Bus tour drives deans around Detroit to see outreach possibilities

A bus filled with University deans and administrators led by Provost Teresa Sullivan headed Dec. 5 to Detroit, into the unpredictable urban world not easily explained by a lecture, research or treatise.

Stopping in front of the University's Detroit Center at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard during a Dec. 5 tour of the surrounding area are Lester Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs; Dean Douglas Kelbaugh, Architecture + Urban Planning; Dean Paula Allen-Meares, Social Work, Provost Teresa Sullivan; and Dean Bryan Rogers, Art & Design. The center opened in September. (Photo by Cathrynn Toshach)

Detroit, said Douglas Kelbaugh, dean of the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, is a place of great promise, yet a city beset with deep social problems, such as an ineffectual public education system, poverty, depopulation and racism.

For many on board, it was their first trip to the Detroit Center, which opened at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in September. The site is the new home of U-M Detroit's admission office, with its classrooms, conference facilities and, in a few months, an art gallery, WORK@DetroitCenter.

The purpose of the trip was to inspire faculty members to use the facilities and take many more trips to the center—so many that there might be a need for a shuttle from Ann Arbor, Kelbaugh said. He noted that nearly every school at U-M, including the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, has a project based in Detroit that involves collaboration with private and nonprofit groups in planning development projects.

"We owe a lot to this city," he said. "When you think of the wealth and capital accumulated in Detroit during the first half of the 20th century, you realize that the University benefited immensely from the city."

Kelbaugh, along with two other deans, Paula Allen-Meares, School of Social Work, and Bryan Rogers, School of Art & Design, led the search for a site and are among the outspoken proponents of elevating the University's profile within Detroit.
U-M rents the office space from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which performs next door at the architectural and acoustical gem, Orchestra Hall.

"It's easier to talk meaningfully about the future of Detroit when you have a presence in the city," Rogers said. "We think of this center as an emerging idea, a work in progress. Bringing everything together under one roof will make it easier for the faculty, students and the public to connect Detroit with U-M."

Ideally, according to the three deans, the Detroit Center will become a microcosm of the Ann Arbor campus—a venue for academic activity and a place where a range of groups come together to explore solutions for pressing community issues.

The former U-M Detroit office was located a few miles north, several blocks off Woodward—one of the nation's most historic avenues, running northwest from the riverfront through the city's bustling entertainment district, past the historic Ford Model T plant in Highland Park and through the region's affluent northern suburbs.

The Detroit Center is in the city's cultural center, home to Wayne State University, the Detroit Medical Center, Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum of African American History and several other museums.

The daylong bus excursion for the deans included a tour of Focus: HOPE, the legendary civil and human rights organization founded by the late Rev. William Cunningham and Eleanor Josaitis. The tour was hosted by Keith Cooley, chief executive officer of Focus: HOPE, which helps students with reading and math skills and offers programs to develop job skills for inner-city residents.

In her remarks to colleagues during the tour, Allen-Meares cited a book, "Beyond the Ivory Tower," by acting Harvard University President Derek Bok that challenges academics to move beyond the comfort of their academic microcosm and into the real world. Allen-Meares noted that U-M Detroit provides an opportunity for University and community members to partner and address urgent social issues in context.

Last year the School of Social Work placed 95 students in Wayne County, where the city is located. Work completed by those students translated into 23,000 hours of service to county residents.

At the Detroit Center, the school has hosted workshops with community groups and has actively fostered ongoing discussions on mental health issues, preventive health care and other important social issues, she said. The school currently is working with the Skillman Foundation to provide technical assistance and research expertise for guiding their Good Neighborhoods Initiative.

With the higher profile for U-M likely comes collaboration with many of the area's institutions, and enhancement of the University's credibility as a reliable neighbor, said Susan Mosey, president of the University Cultural Center Association, a group of businesses, educational institutions and nonprofits that promote the area.

"The increased demand for housing tells us that people want to live in the area, and having U-M as a neighbor says, 'This is a stable place where public institutions are committed to seeing things work,'" Mosey said.

The deans agreed the University must face the challenge to increase its visibility and accessibility among underrepresented students, including African Americans and Hispanics. The strategic location sends a message that the University is committed to cultivating a diverse student population.

With the block "M" above the door at the high-traffic intersection, the Detroit Center also stands as a familiar symbol for fairness and opportunity, said Rod Gillum, vice president for corporate responsibility and diversity. He also is chairman of the General Motors Foundation Inc.

GM, noted Gillum, took the position of supporting the University in its affirmative action case before the U.S. Supreme Court. He told the deans that their presence in Detroit won't be underestimated.

"It's usually the case that political leaders come and go," he said, "but when you look at sustained social change, it's the business and educational leaders that are making a long-term imprint."

For more information on the deans' visit to the Detroit Center visit the News Service podcast page at www.umich.edu/news/index_nr.html?podcast/podcast2.