Impact Courses You Won’t Want to Miss in Fall 2023

Business

 

FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Base of the Pyramid: Business Innovation and Social Impact (BA/STRAT 445)

Professor: Ted London  |  Credits: 3
Fall 2023

MONDAY SECTION: Mondays | 5:30-8:30pm | Room R2240
Three Thursday “Interactive Lab” sessions (Sept. 7, Nov. 2. & Nov. 16) | 5:30-8:30pm | Room R2240

WEDNESDAY SECTION: Wednesdays | 4:30-7:30pm | Room R0230
Two Friday “Interactive Lab” sessions (Nov. 3. & Nov. 17) | 9:00am-noon | Rooms R1230

 
 

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid (BA 612)

Professor: Ted London |  Credits: 2.25
Fall (B) 2023

 

Tuesday-Thursday | 12:40-2:10pm | Room R2240
Three Friday “Interactive Lab” Sessions (Nov. 3, Nov. 17 & Dec. 1) | 9am-noon | Room R0210

 

These courses focus on using the power of business to create a more inclusive world, with a particular emphasis on the base of the pyramid (BoP) — the four billion people who earn less than $3,000/year.

New business models in health, energy, housing, technology, agriculture and other impact areas offer the tantalizing promise of ‘doing well by doing good.’ Using a carefully crafted set of case studies, simulations, videos, and readings, we will apply these learnings to better understand successful BoP venture development by companies, social entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations in Asia, Africa and Latin America.  Weaving together concepts of strategic management, international business, cross-sector collaboration, and poverty alleviation, a key deliverable of the course is to provide students with the strategies, skills, tools, and processes necessary to develop and lead sustainable, scalable enterprises that deliver positive social impacts to the world’s most impoverished citizens.

For more information, please contact Prof. Ted London.

 

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

LBLE – Living Business Leadership Experience (BA 656)

Professor: Mike Barger  |  Credits: 3
Fall 2023

FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

LBLE – Living Business Leadership Experience (BA 456)

Professor: Mike Barger  |  Credits: 3
Fall 2023

Living Business Leadership Experience (LBLE) is a 3.0 credit-hour Ross elective course where graduate and upper-level undergraduate students from across the University collaborate to shape, implement, and lead high-impact business initiatives alongside company founders and senior leaders. If you’re interested in learning business by doing business, working in a diverse and cross-functional team, or navigating the complexities of the business environment you’ll soon be part of, this course will give you the chance to develop your leadership skills and learn, from real experience, what it truly takes to become a successful business leader.

Apply Now. To learn more about upcoming Fall 2023 information sessions, email ross-lble@umich.edu.

 

FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

The Economics of Sustainability (BE 401)

Professor: Tom Lyon  |  Credits: 3
Fall 2023

This course is for undergraduate students in either the Ross School of Business or the Program in the Environment.  The goals of the course are three-fold: 1) to give students a solid foundation in the economics of the environment and sustainability that can be used in consulting, in the business world, in government or in the non-profit sector; 2 to give students the skills to apply economic fundamentals to crucial sustainability issues of climate change and energy policy; and 3) to help students critically assess the business case for sustainability, and the place of sustainability within corporate strategy.  The course has three main sections.  The first develops the basic economic tools for understanding the environment and sustainability, especially discounting and cost/benefit analysis.  The second applies economic analysis to several crucial aspects of the sustainability challenge: protection of renewable resources such as fisheries, the transition to renewable electricity, the transition to sustainable transportation, and climate policy.  The third explores how the foundation of sustainability economics connects to business strategy.  In this section we read a variety of articles from both scholarly and popular sources, and make substantial use of business school case studies.

 

FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Non-Market Strategy: Shaping the Rules of the Game (BE 555)

Professor: Tom Lyon  |  Credits: 1.5
Fall 2023 (B)

Most business courses teach you how to play the game of business within the rules. This course is about the rules themselves, their creation and their enforcement. This course has four main goals: 1) Create awareness of the broad range of ways in which the non-market environment – especially government policy – affects business. 2) Give an understanding of the process through which business and other groups create and change the rules of the game. 3) Gain a mastery of a set of conceptual tools and frameworks for developing and implementing non-market strategies. 4) Provide opportunities to practice formulating integrated strategies that function skillfully in the non-market arena.
 

 

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Energy Markets and Energy Politics (BE 527)

Professor: Tom Lyon  |  Credits: 3
Fall 2023

The goal of this course is to give students a solid grasp of the environmental and social impacts of, and the institutions that govern energy use, so that they can play a more effective role in shaping future policy or business decisions. We will begin with basic scientific and technological facts regarding the major uses for and sources of energy. We will then study energy markets (including spot and future markets), and what they are capable of accomplishing; we will also study the ways energy markets may fail. This will lead into an overview of the role of government in influencing energy decisions. The course will wrap up with a series of current policy/business issues such as the transition to electric vehicles, phasing out the use of coal, and building a modern and resilient electric grid.

 

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Equity Analytics (STRAT 615)

Professor: Christopher Rider |  Credits: 2.25
Fall 2023 (B)

Greater sensitivity to societal inequality, combined with an increasingly diverse workforce, has led many managers to ask if their business practices create disparities in opportunity and/or outcomes for employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Yet, many managers lack the analytical skills to answer such questions. This course addresses that need. Students learn analytical frameworks for identifying “differential treatment” and “disparate impact”, enabling them to analyze equity using real-world data from various contexts. In the classroom or via video, case protagonists and other industry experts will share their real-world experiences with documenting and addressing inequity. 

 

FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Legal Aspects of DEI in the Workplace (BL 415)

Professor: Dana Muir
Credits: 3 | Fall 2023

Most companies recognize that DEI plays a critical role in acquiring and building talent. Further, DEI can be explored in the context of many business school courses. This course concentrates on the sometimes difficult and shifting ways in which the law intersects with DEI. The first half of this course concentrates on the basic legal concepts that are relevant for a consideration of DEI initiatives. It begins with an exploration of legal concepts of equality and remediation of legally-recognized wrongs and a refresher on general non-discrimination law. Other topics in the first half include the history of mandatory and voluntary affirmative action, as well as specific non-discrimination law related to religious observation, disability, and pay equity. The second part of the course considers how the law studied in the first part applies to some specific employment-related practices that are particularly relevant for DEI such as the use of artificial intelligence in pre-interview screening, social media background checks, and grooming and dress codes.
 

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Business in Society (STRAT 680)

Professor: Aneel Karnani
Credits: 1.5 | Fall 2023(A)

The world faces many large problems such as climate change, environmental degradation, global poverty, and inequality. This has led many people to argue that business should take the lead in addressing these problems and fulfill its corporate social responsibility (CSR). At the same time, business is under increasing pressure from activist shareholders to maximize shareholder value. The primary goal of this course is to prepare you to deal with this challenge as a top executive in private or public organization by giving you an opportunity to explore competing views in depth and to work out your own position on them.
 

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Innovation in Global Health Delivery
(STRAT 562/TO 563)

Professor: Ravi Anupindi
Credits: 1.5 | Fall 2023(A)

New business models built around operational efficiency offer tremendous potential to improve people’s health worldwide. This course will examine how innovations in business models, operations, financing and supply chains are allowing far more people to access better quality healthcare. The course draws extensively on real-world case studies and latest research in this field. Class sessions will feature thought leaders from the field of global health delivery and involve lively debates on important topics. Concepts and approaches from strategy, operations, finance, and supply chain management will be used to understand what determines success and failure of businesses that seek to provide healthcare to low income populations.

Read an article on the course from the Center for Global Health Equity.

Sustainability

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Higher Education as a Pathway to a Sustainable and Just Future (EAS 501.005)

Professors: Jessica Michel, Michaela Theresia Zint | Credits: 3
Fall 2023

In a world rife with social injustice, economic instability, and environmental uncertainties, higher education has the capacity to serve as a means for social change and to catalyze a future that is more sustainable and thus, more just. But what should higher education teach students about justice, equity,diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in the context of sustainability education? And how should we assess student learning to hold higher education accountable for cultivating a more sustainable and just future? This class explores the role of higher education institutions as a vehicle of social change by examining curricula through guest speakers from national experts from minority serving institutions and international experts from the global south, as well as curriculum development and assessment exercises.
 

FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Business, Sustainability, and Justice (OS/ENVIRON 419)

Professor: Sara Soderstrom | Credits: 3
Fall 2023

This seminar will engage with the intersection of business, sustainability, and justice, with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion & accessibility (DEIA). This course is designed to help students recognize and analyze how businesses’ approaches to sustainability support and/or neglect issues of DEIA. The course offers students an opportunity to develop critical thinking about businesses’ impacts on environmental and social justice. Class sessions will be experiential and discussion-based. Readings, self-reflection, case studies and a final project will also be emphasized. Students will have the opportunity to co-create course discussions as we adapt sessions to align with students’ interests and career goals.
 

Policy and Law

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

The Human Trafficking Lab (Problem Solving Initiative)

Professors: Elizabeth Campbell (Law), Bridgette Carr (Law),  Courtney Petersen (Law)
Credits: 3 | Fall 2023

The Human Trafficking Lab is a social justice innovation space where multidisciplinary student teams use design thinking to research, incubate, and build replicable, scalable, and disruptive solutions to reduce vulnerability to trafficking. The Lab’s partnership with the Human Trafficking Clinic helps to ensure the work in the Lab is informed by the lived-experience of survivors of trafficking. The Lab is geared towards creating systems level change at policy, service, and industry levels through collaborative partnerships across sectors.
 

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Slavery and the Built Environment: The Plantation (Problem Solving Initiative)

Professors: Luis deBaca (Law)
Credits: 3 | Fall 2023

In this class, U-M and Yale University will partner to confront the problem of how land use and the regulation of materials supply chains have not only been limited in their ability to confront forced labor but are also shaped by slavery and its legacies. Students from law, architecture, history, policy, business, and other disciplines will develop skills to manage a project, apply problem-solving tools, interview experts, understand historical research methods, and craft solutions that confront the legacies of chattel slavery and its modern expressions.

March 2023 Newsletter

Public Forum on Nonprofit Boards and Communities: Mar. 15


“Community Connections: Forging Equitable Relationships Between Nonprofit Boards and the Communities They Serve”
Wed, Mar 15 @ 5:30-7:30 pm
Blau Hall, B0560


As nonprofit organizations grow, it is easy for board members to become increasingly disconnected from the community members they serve. What actions can boards take to be sure community voices are included, without tokenizing individual community members? How are boards rethinking organizational structures to foster equity and inclusion? We invite the public to join Board Fellowship students and staff for this interactive panel discussion. Panelists include Ken Bluhm of Michigan United Cerebral Palsy, Adam Grant of A Brighter Way, Sarah Hennessy of RE!nstitute, and Loren Townes Jr. of Growing Hope.

Dinner will be served. Please RSVP through Eventbrite.

REGISTER HERE


FROM THE +IMPACT STUDIO:

New +Impact Studio Applebaum Impact Design Fellows Bring Expert Knowledge and Passion to Ventures

The +Impact Studio made incredible strides in 2022. It revived its physical community space and Impact Design Lab following COVID-19, launched the largest and most diverse cohort of founders & Applebaum Impact Design Fellows to date, and propelled financial equity & climate action ventures to success. The Studio continues to surpass all expectation. This momentum continued into 2023 as the +Impact Studio added three new faces to a few of their all-star ventures. After a rigorous application process, the new Fellows selected include Ogochukwu Okoye for finding joi, Rebekah Lim for Grow Together (G2G), and Jonathan Amos for Affirmative. (previously named Lifeboat).

READ THE POST

Studio Alum in the News: Black Queer Heroes in Comic Books and the Classroom

Exciting news for +Impact Studio alum Nathan Alston and his venture, Plucky Comics! Alston was a recent NPR guest, talking with Stateside’s April Baer about his venture’s mission, impact, and latest release – listen here – and featured in the UM news. Formed by Michigan Ross alums Nathan Alston and Daniella Gennaro, Plucky Comics is an activist-led company dedicated to protecting and reimagining Black queer history and finding ways to bring these important, undertold stories into the classroom. Alston & Gennaro were selected as co-Founders in the +Impact Studio’s Founders program, working with the studio team of coaches for over a year.

Studio Venture finding joi Formally Launches!

Congratulations to +Impact Studio founder, Joi James on launching finding joi, LLC! Over the past year, Joi has been working with other fellows, mentors, and investors within the +Impact Studio to build this social venture aimed at creating opportunities for Black womxn and femme-identifying folks to experience joy in their daily lives amidst personal, professional, and academic responsibilities as well as educating employers on how to create psychologically and physically safe spaces. finding joi will be celebrating its launch with a private event showcasing Baddie Brooks, a classically trained musician, writer, and performer based in Detroit. 

Get engaged with finding joi by signing up for their newsletter at findmyjoi.com and check out their founder testimonial here!


Board Fellows Experiences

The 2022-23 Board Fellowship Program will come to its conclusion in April. Students from RossFord, School of Information, School for the Environment and Sustainability, and other programs developed project management and executive skills as board members of nonprofit organizations in Southeast Michigan. In addition to attending all board meetings and serving on a board committee, they worked on a board-level project tackling a complex organizational challenge.

In this article, we check in with five students to get a glimpse into their work and find out what they’ve learned so far!

READ THE ARTICLE

Support our Social Impact Students on Giving BlueDay

Give on:
Wed, Mar. 15

We invite you to give directly to B+I’s Social Impact Internship Fund (313726) on Giving BlueDay March 15! You’ll enable Michigan Ross talent to make an impact in the community by reducing financial barriers to complete a social impact internship. Your gift directly supports summer stipends for undergraduate and  graduate students.

Plan to Donate Here


Summer Impact Internship Funding Application

Apply now!

Each summer, Business+Impact awards competitive grants for summer internships to MBAs and BBA juniors in the Ross School of Business as well as MPP students in the Ford School of Public Policy.
 
The application for these monetary awards has just opened and will be considered on a rolling basis until April 18th. Award decisions will be based on the level of need (taking into account other funding being received), consideration of the position, the organization’s impact, and the quality of the application.

Apply now!

ALSO: Our friends at the School of Social Work offer Social Justice Internship Funding through their Community Action Social Change Center. The CASC Summer Social Justice Internship Fund provides up to $2000 (depending on the length of the summer internship) for students seeking an internship, field, or volunteer opportunities in community settings with a social justice emphasis. Apply by March 30th.

Apply now!

Ross Event Highlights:


(Ross) Michigan Fintech Conference

Thurs, Mar. 9 @ 5-8:30 pm
Robertson Auditorium


(CPO) The War for Kindness

Thurs, Mar. 23 @ 2-3 pm
Online


(Weiser Center) Albert Berriz

Wed, Mar. 15 @ 3-4:30 pm
Blau Colloquium


(CPO) Accelerate Your Purpose

Thurs, Apr. 6 @ 4-5:30 pm
at Ross

Image of Impact Gateway homepage.

A Searchable Platform for All Things Impact at Ross and Across Campus


The Business+Impact Gateway provides you with a single location for all things impact. Here you’ll find all of the activities, people and key partners working to use their learning to make a real impact in the world. 

IMPACT GATEWAY

SPOTLIGHT:

Neesha Modi (MBA/MS ’12)

Neesha Modi is the Director of Programs and Social Investment Operations at the Kresge Foundation, a Detroit-based philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting human progress.Through her guidance as the connective tissue between the foundation’s operations and the mission, Ms. Modi forwards Kresge’s goals of building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, and seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. We connected with her via video link to learn about her time at Michigan Ross, her impact journey and learnings along the way.

READ MORE

At the University:

UM SCHOOL OF INFORMATION

SDG Action & Awareness Week


Mar. 6 – 10
UMSI Engagement Center


The UMSI Engaged Learning Office (ELO) is hosting and cross-promoting a series of events for the University Global Coalition Sustainable Development Goals Action and Awareness Week from Monday, March 6 to Friday, March 10. These events will explore different ways the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being addressed in an information context.

More Info


LSA

The Egalitarian Metropolis


Symposium Dates
Mar. 7-8 & Mar. 16-18
@ Taubman College, Rackham Auditorium, and UM Detroit Center


The Great Black Migration to Detroit occurred at the height of the city’s industrial dominance, and yet the result was a deeply divided metropolis where almost all the benefits of subsequent industrial restructuring flowed to white suburbanites and almost all the costs were borne by Black city residents. The culmination of the Michigan-Mellon Project on the Egalitarian Metropolis, this symposium brings together University of Michigan researchers and Detroit community leaders who are working daily to make the city’s recovery equitable and inclusive.

More Info

 


HOUSING SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTH EQUITY

Breaking the Cycle


​”Creating Opportunities to Succeed for Families Experiencing Homelessness in Detroit”
Fri, Mar. 10 @ Noon – 1 pm
Virtual


This event will focus on describing common elements of family trajectories into family homelessness and housing instability, including Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), intergenerational trauma and poverty, and institutional and structural barriers to recovery from housing instability. Partners from COTS will share their current innovative approaches to supporting families to break the cycle of instability.

Learn more


SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

James A. Kelly Learning Levers Prize


Proposals Due
Sun, Mar. 12, 2023


Bring your passion and make an impact on pre-K–12 Education. The James A. Kelly Learning Levers Prize is a student pitch competition that supports scalable, research-based ideas that promote learning in pre-K–12 education. All U-M undergraduate and graduate students from the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, or Flint campuses can enter as individuals or teams.

Learn more


CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS

Wege Lecture: Mary Robinson


“Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience & the Fight for a Sustainable Future”
Mon, Mar. 13 @ 6 pm
Rackham Auditorium

Join Robinson as she shares her passion for climate justice, human dignity, gender equality and women’s participation in peace-building. She will highlight the urgent need for climate change action and how local, community-based action can grow into a global effort to build a sustainable future.

More Info


U-M DEI

Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want


Tues, Mar. 14 @ Noon
Rogel Ballroom, Michigan Union


In collaboration with partners across U-M, the SPH DEI Office is bringing Dr. Ruha Benjamin to campus for a talk and community conversation on March 14, 2023. Trained as a sociologist, Dr. Benjamin’s research sits at the intersection of science, technology, and medicine and resonates deeply with the field of Public Health. Dr. Benjamin will deliver a lecture on her new book, Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want.  Dr. Benjamin will deliver a lecture and then participate in a conversation/Q&A facilitated by Leseliey Welch.

More Info


CENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist Program


Application Due
Wed, Mar. 15


Each year the Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist (TFVSA) Program brings to CEW+ a social justice activist whose work affects women and recognizes gender equity issues.   If selected, the applicant is invited to reside near campus for up to one month or make intermittent visits to Ann Arbor and work remotely. The 2024 residency will take place during the winter semester with a presentation of their project the following fall semester at the CEW+ Annual Advocacy Symposium.

More Info


NET IMPACT AT ROSS

Community Development: Finance’s Role in Sustainable Economic Progress


Wed, Mar. 15 @ 7-8 pm
Ross R0320


Net Impact @ Ross presents its annual social impact symposium for all members of this Ross club and their friends!

Register here


INNOVATION IN ACTION

10th Annual Innovation in Action Final Showcase


Fri, Mar. 17 @ 4 pm
Tauber Colloquium, Michigan Ross


Student teams from across the University of Michigan worked for several months to develop solutions to a real-world challenge they are passionate about. Join us to learn more about these incredible teams and hear the announcement of the winners! This program is cosponsored by Business+Impact.

More Info


UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

On-Campus Paid Fellowship & Internship Opportunities


What follows is a list of paid fellowships and internships offered through the University of Michigan this coming summer.

DNEP +Impact Studio for Local Business Internship
(Extended!) Apply by Fri, Mar. 10


Poverty Solutions Internship
Apply by Wed, Mar 15


UM Campus Farm Internships
Apply by Wed, Mar. 15


Ginsberg Graduate Consultant Program
Apply by Fri, Mar. 31


Engelhardt Social Justice Fellowship
Apply by Thurs, Aug. 31


SCHOOL OF ANTHROPOLOGY

The Roy A. Rappaport Lectures
with Michael Lempert


“From Small Talk to Microagression: A History of Scale”
Fri, Mar. 17 @ 3-5 pm
Rackham Assembly Hall


Since the mid-twentieth century, US social scientists studying face-to-face interaction have been by turns fascinated and frustrated by the “small” scale of their object and the scrutiny it seemed to demand.  How did the “interpersonal” relate to the “institutional,” “micropolitics” to “mass” politics? Mr. Lempert   is currently leading a team-based ethnography of “liberal listening,” funded by The Wenner-Gren Foundation.

More Info


SANGER LEADERSHIP CENTER

Emerging Leaders Summit


Thurs, Mar. 23 @ 11 am – 3:45 pm
Michigan Ross


This summit is offered as part of Women in Leadership, a program sponsored by General Motors (GM) and open to all. We seek to provide space to increase agency, amplify women’s voices, and work with women and allies to overcome barriers. Speakers include Chris Willams, Sue Ashford, and Shellie Seyfarth.

More Info


WILLIAM DAVIDSON INSTITUTE

WDI Case Writing Competitions


Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Competition
Due, Fri, Mar. 31


Energy Innovation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Due Fri, Mar. 31

You are invited to enter our competitions and support and strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) skills and knowledge for today’s students, who will become tomorrow’s global business leaders. WDI Publishing and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business are proud to present the annual Global Case Writing Competition.


MICHIGAN ROSS DEI

Virtual Allyship Workshop


Thurs, Mar. 30 @ 7:30 pm
Register by Thurs, Mar. 16
Virtual


Please join us for an interactive virtual workshop that will provide foundational educational knowledge and tools. This program is open to all students, staff, and faculty, and will take place on March 30, 2023 from 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm ET on Zoom. Pre-work will be assigned and sent two weeks before the program to maximize our time together, and will take approximately 1.5 hours to complete. Please register by 3/16/23. A zoom link will be sent after completing the registration form.

Register Here


PLANET BLUE

Sustainability Honors Cord


Applications due
Mon, Apr. 3


The Excellence in Sustainability Honors Cord program is designed to recognize students who went above and beyond to advance their knowledge, skills, and practice of sustainability ethics while studying at U-M.The acceptance to the Excellence in Sustainability Honors Cord program will allow students to receive an Excellence in Sustainability Honors Cord for graduation, join an exclusive alumni LinkedIn Network, and the opportunity to be part of a sustainability spotlight series.


Apply Now


SANGER LEADERSHIP CENTER

Leadership Dialogues: Kofi Bruce


Mon, Apr. 10 @ 4:30-5:30 pm
Tauber Colloquium, Michigan Ross


The Sanger Leadership Center‘s next event will feature Kofi Bruce, CFO of General Mills, with Associate Dean for Engaged Learning & Professional Development, Gretchen Spreitzer. The in-person session is open to the entire University of Michigan community, including students, staff, faculty and alumni.A recording of the conversation will be posted on Sanger’s Youtube channel after the event. A virtual livestream feed will be NOT be available for this event. 


More Info


EISENBERG INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL STUDIES

Race, Politics, and the Modern Metropolis


Thurs, Apr. 13 @ 6-8 pm
Anderson Room, Michigan Union

Come join Thomas J. Sugrue in conversation with U-M historians Angela D. Dillard and Matthew D. Lassiter as they discuss the historical roots of the current challenges facing American cities. Topics include politics, urban history, civil rights, faith, the carceral state, and police violence.


Info & Registration


In the Impact Community:

2023 American Express NGen Fellowship


Applications due
Mon, Mar. 27 @ 11:59 PT


The American Express NGen Fellows program provides 12 changemakers, 40 and under, a dynamic leadership development opportunity. This program will strengthen their leadership capacity and grow their personal and professional network. You can apply yourself or nominate another person with a vision for racial equity, adaptive leadership, system change, and peer learning.

Apply Here


Public Allies

Apply Now

Public Allies Metro Detroit is a program of the U of M-Dearborn, and a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. The program is made possible through funding of the Corporation for National and the Community Service and Michigan Community Service Commission. Apply now for fall opportunities.

Application Info


Skoll World Forum


Apr. 12-14
Virtual /Free

Joining the Forum online is free and open to everyone on Hopin, a virtual event platform where you can watch Oxford plenaries and sessions and connect with other virtual attendees. Please contact registration@skoll.org with any questions. The registration deadline is April 10.


Info & Registration

2022-23 Board Fellows Learn about Nonprofits

Overview

The 2022-23 Board Fellowship Program was every bit as successful as in recent years. Students from Ross, Ford, School of Social Work, Public Health, and other programs developed project management and executive skills as board members of nonprofit organizations in Southeast Michigan.  

In addition to attending all board meetings and serving on a board committee, each worked on a board-level project tackling a complex organizational challenge, and attended the Board Fellows Forum in March.

You can see the complete list of 2022-23 Board Fellows, but we interviewed a few of our board fellows here and learned a bit more about their personal experiences with the program:


Lillian Brandt, MAcc ’23

Organization: Ann Arbor Civic Theatre

Location: Ann Arbor, MI

Describe the project you have worked on with the organization, and how did it further the organization’s mission? The project I worked on with Ann Arbor Civic Theater utilized my accounting skills as a MAcc student at the University of Michigan. The project’s overall goal was to help simplify the play selection process using financial measurements and an overall organization of financial statements.

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from the Board Fellowship experience; what skill have you developed? I utilized the knowledge I learned in the classroom with real-world applications. All the tax information I can apply to an organization and the usage of Excel has further expanded my skills on the topic. 

What have you learned from attending your nonprofit’s board meetings? Before this project, I had no theater background, but I’ve learned about selecting, producing, and finishing productions. And general theater culture has been an additional learning process while working with Ann Arbor Civic Theater throughout the year. 

What impact will this experience have on your future plans? This experience has enriched my knowledge about nonprofits, which was close to none at the start of this project. Knowing that most nonprofits look for individuals with financial background experience to help serve their boards has made me look for opportunities to join a nonprofit board in the future as one of my goals. This experience has also given me more knowledge when I work with nonprofit clients in the future when I work as an accountant.

Do you have advice for future board fellows? This program is such a unique opportunity; I implore future board fellows to use all the resources available to you throughout the year, especially all the workshops! 


Dwayne McFarlane, MBA/MSI ’24

Organization: Library of the Great Lakes

Ann Arbor, MI

Describe the project you have worked on with the organization, and how did it further the organization’s mission? When I first onboarded with my non-profit organization, The Library of the Great Lakes, I did so with the intention of designing and implementing a management database system as my fellowship project. However, after attending our annual retreat, it became clear that a pivot toward a service design – research-based UX project would be most beneficial in helping the organization clarify and realize its strategic goals. 

The UX project was divided into three iterative sections. To begin the process, we interviewed various stakeholders and conducted deep industry research. The information from this initial phase was then synthesized and utilized to guide the design and user testing phase where we tested hypothetical and prototyped versions of services and website mockups. Finally, the results of the research along with recommendations will be presented to the full board. Because these recommendations will be driven by the desires of the actual target user base that the board has identified, the executive board can utilize any final recommendations to better align the organization’s goals with the expressed needs of the end user. 

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from the Board Fellowship experience; what skill have you developed? Surprisingly, my Board Fellowship experience has been fairly similar to other experiences I have had previously where I served on committees. What I take away from this experience is a sharpened ability to deeply understand the cohesive vision of the board even if it was not explicitly stated. This was done by listening intently and building connections via correlating ideas/themes. 

What have you learned from attending your nonprofit’s board meetings? Organizations, like families, are dynamic. There are ups and downs, but with a shared mission and determination to see it through to completion, amazing things for the benefit of all, can and will happen. Being able to bounce ideas off of each other, share and receive constructive criticism and provide feedback/recommendations that were implemented in tangible ways demonstrated to me how a deliberative process fosters positive growth for an organization. 

What impact will this experience have on your future plans? I embarked on this experience wanting to “dip my toes” into the non-profit leadership space. I leave this experience determined to continuously engage in meaningful ways with LGL and similar organizations that are committed to engaging  diverse populations with educational activities, resources and programs. 

Do you have advice for future board fellows? Remember to draw from the totality of your life experiences and skills when determining the best way that you can make the greatest impact at your non-profit organization. It may be a skill that you’ve learned during your time at Ross or trade you honed years ago.

 


Jamie Morgenstern, MBA ’24

Organization: SOS Community Services

Ypsilanti, MI

Describe the project you have worked on with the organization, and how did it further the organization’s mission? I have learned that there is a true shared desire to pay it forward and do good for your community. There are people involved in my non-profit who live very busy lives, hold important jobs and are raising families. Despite the scarcity of free time these people put aside time each week to give something back. This is a quality that should be stressed in schools, organizations and elsewhere to ensure that important work is done, and to share what brings us together rather than what separates us. 

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from the Board Fellowship experience; what skill have you developed? I have enhanced my communication and leadership skills as a result of the board fellows project.

What have you learned from attending your nonprofit’s board meetings? I have learned about the various committees and their functions within the Board. I have gained a stronger understanding of non-profit financials and what goes into seeking fundraising.

What impact will this experience have on your future plans? In the future I hope to continue working with non-profits to share what I have learned about business, organizations and fundraising. I want to spend time volunteering and making a difference in any community I am a member of.

Do you have advice for future board fellows? My advice for future Board Fellows is to start slow, learn about the mission and the talents and expectations of your fellow board members. It is important to listen, to learn and then to add your perspective. That said, do not be shy in sharing your ideas and input. Your perspective or life experience might be somewhat unique, so share your ideas and your views. Just make sure you do so respectfully and with an eye towards contributing something meaningful to the endeavor.


Zach Nerod, MBA/MS ’24

Organization: Washtenaw Housing Alliance

Ann Arbor, MI

Describe the project you have worked on with the organization, and how did it further the organization’s mission? I have helped WHA implement a new set of development guidelines for board members, find and choose a new CRM software for tracking donations, and created a new calendar to structure their development activities. Each of these are central to WHA’s long term development success, and the development guidelines are especially important. These guidelines will help make being a board member more accessible for WHA constituents and will give clarity to current members as to ways they can help achieve WHA’s development goals.

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from the Board Fellowship experience; what skill have you developed? My biggest takeaway from my Fellowship experience has been how necessary providing structure to an organization’s development activities is. I am not someone who instinctively creates structure, so this lesson has been particularly salient for me. To that end, I have really developed that skill as well; I feel I am better able to convey expectations and set up processes more than I was back in September.  

What have you learned from attending your nonprofit’s board meetings? I have seen first hand how important board member engagement is- WHA’s board is a great asset to the organization and in each member provides fantastic insight and direction with their questions and contributions. I have been really impressed by how collaborative and supportive4 the board is, and how committed each member is to WHA’s mission.

What impact will this experience have on your future plans? My time as a Board Fellow has confirmed my desire to serve on a nonprofit’s board in the future. Beyond that, however, I have a better understanding of the operations of a non-profit, and as I hope to work in that sector, this experience will be a huge asset in that regard.

Do you have advice for future board fellows? Yes!!! Take every opportunity to engage with your organization! My highlight of my time as a fellow was choosing to attend WHA’s State of Homelessness event. The morning event was an incredible way to learn about all aspects of WHA’s operations and goals, and was the kind of experience I had hoped to have when I applied!


Alexia Carrillo Villalobos, MPP ’23

Organization: A Brighter Way

Location: Ypsilanti, MI

Describe the project you have worked on with the organization, and how did it further the organization’s mission? I am currently working on the On-Boarding Project which is a process for their board members when hired. A Brighter Way is currently in a period of growth. In order to sustain and continue it, they needed to expand systems and standard operating procedures. The approach to this is to further continue the mission in identifying potential board members, through an approach of finding individuals with diverse experiences and backgrounds to represent the community they are serving – returning citizens.  

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from the Board Fellowship experience; what skill have you developed? Coming into this experience, I only had experience working at a non-profit through a different perspective. This opportunity has allowed me to take a step into the process of people who shape the organization, board members. They play a huge role in development, commitment, and advocacy. The On-Boarding project has given me skills in making sure when board members are hired, they have a smooth transition on the key things needed to adapt into the organization. For example, what are the board expectations, how does funding work within the organization, current projects, mission, etc. I have improved and developed communication skills, critical thinking, and strategic planning.

What have you learned from attending your nonprofit’s board meetings? I have learned that it is important to have an agenda set up in order to manage the meetings with the time we have. There are so many action items and information being shared that this system creates an effective process. In addition, it takes everyone in the meetings to make things happen, and I have seen A Brighter Way work together to make sure they are meeting their mission and the communities they are serving. Making sure that is the key highlight of the meetings.

What impact will this experience have on your future plans? This experience will inform my way of thinking through a different approach. As someone who has experience working in the non-profit sector, this will provide perspectives from both ends. It has given me the skills on how to analyze what works and what doesn’t in an organization. These skills are beneficial to me wherever I go and will take this experience in environments I will be working in-especially in teams.

Do you have advice for future board fellows? My advice would be, it’s okay not to know EVERYTHING. This is an opportunity to grow and I do believe we are always learning and growing. Allow yourself to get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself in ways you can to improve either skills or knowledge. Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask questions and communicate your needs to have a better working environment not just for yourself but your advisors.  


Resources

  • See photos from the Board Fellows’ Experience:

2019-20 Board Fellows Experiences

U-M students create new how-to guides and equitable business models for green energy businesses to help Detroit entrepreneurs take advantage of new federal funding

“The Inflation Reduction Act sounds really boring,” says Michigan Ross professor Jerry Davis, “but it’s actually a big stack of money for green energy businesses. If you read through it, it’s easy to think of dozens of ways that this could benefit a city like Detroit.”

Davis and his colleague, Cat Johnson, of Michigan Ross’ Business+Impact designed a class to do just that. The class, BA670: +Impact Studio Designing Equitable Enterprises, teaches teams of grad students from all majors how to use equity-centered design thinking to develop businesses that improve communities. This year’s focus is on the green energy transition in Detroit.

The +Impact studio course is a radical departure from “business as usual.”  Equity-centered design thinking teaches students “to ask questions and put equity [and not solely profitability] at the center from the start,” explains Johnson,  “”It’s profoundly different from going through the [business ideation] process then asking, how might this impact people?” 

At the end of the course, student teams will create two final deliverables: (1) how-to guides on how Detroit business owners can make their business “greener” and take advantage of new green energy funding through the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and (2) equitable business models related to green energy (including solar panel installation, water cisterns, heat pump installation), that entrepreneurs can take as templates and implement in the Detroit community. 

Throughout the course, students will co-create these deliverables in conversation with Detroit entrepreneurs and energy experts, addressing the most pressing energy pain points in Detroit and designing solutions that are most applicable.

How the course got started

Since its inception in 2019, the +Impact studio course has focused on creating business solutions to answer the world’s most pressing problems. In its first year, students worked to scale a technology that identified lead in Flint water pipes to the rest of America. Other topics the course has addressed include: improving financial inclusion through Fintech in 2020, helping small businesses adjust to COVID in 2021, and last year, developing more equitable restaurants. 

“The fundamental premise of this course is: we’ve got good ideas and can solve problems, but how do we get them to the world? [Our answer] is that we train students in design thinking skills to translate basic research ideas into actions in the world that can improve things,” says Davis.

For all its work, the +Impact Studio course has won a fair share of awards, including the Aspen Institute “Ideas Worth Teaching Award” and a highlight in Poets & Quants. 

The Green Energy Transition: A Golden Opportunity

Following the Biden Administration’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, entrepreneurs have more funding than ever to start green energy businesses or electrify their existing business. “With the Inflation Reduction Act, every homeowner can get free cash to get rid of their AC and use a heat pump or get rid of their gas stove and install an electric oven. There’s a lot of money available for homeowners and business owners to green and electrify their business,” Davis says. 

For budding entrepreneurs thinking of starting a business, thermal energy and solar panel installation businesses aren’t often the first thing to come to mind. But Jerry Davis believes the Inflation Reduction Act could change that, encouraging new B2B green energy ventures that not only take advantage of these new funding opportunities but also make the communities around them more sustainable. “This is an incredible opportunity for creating new businesses, particularly in Detroit,” Davis says. 

Making green energy resources available to Detroit entrepreneurs

While in previous years, the +Impact Studio course publicized its free how-to guides and business models online for entrepreneurs to use, this year, they’re taking it a step further. This is the first year the course has specifically focused on creating business solutions for one location. Speaking on the partnership with Detroit, Davis says, “Detroit really has a lot of talents and a great ecosystem and raw materials that the Inflation Reduction Act and the funding available now could help capitalize.”

To make sure their business solutions are targeted toward Detroit small business needs, community engagement will take a center role in the course like never before. Six weeks into the course, students have already interviewed Detroit entrepreneurs to gain insight into the current energy needs and pain points in Detroit and have started the business model prototyping process. Throughout this time, students will also work closely with a panel of advisors (Detroit and energy experts) to refine their business prototypes.

At the end of the course, Davis hopes that prospective entrepreneurs in Detroit can take the business model templates they’ve made and implement them in Detroit, perhaps through Business+Impact’s long-standing partnership with the Ford School of Public Policy’s Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project. Long term, Davis and Johnson hope to work with Detroit community partners to host entrepreneurial training programs, classes, and funding opportunities to train interested entrepreneurs to launch real businesses with these models. 

Detroit entrepreneurs will be able to access the new green energy resources at: https://www.greenbiztransition.com/. How to guides will be posted in late March 2023 and business models in June 2023. 

This article was written by Allison Wei (Ross ’25).

This article originally appeared on detroitsmallbusiness.umich.edu.

Neesha Modi

Neesha Modi (MBA/MS ’12) is the Director of Programs and Social Investment Operations at the Kresge Foundation, a Detroit-based philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting human progress. Through her guidance as the connective tissue between the foundation’s operations and the mission, Ms. Modi forwards Kresge’s goals of building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, and seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. We connected with her via video link to learn about her impact journey and learnings along the way.

 

What would you like to say about your experience at Ross?

Pre-business school, I was in consulting with Accenture, focused on supply chain strategy, and that was not my jam. As many who come to business school, I was looking for a career pivot, but also an opportunity to deepen and hone my business skills. I was also taking a leap by doing the dual degree program (MBA/MS) with the Erb Institute, and wanting to learn some of the skills there around sustainability, while also bridging the gap within the nonprofit and private sector. I went in not totally sure what I was going to do, and honestly at the time, told myself I was not going back to consulting. 

Fast-forward through an incredible several years at Ross School of Business, and I found myself identifying and fostering a deep passion for talent, and how people exist within organizations, within systems, within communities. While I was at Ross, I worked with Jane Dutton from the Center for Positive Organizations, and we created a class from my independent study on coaching skills in business. I was also part of the group that launched the Detroit Revitalization & Business Initiative (now known as the Detroit Initiative at Ross), and one of the things I did that was pivotal to my choice to move to Detroit was leading our impact projects. Impact projects are design thinking, consulting opportunities for grad students to partner with organizations in the city, and that’s how I got to know Detroit more. The span of coursework in the Erb program, as well as independent studies eventually led me to Deloitte, where I was focused on talent, strategy, organizational culture–and how those are pivotal elements to acheiving an end goal. In the private sector one would say, “how might we serve our bottom line,” but in the social sector you would describe it as, “how might we serve our mission?” It is more about the people. And that led be back into consulting at Deloitte. I guess I actually loved the process of consulting; I just needed to find more of a passion and a connection with the content.

Neesha Modi facilitating a session with community partners and grantees. Photo courtesy of The Kresge Foundation

What happened right after you got your joint degree?

I was at Deloitte for 3 years, and I was lucky to try a variety of projects in my first year that led me to eventually focus on working in the healthcare space on culture and talent. I felt a deep connection to that, and I felt that I was actually starting to understand what impact-focused work was like even through a consulting lens. However, I eventually decided, as many people do, that the consulting lifestyle and all the rest of it was just more than my life could handle at that time, and I decided to leave. I was excited to move into Detroit after grad school, but being on the road with Deloitte really didn’t allow me to be a part of the community in the way that I was hoping and aspiring to do. At the 3-year-mark, I transitioned over to the Kresge Foundation, and, like I mentioned to you, was really lucky and honored to be a part of our Detroit team, which allowed me to be squarely focused on the community in which I was living.

For our readers. Can you describe what you’re doing now with the Kresge Foundation?

I’ve been with the foundation for about 7 years, and I’ve held a variety of roles. I came in as a program officer on our Detroit team, which is our largest grant-making team at the foundation. It’s focused on the city of Detroit, which is our foundation’s hometown. Over the years I’ve moved through a variety of grant-making roles, and then started taking on some additional responsibilities around our strategy and operations for the team. Most recently, I have stepped into my current role, where I am looking across the operations of our 7 programs teams, as well as our social investments practice. I think the simplest way to describe my role is one that is focused on building connective tissue around how we operate and how we think about our work in community strategically. A lot of what I do now is more of that sort of internal connection that’s required, so that we and our program colleagues (those that are grant makers) are able to best serve our communities and grantees. 

Neesha Modi leading a panel discussion on the role of early childhood education systems in Detroit. Photo courtesy of The Kresge Foundation

Have you leveraged your MBA/MS learnings and co-curricular experiences in your current position, or any previous positions?

The answer is unequivocally yes. Everything was so interconnected and interstitial in my graduate years that of course, I apply it to so much of what I’m doing right now, and I believe where I’m going to be. I am not surprised to be honest with you, that I ended up where I am, given that most of the courses I was drawn to were around organizational strategy, which I leverage all the time.. It’s all around leadership and people, and enabling teams and the culture that’s required to really allow people to thrive in their work. and that was like a really formative part of my time at Michigan. It influenced my decision to go to Deloitte and focus on talent strategy, and I’ve brought that with me all along in my heart, my passion and my superpower, thinking about how people can enable the work.

You know a lot of the learnings happen sometimes outside of the classroom, through clubs that you might be a part of, or through the incredible set of supports that exist, obviously the friends that you make, and all the love that you just take with you for life, and that network is invaluable. I didn’t come into school understanding quite how important that network would be–a beautiful support in so many different ways at different times and different points throughout my professional career and (we’re all people so) personally as well. 

Neesha Modi speaking to a group of philanthropic peers on leadership and the social sector. Photo courtesy of The Kresge Foundation

Do you have advice for current students who want to work in a social impact?

Consider doing what feels right, not what looks right. 

You know, I remember we used to jokingly call the temptation to do something else the “Winter Garden Syndrome”: The idea that if you spent a lot of time in the Winter Garden and you were influenced by all the activity down there, you might all of a sudden find yourself recruiting for this major corporation you never thought you’d be recruiting for. And you had told yourself you were coming here because you wanted to do important work in XYZ, but you end up finding yourself following the herd mentality. It’s like, “Oh well, everyone’s doing that. Why am I not doing it?” And you find yourself doing a lot more on-campus recruiting as opposed to the off-campus recruiting needed for social impact work. So that cognitive dissonance that people face when they want to really focus on the social sector, it’s really hard to hold on to. But you need to stay true to yourself. And that’s why this advice that someone gave me resonates so deeply within me: “doing what feels right, not what looks right.” If it doesn’t feel right, it’s just not going to be right. 

And also remember that there’s a lot of different paths to get you where you want to go. There is actually not only one. There’s like an infinite number of paths; nobody has the same path. We all have a different decision-making calculus, and a different appetite for risk. Also, for a lot of people going to the social sector, the salaries will just not be what they will be in the private sector. You have to really be honest with yourself about how that’s going to feel for you–financial obligations and debt. How are you going to feel with that reality combined with the reality of your choice? I personally don’t want to see people in the social sector get burned out or driven out of it unnecessarily because of these other pressures. Just be honest with yourself.

 

New +Impact Studio Applebaum Impact Design Fellows Bring Expert Knowledge and Passion to Ventures

By Katie Moore (BA ’25) and Loren Townes Jr.

Undoubtedly the +Impact Studio made incredible strides in 2022. From reviving its physical community space and impact design lab following COVID-19 to launching its largest and most diversified cohort of founders & Applebaum Impact Design Fellows to date and propelling financial equity & climate action ventures to success, the Studio continues to surpass all expectations. This momentum continued into 2023 as the +Impact Studio added three new faces to a few of their all-star ventures. After a rigorous application process, the new Fellows selected include Ogochukwu Okoye for finding joi, Rebekah Lim for Grow Together (G2G), and Jonathan Amos for Affirmative. (previously named Lifeboat).

READ FULL ARTICLE ON MEDIUM

February 2023 Newsletter

 

SeaSpider Wins the 2023 Michigan Business Challenge – Seigle Impact Track


We’re excited to share that the winner of the 2023 Michigan Business Challenge – Seigle Impact Track is SeaSpider – (Joe Huang, CS ’22; Adam Zhang, BS Environment ’23). The venture won the finals on Fri, Feb. 10. SeaSpider is  a student venture aiming at the identification and removal of abandoned fishing nets in sensitive coral reefs. The runner up was International Footprint. This competition is sponsored by the Mark and Robin Seigle Entrepreneurial Innovation Fund and co-managed by the Zell Lurie Institute and Business+Impact.

READ FULL RESULTS


Public Forum on Nonprofit Boards and Communities: Mar. 15


“Community Connections: Forging Equitable Relationships Between Nonprofit Boards and the Communities They Serve”

Wed, Mar 15 @ 5:30-7:30 pm
Blau Hall, B0560

As nonprofit organizations grow, it is easy for board members to become increasingly disconnected from the community members they serve. What actions can boards take to be sure community voices are included, without tokenizing individual community members? How are boards rethinking organizational structures to foster equity and inclusion? We invite the public to join Board Fellowship students and staff for this interactive panel discussion with local nonprofit leaders. Dinner will be served. Please register through Eventbrite.

REGISTER HERE


Summer Impact Internship Funding Application

Apply now!

Each summer, Business+Impact awards competitive grants for summer internships to MBAs and BBA juniors in the Ross School of Business as well as MPP students in the Ford School of Public Policy.
 
The application for these monetary awards has just opened and will be considered on a rolling basis until April 18th. Award decisions will be based on the level of need (taking into account other funding being received), consideration of the position, the organization’s impact, and the quality of the application.

APPLY NOW


+Impact Studio Stories

Following a very successful Design Jam with UMS, we met up with CultureVerse in the +Impact Studio to continue our dialogue about the intersection of business, design, and the arts! It was such a joy to give them a tour of the Impact Design Lab and highlight the many ways we infuse #designthinking into shaping social impact concepts.

DESIGN JAM WEBSITE

Also, we just dropped a new episode in our Social Impact Design for Business podcast series.  In this episode Jerry Davis of the +Impact Studio interviews five faculty of the University of Michigan to find out what is inspiring them in the area of green energy.  It’s titled “Inspiration from the Green Energy Transition.”

LISTEN HERE

DetroitIsIt wrote a feature on our BA670 +Impact Studio course taking place this semester at Michigan Ross. Entitled “Educating for Purpose to Empower Business to Impact as a Force for Good”, the story shares how the +Impact Studio is developing architects of the future that are solving problems with critical thinking. In discussing the course, Jerry Davis says, “The intent is to translate insights from students, faculty, and stakeholders into practical solutions for businesses.”

READ MORE

 

Save Date! Support Social Impact Students on Giving BlueDay

Give on:
Wed, Mar. 15

We invite you to give to B+I’s Social Impact Internship Fund (313726) on Giving BlueDay March 15! You’ll enable Michigan Ross talent to make an impact in the community by reducing financial barriers to complete a social impact internship. Your gift directly supports summer stipends for undergraduate and  graduate students.

Plan to Donate Here


 

Ross DEI Research Awards Program

The Ross Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in collaboration with the Dean’s Office and the Ross Faculty and Staff DEI committees, is pleased to announce the third annual Ross DEI Awards. The awards will be presented at the Annual DEI Awards event on April 24, 2023. Nominations are now being accepted, as follows:

Faculty Research Award ($5000) – Nomination letters by faculty should be submitted to Donna O’Brien via email (obriendo@umich.edu) by Wed, Feb. 22, 2023.

PhD Student Research Award ($3000) – Nomination letters by advisors should be submitted to Donna O’Brien via email (obriendo@umich.edu) by Wed, Feb. 22, 2023.

BBA Senior Thesis Award ($1000) – Nominations by advisors must be include an extended abstract of the BBA thesis. Nominations should be submitted to Donna O’Brien via email (obriendo@umich.edu) by Fri, Mar. 24, 2023.

J. Frank Yates Diversity and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Award ($5000) – Self-nominations are also accepted. Please complete the nomination form by Wed, Feb. 22, 2023.

Ross Staff DEI Impact Award ($3000) – Nominations are accepted from all current members of the Ross community, including students, staff, and faculty. Self-nominations are also accepted. Please complete the nomination form by Wed, Feb. 22, 2023.


 

DNEP +Impact Studio for Local Business Offering Paid Internships

Apply by Tues, Feb. 28

The Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project’s +Impact Studio for Local Business is seeking 15 sophomore and junior interns for its summer internship program starting in May. This is a paid (16/hour), full-time, in-person 10 week internship program that involves working in multidisciplinary teams to implement solutions for a portfolio of Detroit minority-owned businesses.

Apply by Tues, Feb. 28

Image of Impact Gateway homepage.

A Searchable Platform for All Things Impact at Ross and Across Campus


The Business+Impact Gateway provides you with a single location for all things impact. Here you’ll find all of the activities, people and key partners working to use their learning to make a real impact in the world. 

IMPACT GATEWAY

At the University:

STUDENT SUSTAINABILITY COALITION

Seeking SSC Team Members


Applications Due
Tues, Feb. 14

The Student Sustainability Coalition is a student organization dedicated to promoting a sustainable campus culture by using the Collective Impact Framework to connect and elevate campus-wide student sustainability efforts. Applications for the 2023-24 SSC team are now open. 

Learn more and apply at this link


DONIA HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER & PACLSHR

Fair Labor Association Fellowships


Applications Due:
Wed, Feb, 15 @ Midnight

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) seeks to provide current graduate or advanced undergraduate students of the University of Michigan with two internship opportunities to learn about labor and human rights issues and challenges in agricultural and apparel supply chains. These followships are open to any U-M graduate student or U-M advanced undergraduate student (at least two years of completed college education). Students graduating in Spring 2023 are not eligible

More Info


FORD SCHOOL

Policy Talks @ Ford


The Ford School hosts a diverse array of timely, meaningful events that engage with students, community, and public policy leaders. During the coming month, the Ford School will host this wide-ranging and powerful series of talks on diversity, poverty and immigration.

New perspectives on college choice: The role of family, gender, and career planning in the education decisions of college ready students from families with low incomes
Feb 16, 2023, 12:00-12:50 pm EST 1210 Weill Hall


Governing for environmental justice
Mar 6, 2023, 4:30-6:00 pm EST
Weill Hall #1110 (Betty Ford Classroom)


CENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

Racial Justice Events

The Center for Racial Justice hosts a diverse array of timely, meaningful events that engage our students, community, and public policy leaders. Here are some upcoming events for consideration:

Farah Mahesri on decolonizing development
Feb 17, 2023, 1:00-4:00 pm EST
Weill Hall (Paul and Nancy O’Neill Classroom)

Changemaking from the inside with Gabrielle Wyatt
Feb 23, 2023, 12:00-1:30 pm EST

Activating joy with Holly Bass: Creative practices for authentic community building
Mar 9, 2023, 12:00-1:30 pm EST

All Events


TEDxUofM

TEDx “Glitch In” Comes to UM

Fri, Feb. 17 @ 6-10 pm
Power Center for the Performing Arts


TEDxUofM is a university-wide initiative to galvanize the Ann Arbor and University of Michigan community for an event like no other; filled with inspiration, discovery, and excitement. Borrowing the template from the world-renowned TED conference, TEDxUofM aims to bring a TED-like experience to the University of Michigan. Plan now on attending “Glitch In” at the Power Center

Get Tickets


BUSINESS+TECH

Closing the Gap – From Austin to Ann Arbor

Fri, Feb. 17 @ 10 am – 4 pm
Blau Hall, Blau Colloquium


Business+Tech and the Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club will partner to host a Black History Month event dedicated to closing the racial, gender and monetary gaps that exist in the tech, venture capital, and entrepreneurship industries.  Leveraging experiences and connections made at the AFROTECH conference in Austin last November, this first-of-its-kind collaboration will provide participants with an insight into what these non-traditional career fields look like from the perspective of historically overlooked professionals.

Info & RSVP


WOMEN OF COLOR TASK FORCE

WCTF Career Conference

Fri, Mar. 3 @ 8:15 am – 4 pm ET
Virtual and at Rogel Ballroom – Michigan Union
Register by Tues, Feb. 8 at Noon ET

The Women of Color Task Force is excited to host its 41st annual career conference this year on March 3, 2023. Pre–registration is required to participate in all events and sessions. Morning conference sessions will be presented virtually. The keynote luncheon and afternoon sessions will be in-person at the Michigan Union.  All session times are in Eastern Standard Time Zone. The keynote presentation will take place at 12:00 pm EST at a luncheon in the Rogel Ballroom at the Michigan Union.

Info & Registration


WILLIAM DAVIDSON INSTITUTE

DEI Global Case Writing Competition

Enter Now

You are invited to enter our competition and support and strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) skills and knowledge for today’s students, who will become tomorrow’s global business leaders. WDI Publishing and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business are proud to present the second annual DEI Global Case Writing Competition.

More Info


DESAI

Accelerator Cohort Applications

Applications due
Mon, Mar. 6


Get excited to spend eight months with mentors, subject matter experts, investors, and interns who are committed to your success! Acceptance to the University of Michigan’s alumni accelerator adds credibility to your early-stage startup, and provides a strong support system of people who understand you and your business. We’ve recently expanded our eligibility criteria!

Apply Now


CENTER FOR THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN

2023 Paid Fellowship Applications

Applications due
Mon, Mar. 6


Applications for four CEW+ fellowships are now open. Fellowship funds for the current application can be awarded in Winter 2023, Spring/Summer 2023, or Fall 2023. Applications must meet be student-designed research that is tied to degree requirements and focused on issues of importance to women, and must involve travel abroad for students in public health, environmental health, or another health-related field. Most CEW+ Fellowships range between $2,000 and $5,000.

Apply Now


In the Impact Community:

21 Day Equity Challenge

Sign up to participate this month

United Way of Washtenaw County (UWWC) has a vision that by 2030 your zip code will no longer determine your opportunity in life. At present in Washtenaw County, it does. Join United Way on a virtual self-guided learning journey examining the history and impacts of racism and how it shapes people’s lived experience in Washtenaw County. Along the way, you’ll also receive examples and tools on how to undo racism and build racial equity and justice.

Sign up now!


Public Allies

Apply Now

Public Allies Metro Detroit is a program of the U of M-Dearborn, and a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. The program is made possible through funding of the Corporation for National and the Community Service and Michigan Community Service Commission. Apply now for fall opportunities.

Application Info


Natural Products Expo West

Mar. 7-11, 2023
Anaheim, CA

Natural Products Expo West 2023 is just over a month away; and the full agenda is now online, featuring everything lined up for a in-person and digital experience! From the exhibit hall to the classroom, and everything in-between, this year’s Expo West is built to spark business success in natural products

Info & Registration

Sea Spider Wins Michigan Business Challenge Seigle Impact Track 2023

Ann Arbor, February 13, 2023 – The winner of the 2023 Michigan Business Challenge – Seigle Impact Track is SeaSpider – (Joe Huang, CS ’22; Adam Zhang, BS Environment ’23) a student run company aiming to improve the identification of abandoned fishing nets in sensitive coral reefs in order to allow conservation organizations to remove these hazards that kill wildlife and destroy coral. The Seigle Impact Track competition, sponsored by the Mark and Robin Seigle Entrepreneurial Innovation Fund and co-managed by Zell Lurie Institute and Business+Impact, began in November with 40 teams. Eight semi-finalists competed on Fri, Jan. 20 for the four finalist spots in the Seigle finals competition, held Fri, Feb. 10 at the Ross School of Business.

Other finalists included:

  • e3 – a holistic chrome extension that bridges the information gap to allow consumers to conveniently identify more sustainable choices by scanning and scoring clothing product pages on their environmental impact and providing recommendations for alternative eco-friendly items. Joshua Glynn, BBA ’24; Manal Shaikh, BBA ’24; Alexander Bower, BBA ’24; Saavan Kaneria, BBA ’24; Sena Kaddurah, BBA ’24; Lucas Coman, BBA ’24

  • International Footprint – a global comprehensive toolkit that provides access to mindfully translated information about legal policies, including visas, taxes, and healthcare, for international students and workers. Yeonkyoung No, BBA & BA PPE ’25; Dan Atlman, BSE Mechanical Eng ’24; Gyu Been Moon, BA Political Science & BA Korean Literature and Culture ’24; Justin Park, BA Cognitive Science ’22

  • Solar Fridge – working to develop an inexpensive, solar-powered energy independent, and low-maintenance vaccine refrigerator to ensure vaccine availability and viability in low-resource communities. Thomas Chen, BS ’23; Ryan Fang, BS ’25; Avani Govindswamy, BSE ’24; Gabriel Ferriero, BSE ’25; Alan Shi, BSE ’24; Cara Gallagher, BSE ’25; Aham Lee, BSE ’23; Ryan Hamby, BSE ’22; Carina Gallagher, BSE ’23; Nancy Chen, BSE ’23; Allison Lee, BSI ’24; Thiago Reis, BSE ’24; Paola Zavala, BSE ’25; Eldon Xu, BSE ’23
SeaSpider pitches their business idea during Round 2.

SeaSpider received $15,000 for first place in the Seigle Impact Track.  International Footprint was the second place winner of the Seigle Impact Track, and received $7,500 as well as $500 in the Elevator Pitch Competition. Solar Fridge and e3 rounded out the results in the Seigle Impact Track, with Solar Fridge and SeaSpider winning $500 each in the Showcase competition. All participants in the Seigle Impact Track finals received at least $250 for pitching in the finals. SeaSpider also won a $5,000 Undergraduate team award, sponsored by Daniel Sillman.

Other winners in the Michigan Business Challenge competition are as follows:
Protein Pints won the $15k first prize in the Innovation Track, sponsored by Pryor Hale, while Medvision won the $15k first prize in the Invention Track, also sponsored by Pryor-Hale. The Innovation track runner up was BeatNami ($7500), while the Invention Track runner up was TAP ($7500): both prizes are sponsored by Pryor-Hale.  A OneMagnify Best in Business prize of $5000, a Michigan Investment Challenge Investment Committee prize of $2000, and an Elevator Pitch prize of $500 all went to a student business called Citrimer. The Williamson Award for Outstanding Business and Engineering Team ($5000) went to BeatNami.

In SeaSpider’s presentation, they drew attention to the fact that conserving Earth’s most sensitive and biodiverse environments protects human health as well as our oceans. Joe started this venture as an idea formed from his experiences growing up in coastal communities. Adam joined after hearing about the project from Joe, and wanted to join SeaSpider’s mission. As a result of the competition, the money will allow them to jumpstart their business, and fund research and development to optimize their algorithm and test it with hardware.

An expert judging panel of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial specialists were brought on by Zell Lurie Institute for the Michigan Business Challenge. The Challenge is a campus-wide, multi-round business plan competition, of which the Seigle Impact Track is a subset focused on entrepreneurial student ventures aimed at social  and/or environmental impact.  The competition is open to all students of the University of Michigan, and multidisciplinary teams are encouraged. 

PODCAST: From the Lab: Innovations for the Green Energy Transition

In this episode of Social Impact Design for Business, Jerry Davis of Michigan Ross’ +Impact Studio interviews Margaret Woolridge, Director of the Institute for Energy Solutions; Andre Boehman of UM Mechanical Engineering; Michael Craig of the UM School of Environment and Sustainability and the Institute for Energy Solutions; Neil Dasgupta of UM Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and Johanna Mathieu of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science  In this episode, Jerry asked all of them to briefly share what they felt were the most intriguing and promising new innovations in green energy that inspire them. They discussed everything from waste heat to batteries to dimethyl ether to new power grid work to exciting new governmental policies. 

 

 

U-M startup joins White House partnership to remove lead pipes

By Jeff Karoub
Michigan News

A University of Michigan startup that helped accelerate the removal of dangerous lead pipes in Flint and many other communities has joined a White House partnership aimed at replacing all of the nation’s lead service lines in a decade.

Eric Schwartz, BlueConduit’s co-founder and an associate professor of marketing at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, gathered last week with representatives of roughly 100 other organizations at a summit to launch the Biden-Harris Get the Lead Out Partnership.

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