The UM-Flint Department of Nursing has educated and trained nearly 3,000 nurses and nurse practitioners in its 45-year history. That number continues to grow as more than 19 percent of students enrolled at the institution study nursing or pre-nursing. In recognition of its prominence and importance, the department was elevated to a full-fledged school of nursing, effective November 1, 2016.

The establishment of the School of Nursing will enhance UM-Flint’s ability to keep pace with rapid changes in science, technology, health care and education. It will also allow the campus to consider new opportunities and specializations for students, said Chancellor Susan Borrego.

The new school will also carry on the department’s tradition of creating programs and partnerships with community organizations, providing important services to the city and surrounding county while enhancing students’ learning opportunities.

“I’m proud and very pleased that this has happened,” said Margaret Andrews, interim dean and professor of nursing. “We look forward to better serving our community.”

The School of Nursing becomes the fifth school at UM-Flint. The College of Arts and Sciences and School of Management were created in 1975, joined by the School of Health Professions and Studies in 1989 and the School of Education and Human Services in 1997.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation continued its longstanding commitment to the University of Michigan-Flint with one of the largest gifts ever to the institution. An $11 million grant will support UM-Flint’s continued growth of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) studies, add faculty support, create more research opportunities and develop additional strategies to recruit and retain students.

The largest portion of the grant will provide $7.5 million to help fund a 65,000-square-foot addition and a third wing of the Murchie Science Building. The project includes new instructional and research laboratories as well as interactive classrooms. “The Mott Foundation is an extraordinary partner, and this investment will create significant additional opportunities for our campus, our students and our community,” said Chancellor Susan Borrego. The state of Michigan will also provide $29.3 million for this capital project. Construction of the Murchie Science Building addition is expected to be completed in 2020.

The Mott Foundation’s $11 million grant also includes funding to support senior faculty members in mechanical engineering and biology, whose leadership in their respective departments is expected to be transformative. In addition, their research mentorship would help support the junior faculty in these departments. Funding will also enable UM-Flint to enhance marketing and student recruitment activities, increase academic supports to help incoming freshman and transfer students thrive and boost financial aid for on-campus housing.

Faculty and students from UM-Flint’s College of Arts & Sciences have recently taken advantage of an exchange partnership between the institution and Germany’s Bergische University of Wuppertal (BUW). Professor Greg Rybarczyk of the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment spent time as a visiting scholar in BUW’s Department of Urban Studies & Sustainable Infrastructure Planning. Much of the visit centered around his ongoing research on sustainable transportation such as bicycles. Flint and Wuppertal are both post-industrial cities, he noted, so the research is easily transferable between the two locations. The program was established in 2012.

After Rybarczyk returned, another ambassador from his department traveled to Wuppertal: senior Zachary Hayes, who was excited to be able to continue Rybarczyk’s work. “I will be picking up where he left off,” said Hayes. “The overall goal of the project is to effectively measure how different variables affect bicyclists’ perceptions of their environment and how we can design cities that are safer for them.”

Rybarczyk hopes that Hayes and future BUW exchange students not only learn academic lessons, but gain some important practical skills as well. “I believe that learning self-reliance is essential in today’s world,” noted Rybarczyk. “The other major benefit of becoming part of the BUW/UM-Flint exchange program is that the student has a golden opportunity to become a global citizen and grow as a person.”

Zachary Hayes agreed: “Germany has shown me a different way of living, one that I think Americans could learn from.”

Student Profile:

• 8,044 total student enrollment
• 6,585 undergraduate students
• 1,459 graduate students
• 467 international students
• 23% students of color
• 40% of undergraduate students are the first in their families to attend college
• 91% of undergraduate students are Michigan residents

Awards:

• Voted a “Best Midwest Regional University” for 9th straight year (U.S. News & World Report)
• Recognized for online graduate and undergraduate programs (U.S. News & World Report)
• Named one of the “Best Business Schools in the Midwest” (Princeton Review)
• Listed as a top business school to earn a part-time MBA (U.S. News & World Report)
• MBA program ranked high in quality of faculty, diversity (CEO Magazine)