Faculty/Staff Spotlights

  1. December 4, 2023 A photo of Patricia Brainard
    “Working and being around people who are not the same as me, it really makes me appreciate diversity a lot.”

    — Patricia Brainard, department administrator for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering who has helped support the Special Olympics for six decades

    Read more about Patricia Brainard
  2. November 20, 2023 A photo of Kathy Klinich
    “I like to cross things off and complete things, and this was a way to motivate me to get off the couch and walk.”

    — Kathy Klinich, research scientist in the Biosciences Group of the U-M Transportation Research Institute who took on and recently completed the ambitious task of walking each street in Ann Arbor at least once

    Read more about Kathy Klinich
  3. November 13, 2023 Photo of Gary Hammer
    “The beautiful thing about climbing is when you’re on the wall or on a rock, you can’t think about anything else.”

    — Gary Hammer, the Millie Schembechler Professor of Adrenal Cancer in the Medical School, has been climbing since his son visited a climbing park 15 years ago

    Read more about Gary Hammer
  4. November 6, 2023 A photo of John Luther
    “For most choreographers, if not all, we literally see music. When we hear it, we see what it would look like on bodies.”

    — John Luther, career development coordinator with the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, who spent more than a decade dancing professionally before directing and choreographing musical theater

    Read more about John Luther
  5. October 30, 2023 Photo of Camille Craine
    “It’s just about being yourself and dancing around and having a good time. It’s always this unanimous light-hearted and welcoming atmosphere to work out.”

    — Camille Craine, a clinical social worker in the adult inpatient psychiatry unit at University Hospital who teaches Zumba and has served as an instructor each year for the Zumba in the Big House event in the fall

    Read more about Camille Craine
  6. October 16, 2023 A photo of Gene Mage
    “It’s just fun to play music with other people and perform together.”

    — Gene Mage, managing director of custom programs in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, who took up bass guitar in the late 1980s, dove back into music once the COVID-19 pandemic caused lockdowns and now plays in a band

    Read more about Gene Mage
  7. October 9, 2023 Photo of Chris Roberts
    “It chokes me up every year to stand on that starting line and say, ‘This is it, I’m going to run the Boston Marathon.’”

    — Chris Roberts, adjunct professor of dentistry in the School of Dentistry who will compete in his 25th Boston Marathon in April 2024 and 22nd in a row

    Read more about Chris Roberts
  8. October 2, 2023 A photo of Scott Haley
    “I just love the sense of community and the ability to not work in a crawl space or an attic all day long. It’s a beautiful setting here.”

    — Scott Haley, who has served as facilities manager for the U-M Biological Station since 2018 after a 22-year career with a plumbing and heating business

    Read more about Scott Haley
  9. September 25, 2023 A photo of Casandra Ulbrich
    “At the end of the day, even if what you help find is not what they were hoping to find, it’s way better than not knowing what happened to your loved one.”

    — Casandra Ulbrich, vice chancellor for institutional advancement at UM-Dearborn who has been training search-and-rescue dogs for 15 years

    Read more about Casandra Ulbrich
  10. September 18, 2023 A photo of Elaine Reed
    “As a young kid, I was just absolutely amazed by robots. I would watch ‘Lost in Space’ and … think, ‘This is so cool, I’ve got to have one.’”

    — Elaine Reed, the arts programming coordinator with Michigan Medicine’s Gifts of Art Program, who has a collection of more than 250 robot figurines

    Read more about Elaine Reed