Annual report highlights Vision 2034, Campus Plan 2050
U-M’s 2024 annual report highlights the release of Vision 2034 and Campus Plan 2050, as well as the university’s continued impact in research, discovery, innovation and economic impact. It also underscores record research expenditures, the U-M Center for Innovation and the launch of the Look to Michigan campaign. “This year, we launched our Vision 2034, a vision that was built on the storied traditions of our university, and looks to the ethos, the interdisciplinarity, the unrivaled excellence and the unmatched capabilities that we can provide,” President Santa J. Ono wrote in his message in the report. “Through Campus Plan 2050, we will create a physical environment that strengthens connections throughout the Ann Arbor campus community and provides spaces and places for engagement and collaboration.” See the full report at 2024.annualreport.umich.edu.
Expense-management system to be renamed; no changes to functionality
Chrome River, the expense-management system used by U-M, will be known as Emburse Enterprise beginning Jan. 17. There are no changes to the system’s functionality and users can continue to access it through Wolverine Access — where the new name and logo will appear — with their current login credentials. The only noticeable change on the system itself that users will see is the Emburse Enterprise name and related logo in lieu of the current Chrome River name and logo. In the coming weeks, the U-M Expense Program Team will update training materials to include the new name. Units should also update any locally developed resources. Questions about the name change can be emailed to [email protected].
University updates transit signs and route identifiers on campus
Logistics, Transportation & Parking has been working on several changes to improve user experience and accessibility for the transit system. These changes are being implemented at the start of the winter 2025 semester. Changes include bus labeling with route identifiers, new colors for bus route identifiers, detailed boarding plans at busy transit hubs, updated bus stop signs, QR codes for information at bus stops and a new “How-to-ride” video. The modifications are intended to simplify the navigation and understanding of bus routes, enhance accessibility for all users and provide clear guidance on bus boarding at major stops. See details regarding these changes.
Efforts to reduce kids’ screen time weakened by unequal access to green space
When children have a place to play outside, programs aimed at reducing their screen time use are more successful, according to a U-M study that also found such programs are less successful in neighborhoods where children have less access to green spaces. These green spaces include areas such as forests, shrubland, open spaces and grassland, according to lead author Ian-Marshall Lang, a researcher at the School of Kinesiology and first author of the study. Lang and colleagues drew upon data from the Healthy Communities Study, which examines the use of community programs and policies and obesity-related behaviors among racially and ethnically diverse children. The researchers also linked new information about the participants’ communities and neighborhoods so they could better understand what the children’s neighborhoods looked like. Read more about this research.
Wellness influencers were more likely to oppose COVID-19 vaccination
Wellness influencers showed higher rates of vaccine opposition on social media compared to other users’ accounts, according to a new U-M study. New work by School of Information lecturer Elle O’Brien, student Ronith Ganjigunta and UMSI assistant professor Paramveer Dhillon found that wellness influencers were more likely to post messages on Twitter in 2020-22 (rebranded as X in 2023) expressing anti-vaccination stances during the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, reveals higher rates of vaccination opposition among Twitter wellness influencers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper’s goal, O’Brien said, was to better understand the role of wellness influencers online. Read more about this research.
Child cash benefits improve child health and development internationally
Looking at programs from more than 140 countries, a study led by U-M concludes that large-scale, government-funded child cash transfer programs improve child health outcomes. These programs are an evidence-based way for nations to invest in the future health of their population and economy, said Luke Shaefer, faculty director of U-M’s Poverty Solutions and professor of social work and public policy. Shaefer and colleagues analyzed evidence from low-income and high-income countries with child cash transfer programs in research that appears this month in The Lancet, one of the nation’s leading peer-reviewed medical journals. As the United States and other nations consider evidence-based strategies to improve children’s health and well-being, universal child cash transfer programs could be a solution to poor health outcomes for children and child poverty, the researchers say. Read more about this research.
— Compiled by James Iseler, The University Record
