The Eliza Howell Park project, completed in partnership with Sidewalk Detroit, the city of Detroit and SEAS students Emily Brent (MLA/MS’25), Grace Carbeck (MLA’/MS’25), Myles Markey (MLA/MS’25) and Kammer Offenhauser (MLA/MS’25), developed adaptive ecological management and planting strategies for one of Detroit’s largest and most beloved parks.

Since joining U-M in 2002, Stephen Ward has served as faculty director of Semester in Detroit and has mentored countless students as they partner with Detroit organizations, demonstrating that academic and community rigor are inseparable.

SEAS Associate Professor of Practice and Engagement Lisa Du Russel is part of a design team that received honors from the American Society of Landscape Architects for work on Shepherd Art Park in Detroit.

Nearly 11 years after the City of Detroit exited bankruptcy, the presiding judge, the Hon. Steven Rhodes, ’73, recently spoke to a class of Michigan Law students about the complexities of the case and its continued implications for the city’s future.

Now in its 10th year, DMACS surveys more than 2,000 Detroit residents annually about their priorities and lived experiences. By co-creating the surveys with local partners, including city government, philanthropy and nonprofits, DMACS ensures resident voices reach leaders to inform decision-making.

This project was created between 2024 and 2025 by students in a University of Michigan first year seminar called “Art and Black Power in Detroit: A Public History Project,” with the guidance of Professor Rebecca Zurier and Research Associates Olivia Butts and Irma Maribel Guzman.

Detroiters plan to vote in about the same numbers as they did last fall, according to the DMACS survey conducted last fall when roughly 6 in 10 Detroiters said they would “definitely” vote in the 2024 presidential election. 

DNEP connects Detroit small business owners with U-M students and faculty to solve real-world business challenges. DNEP offers free help with accounting, marketing, law, and technology so local businesses can grow. Students also get real-world experience by working with Detroit business owners.

For Micah Aaron, BS ’13, MPH ’15, growing up in Detroit and later moving to nearby Farmington Hills taught her an early lesson about inequality and helped shape her career studying healthcare systems.