History

Founded in 1998 following University of Michigan's Year of the Humanities and Arts, Arts of Citizenship has played an important role in building the university's capacity in public scholarship by supporting collaborations between UM faculty and community organizations, arts groups, K-12 educational institutions, theater groups, museums and media institutions. The results have been projects ranging from public exhibits with the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County to productions with the Matrix and Mosaic Theaters in Detroit. In the process, Arts of Citizenship helped make the University of Michigan a national leader in public scholarship.

In 2006, with support of bridging funds from the Office of the Vice President for Research, Arts of Citizenship conducted a strategic planning process to reformulate the program's goals and structure to enhance institutional sustain ability and capacity building. This process involved over 60 faculty, staff, and graduate students along with a number of community partners. We presented our conclusions in a proposal to the University of Michigan's Provost's office in the fall of 2006.

We are pleased to report that in January 2007,University of Michigan's Provost's Office committed to three years of support for Arts of Citizenship, including funding for a part-time faculty director, a full-time staff person, and various activities including a grants program for collaborative projects involving UM faculty and graduate students. Please check back for updates as we develop new programs to support and sustain university-community partnerships in the arts, humanities and design!