The Inclusive History Project, U-M’s multifaceted initiative to study, document and better understand the university’s history with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion, is expanding its efforts with new research and engagement opportunities this fall.
“As the Year 1 report we released in July shows, we had a very busy and productive first year,” said IHP co-chair Elizabeth R. Cole, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; professor of psychology, of women’s and gender studies, and of Afroamerican and African studies in LSA; and director of the National Center for Institutional Diversity.
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“In the year ahead, we are looking forward to making further progress on our mission by widening our research into the university’s history and deepening engagement with people across our campuses.”
The IHP’s activities this fall include:
- The launch of a new research project on the history of campus activism at U-M.
- Events to celebrate Wolverine Homecoming at UM-Flint in September.
- Releasing a call for proposals for the IHP Teaching Fund, with proposals due Oct. 30.
Research on campus activism
The IHP is pursuing several large-scale research projects focused on particularly significant and distinctive elements of U-M’s past, each of which is designed to expand existing knowledge about the university’s history.
While continuing to make progress on existing projects, the IHP launches new research projects each year. This fall, it is beginning a project focused on the history of activism at the university across the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses.
“From preliminary research we conducted this spring and summer, it’s clear that there is much more to be learned about the history of activism on our campuses, from well-known movements like the Black Action Movement to examples that are not so well known,” said IHP co-chair Earl Lewis, the Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor of History, Afroamerican and African Studies and Public Policy; professor of history, and of Afroamerican and African studies in LSA; professor of public policy in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; and director of the Center for Social Solutions.
“The history of student activism at U-M is both more complicated and more interesting than it is often remembered, and the IHP is working to bring this history forward so our university community can learn from it,” Lewis said. “We are looking forward to digging into a broad array of examples that show the complexity of activist movements and the range of ways that activism has played a role at U-M.”
The IHP plans to investigate what sources exist to study the history of activism at U-M, how a range of stakeholders have participated in activism, what differences might exist in how activism has unfolded across the university’s campuses, and more. Those who wish to share stories, materials, perspectives and ideas are encouraged to contact the IHP at [email protected].
UM-Flint’s Wolverine Homecoming
The IHP is partnering with units at UM-Flint for events that explore the campus’ past as part of Flint’s fourth annual Wolverine Homecoming.
An interactive photography exhibition, “In Search of Memories: Exploring the Archival Gaps between Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” is on display through Sept. 17 at the UCEN Gallery in the Harding Mott University Center. It features photographs from the UM-Flint archives, which are held by the Genesee Historical Collections Center at the Frances Willson Thompson Library.
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Photographs from the 1960s onward are featured and depict past homecomings, student organizations, conferences, campus protests and more. The photographs are missing crucial identifying information, and visitors are invited to help identify the people and events in the photographs and to share their own memories of UM-Flint.
The exhibition is co-presented with the Genesee Historical Collections Center, Flint Alumni Relations, Office of Housing and Residential Life, the Art & Art History Program and Riverbank Arts.
The IHP also is co-presenting the UM-Flint Students of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Mixer from 2-4 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Happenings Room at the Harding Mott University Center. Partners include Flint Alumni Relations and the Office of Housing and Residential Life. The event is open to all.
Guests will have the opportunity to connect with student organizations and various centers on the Flint campus that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. Many of these centers are participating in an IHP research project on UM-Flint’s DEI centers that focuses on their founding missions, the role of student activism in creating and maintaining them, and their ongoing grappling with inclusion and belonging.
Submissions for the IHP Student Org Poster Competition will be on display at the mixer. The competition was launched this summer and invited all UM-Flint student organizations to document and share the history of their organization.
“The Inclusive History Project is interested in learning more about how students and student organizations have shaped our UM-Flint campus over time,” said Lisa M. Lapeyrouse, associate professor of health behavior and health education in UM-Flint’s College of Health Sciences. “Homecoming seemed like the perfect opportunity to engage past and present students in our efforts to capture the often undocumented contributions students have made and continue to make in shaping our university.”
IHP Teaching Fund
For the second year, the IHP is accepting funding proposals for new and redesigned courses that help to build knowledge about U-M’s history of inclusion and exclusion.
The call for proposals for the IHP Teaching Fund encourages teaching on a wide range of topics related to the university’s history regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. Proposals from all disciplines and all campuses will be accepted through Oct. 30.
In the fund’s first year, grants were awarded to 11 courses across all three campuses.
Two types of grants are available:
- Course Development Grants, with up to $5,000 to design and implement new courses exploring the university’s history relative to diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Course Redesign Grants, with up to $3,000 to support the integration of the university’s history of inclusion and exclusion into existing courses through new components.
Individual faculty members, including tenure-track faculty, clinical faculty and lecturers, as well as collaborative teams of faculty, students and staff can submit proposals. Proposed courses in this funding cycle must first be offered in the fall 2025 or winter 2026 terms.
Myles Zhang
While I applaud studies of campus activism in history, the university is failing to engage with campus activism today. On October 15 in 1965, the university arrested 39 students for protesting the Vietnam War. The students were charged with “trespassing and civil disobedience.” Over following decades, the university resisted divestment from apartheid in South Africa. The arrest of 40 students last year for occupying Ruthven represents the largest mass arrest since the Vietnam War.
The University of Michigan has been a place for free speech and campus activism in spite of the university’s president, not because of him. Ono can hide from his students, but he cannot hide from history.