Asthma is a common, chronic and treatable lung disease that touches nearly every family in America. It affects people of all ages and costs our health care system about US$82 billion each year. Nowhere is the burden heavier than in Detroit, which is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. as the most challenging place to live with asthma – based on prevalence, emergency department visits and deaths.

Over the course of his freshman year, Sean Killackey got to know the city of Detroit through learning from and collaborating with community partners. These engaged learning experiences helped him make meaning of the lessons he learned through reading and discussions in the classroom.

Josh Sirefman received the Distinguished Alumnus 2025 award from Taubman College Dean Jonathan Massey for his work on the Michigan Central Innovation District in Detroit.