U-M associate professor finalist for Baylor national teaching award
Melissa Gross, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; associate professor of movement science in the School of Kinesiology; and associate professor of art in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, is one of three finalists selected for Baylor University’s 2026 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. The Cherry Award is the only national teaching award — with the single largest monetary reward of $250,000 — presented by a college or university to an individual for exceptional teaching. The winning professor will be announced by Baylor in spring 2026. As Cherry Award finalists, each professor will receive $15,000, as well as $10,000 for their home departments to foster the development of teaching skills. Finalists will present a series of lectures at Baylor during fall 2025 and a Cherry Award lecture on their home campuses. The Cherry Award recipient will receive $250,000 and an additional $25,000 for their home department and will teach in residence at Baylor during fall 2026 or spring 2027.
Architecture professor’s exhibition displayed at Detroit Historical Society
Conceived and curated by U-M architecture professor Craig Wilkins, an exhibition at the Detroit Historical Society through April 21 examines the significance of the work of Black architects through systemic challenges. This project explores the century-long quest to establish an African American presence on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., revealing the complex connections between history, architecture, aspiration and daily life. It is located in the Robert and Mary Ann Bury Community Gallery. Despite extensive media coverage, the journey of the Smithsonian National African American Museum of History and Culture remains largely untold, particularly in the context of African Americans’ unique relationship with the National Mall and its role in shaping national identity. Through four time-specific narratives — three historical non-fiction and one Afrofuturistic fiction — each etched onto tiles overlaid on historical and speculative museum designs, the installation challenges the notion of history as fixed and objective. Read more information on the exhibition.
Ford School to host screening of Oscar-nominated documentary, filmmaker Q&A
The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy will host a free, special screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary, “Sugarcane,” followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie. The event will take place at 6 p.m. April 14 at the Michigan Theater. The documentary follows an investigation into the abuse and missing children at Canada’s St. Joseph’s Mission near Williams Lake, British Columbia, a Catholic-run Indigenous boarding school that operated until 1981. It illuminates a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding strength to persevere. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the U.S. Documentary Directing Award. Kassie is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and investigative journalist. NoiseCat is a writer, Oscar-nominated filmmaker and student of Salish art and history. He became the first North American Indigenous filmmaker to earn an Academy Award nomination. The film received the distinguished honor of a rare White House screening, attended by then-Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. Get more information or to register.
UM-Dearborn announces commencement ceremony details
More than 1,000 graduates are eligible to earn degrees at UM-Dearborn’s commencement ceremony April 26. As in past years, the full day of spring graduation festivities will be split into three ceremonies. Undergraduates from the College of Arts, Sciences and Letters and College of Business kick things off at 9 a.m., followed by undergrads from the College of Education, Health and Human Services and College of Engineering and Computer Science at 1 p.m. The final ceremony for doctoral and graduate students from all four colleges is at 5 p.m. James Scapa, a graduate of Columbia University and a 1983 U-M MBA grad, will be the featured speaker at both undergraduate ceremonies. Scapa is founder, chair and CEO of Altair, a global leader in computational intelligence software and technology. Tim Yerdon, an executive leader with SAE Industry Technologies Consortia, will be the featured speaker at the 5 p.m. ceremony for graduate students. Yerdon is an experienced mobility leader with a track record of driving breakthrough technology change through collaboration and innovative thinking. More information about the ceremony or the speakers.
UM-Flint named a College of Distinction for 2025
UM-Flint has been named a College of Distinction for 2025. This honor recognizes schools’ commitment to providing a high-quality undergraduate education focused on hands-on learning, strong student-teacher relationships, vibrant campus life, and successful outcomes. Colleges of Distinction is an online resource that provides college profiles and resources for students, parents and high school counselors. “A college degree opens the door to many opportunities,” said Tyson Schritter, chief operating officer at Colleges of Distinction. “But a truly worthwhile education prepares students to thrive once they walk through that door. UM-Flint’s curriculum encourages meaningful student-faculty collaboration through experiential learning that is relevant and applicable to the real world. To be listed among the Colleges of Distinction, UM-Flint has demonstrated its unique ways of helping students be active in their education.” The Colleges of Distinction selection process comprises a sequence of in-depth research and detailed interviews with the schools, accepting only those that adhere to the COD’s four distinctions: Engaged Students, Great Teaching, Vibrant Community, and Successful Outcomes.
— Compiled by Jeff Bleiler, The University Record
