Community Partnership

René Pitter, MPH '09, finishes the Race against Hate

Movements toward Health and Each Other

Renée Pitter, MPH ’09

An effort to spread health positivity among Black Michigan alums became a huge success. In the face of so many stories about health inequities and trauma in Black communities, a growing group of Black alums is moving their way to connection, awareness, health, and healing.

Mosquito sitting on a leaf

Do Africans Want Genetically Modified Mosquitoes?

Utibe Effiong, MPH ’14

Genetically modifying mosquitoes to control infectious disease is not a new idea. But all consequences—the good and the bad—of such an intervention must be adequately vetted. And importantly, argues physician and alum Utibe Effiong, local communities should have a say in the process.

A large garden project at Hamady Middle School in Flint, Michigan, co-facilitated by Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES)

Human Resilience, Positive Engagement, and Building on the Strengths of a Great City

Marc Zimmerman

Why do some youth end up engaging in bad behaviors and others do not? Marc Zimmerman has spent his career studying one half of that question—the many positive things youth bring to their communities. For decades, Zimmerman has partnered with colleagues in Flint to explore the many strengths of that city and the most basic forms of community engagement can have huge, positive impact.

Train tracks in downtown Atlanta before the belt line was created

Can Green Space Be Good for Everyone?

Lauren Balotin

Do urban green spaces improve health or widen health disparities? How can cities avoid eco-gentrification and ensure all members of the community provide input when designing greening interventions?

Presenters and other participants in the University of Michigan’s Conference on Race and the Incidence of Environmental Hazards in front of the Dana Building, 1990.

Grass Roots: The Sustainable Shifts that Lead to Environmental Justice

Todd Ziegler, MS ’15

When civil rights leaders, environmentalists, and researchers converged on the university in 1990 for the Conference on Race and the Incidence of Environmental Hazards, they were part of a much larger movement focusing the nation on environmental justice.

1970 Diag Rally

50 Years Later, the Future Awaits

Dean F. DuBois Bowman and Dean Jonathan Overpeck

Fifty years after a Michigan “teach-in” provided a blueprint and momentum for thousands of other events around the country, we must continue looking forward to new iterations of environmental consciousness and care as we seek to be part of the solutions to global climate change.