U-M Health System named among America’s best employers by Forbes
The U-M Health System has been named the 26th best employer in the country, out of 500 companies ranked by Forbes on its new America’s Best Employers List for 2015. More than 20,000 employees at companies with at least 2,500 people were surveyed. Respondents were recruited from thousands of sources to maximize reach and representation.
Food allergy research & education pilot program launched
The University of Michigan is one of 12 schools selected to launch a national pilot program to provide campuses with recommendations and evidence-based resources to effectively manage food allergy, a potentially life-threatening disease. The non-profit Food Allergy Research & Education introduced the College Food Allergy Program to provide students with a safer college experience by developing comprehensive, uniform food allergy management policies. Michigan Dining, a Student Life auxiliary unit, provided input for FARE’s pilot guidelines, training materials and student brochures.
Disabilities studies prize established in honor of late U-M professor
The University of Michigan Press and U-M Department of English Language and Literature have established The Tobin Siebers Prize for Disability Studies in the Humanities. It includes a $5,000 prize for best book-length manuscript on a topic of pressing urgency to disability studies in the humanities. Long-term U-M faculty member, author and theorist Tobin Siebers, who died in January, influenced disability studies in field-shifting ways since the publication of his prize-winning essay “My Withered Limb” in 1998. His subsequent scholarly publications, including the books “Disability Theory” (2008) and “Disability Aesthetics” (2010), as well as essays such as “A Sexual Culture for Disabled People” (2012), became pivotal works in the field.
Ann Arbor Summer Festival Announces 32nd Mainstage Season
The Ann Arbor Summer Festival has announced its headlining indoor Mainstage performances for the 2015 season, which runs June 12-July 5. Highlights include the Indigo Girls, Golden Dragon Acrobats, Ingrid Michaelson, The Blind Boys of Alabama and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, The Moth Mainstage, Pink Martini, and the Capitol Steps. Mainstage performances take place in The Power Center for the Performing Arts and at the Michigan Theater. For more information, go to a2sf.org/desktop.
UMS selected for Wallace Foundation audience-building initiative
The University Musical Society has been selected for the New York-based Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability effort. This is a new, six-year, $52-million initiative aimed at developing practical insights into how exemplary performing arts organizations can successfully expand their audiences. In an effort to deepen and measure community connection with the UMS Renegade Series, the Wallace Foundation will provide funding for related UMS programs for four years, starting with the 2015-16 season’s initial funding of $380,000.
