Highlights | Campus Happenings
Year Marks the Passing of Two U-M Icons
The University said goodbye this year to two of its most famous, admired, and colorful figures: former President Gerald R. Ford and famed football coach Glenn E. “Bo” Schembechler.
President Gerald R. Ford, distinguished alumnus and the 38th president of the United States, died on December 26, 2006 at the age of 93. He proudly supported the University throughout his life, making regular visits to the campus.
Ford attended U-M from 1931-35. A gifted athlete, he played center on the national championship football teams in 1932 and 1933, and was voted the Wolverines’ most valuable player in 1934. He graduated with bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science, and went on to earn a law degree from Yale in 1941.
After an illustrious political career, Ford taught several courses as a visiting professor at U-M. He donated volumes of material to his presidential library, which opened in 1981 on North Campus. In 1999, the Board of Regents renamed the U-M School of Public Policy as the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. The dedication of the School’s new Joan and Sanford Weill Hall took place in October 2006, just two months before his death.
Bo Schembechler, the winningest head football coach in U-M’s history, died November 17, 2006. He was 77. His death came on the eve of a match-up with perennial rivals, the Ohio State Buckeyes, and on the same day the Board of Regents approved designs for the renovation of Michigan Stadium.
During his 20-year tenure, Schembechler racked up 194 wins, 13 Big Ten championships, and two Rose Bowl victories. After retirement, he maintained a strong relationship with the University. Schembechler Hall, a training and athletic administration building, is named for him. He also established the Millie Schembechler Professorship of Adrenal Cancer, named after his wife who died of the rare disease in 1992.
Schembechler received an honorary degree from U-M in 2005. His many other honors include induction into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, the U-M Hall of Honor, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, and the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. The American Heart Association posthumously named Schembechler the 2007 winner of its Lifetime Achievement Award.
At the January 1, 2007 Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California, the Wolverines wore a sticker with the number 48 (Ford's retired jersey number) and “Bo” on their helmets to honor these famous “Michigan Men.”
Clinton Urges Grads to Help Solve World Problems
More than 59,000 parents, alumni, and friends gathered in Michigan Stadium on April 28, 2007 to honor some 6,500 members of the class of 2007. Many were also looking forward to hearing the keynote speaker, former President William
Jefferson Clinton.
Clinton challenged graduates to strive not only to do well in their chosen professions, but also to make the world a better place. “Whether you leave here as a scientist, a writer, an engineer, a businessperson, or an artist, remember this: you must be a citizen,” he said. “It’s more important now than ever before, but it has always been the truth that the world you live in is interdependent. You do not exist as a totally separate being in a society.”
Clinton received an honorary doctor of law degree for his life of public service and support of humanitarian causes. Other honorary degree recipients included: J. Max Bond, Jr., doctor of fine arts; Philip Converse, doctor of science; and Irma Wyman, doctor of engineering.
The University Reaches Out to Detroit
At any given time, U-M is engaged in at least 100 projects involving the city of Detroit, many of which operate out of the U-M Detroit Center, a 10,500 square-foot facility located on the ground floor of Orchestra Place. Just a few examples:
The Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning sponsors several design projects and workshops focusing on downtown and community redevelopment.
The many Detroit-related activities of the School of Education include placing its students into teaching roles with the Detroit Public Schools and collaborating with middle school teachers and administrators to explore education reform.
The School of Public Health collaborates in 15-20 programs including community-based public health initiatives and projects serving the metro area’s Arab-American and Hispanic populations.
The School of Social Work manages multiple Detroit projects through the Center for Urban Innovation, which seeks to increase community access to technology equipment, skills, and knowledge.
