Soap program helps disadvantaged children
The Inn at the Michigan League has joined an effort to eliminate waste of in-room toiletries. Instead of tossing out soap bars and half-used shampoo bottles, the League is repurposing them to help impoverished children improve their health. In January, the Inn partnered with Clean the World, a Florida-based organization that collects partially used toiletries from nearly 2,500 hotels, sterilizes them and distributes them to the disadvantaged in North America and more than 90 other countries. Housekeeping staff underwent training, and bins collect discarded hygiene products from the Inn’s 21 rooms, before they are shipped for processing.
Regents meeting planned for April 16
The Board of Regents will have its monthly meeting at 3:30 p.m. April 16 in the Anderson Room, Michigan Union. To offer public comment at the meeting, sign up in advance at regents.umich.edu/meetings/publform.html. Public comments on agenda items will be taken prior to their consideration. Comments on nonagenda items will follow the regular business agenda. People with disabilities who need assistance should contact the Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the University in advance at 734-763-8194. For more about regents meetings, go to www.regents.umich.edu.
Engagement Inventory to Launch
The Office of Metropolitan Impact at UM-Dearborn has launched the biennial Engagement Inventory. The purpose is to collect data on what faculty, staff and students are doing in the metropolitan Detroit region. This data will be used to help further UM-Dearborn’s Metropolitan Vision, and illustrate the campus’ deep commitment to being a nationally recognized engaged campus. OMI strongly encourages all faculty, staff and students to respond so that all engaged activities are counted. Moreover, OMI will also conduct one-on-one interviews with individuals and departments that need assistance in submitting data, so that we can collectively get a better understanding of the types of activities and initiatives that are occurring in partnership with businesses, community members, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Direct questions to [email protected].
Innovative teaching projects earn Transforming Learning grants
Melissa Gross, associate professor of movement science and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, recently led two faculty teams to successfully compete for two Transforming Learning for a Third Century Quick Wins and Discovery grants. The first grant, Virtual Dissection: Improving Student Learning with the Anatomage Table, will enable faculty in the schools of Kinesiology, Dentistry and Medicine and the University Library to deploy a device in the library that visualizes 3-D human anatomy for students in anatomy classes. The second, Using Hybrid Modular Courses to Scale Up Engaged Learning, will enable a team of kinesiology faculty to create courses that combine digital and classroom components to expand the opportunities for engaged, action-based learning to more students in the School of Kinesiology. Transforming Learning for a Third Century grants represent the funding mechanism associated with creating new, engaged learning experiences for U-M students.
