Learn more about our exciting plans for our new, environmentally sustainable building on U-M’s Central Campus that will enhance our focus on community engagement and student learning. We'll be ready to move back in Spring of 2025--and you can watch the progress on the webcam!
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We are a community and civic engagement center with a mission to cultivate and steward equitable partnerships between communities and the University of Michigan in order to advance social change for the public good. Based upon this mission, our vision is for inclusive democracy; thriving, diverse communities; and equity and social justice.
Our work centers around translating our principles into action through:
- Partnerships: We cultivate an expansive network of community partners (nonprofits, local governments, and K-12 schools), surface community-identified priorities, and connect them with students, faculty, and staff who are invested in positive social change.
- Preparation: We prepare and support students and faculty and staff to create socially just community engagement experiences through advising, consulting, trainings and grants
- Pathways: We encourage the development of lifelong habits of civic learning through multiple pathways to civic engagement & community change.
At Ginsberg (Our Blog)
Our blog shares emerging stories around Ginsberg's work at U-M and in the communities beyond. From profiles to match stories to announcements, you'll find a wealth of information below.
Students engage in democracy: New data shows increase in U-M student voting
Wolverines turned out for voting in 2022—the data is in and student voter turnout was over 52% for the 2022 midterm election! With an average of about 30% turnout for other national institutions, U-M continues to lead in voting. Let's make sure this energy continues through this election season (Nov. 5, 2024, is your LAST day to cast your 2024 general election ballot).
Ginsberg Center welcomes new Graduate Consultants
The Ginsberg Center recently welcomed three new Graduate Consultants to our team. Graduate Consultants are PhD students who help broaden the Center’s capacity to support our academic and community partners, allowing us to sustain invaluable partnerships across U-M’s campus and in Washtenaw County. These students also learn and apply best practices, cultivate their leadership skills, and form relationships with other students, academic, and community partners.
Ginsberg Center names three Graduate Impact Award winners
The Ginsberg Center is proud to announce the winners of our Graduate Impact Awards. These awards recognize graduate student employees whose work makes a substantial impact in advancing the Center’s mission and for their dedication to community-engaged work.
Ginsberg Center hosts winter Student Grant Showcase
On April 4, the Ginsberg Center hosted its winter Student Grant Showcase which featured the work of several community-engaged student organizations. The Center awarded over $15,000 of grant funds this academic year across 21 student organization initiatives. These grants include both alternative break grants and community engagement grants supported by donor funds from Bill & Inger Ginsberg, as well as Delta Delta Delta Ann Arbor Area Alumnae Chapter which supports our grants for fraternities and sororities.
Student Organization Spotlight: Detroit Partnership gears up for annual DP Day
The Detroit Partnership, a student organization sponsored by the Ginsberg Center, is gearing up for its annual DP Day, a single day of service that hosts hundreds of student volunteers across various spaces on campus and allocates them across community partner sites throughout the city of Detroit. Detroit Partnership is approaching almost 25 years of celebrating DP Day and is looking to get more students involved.
Ginsberg students provide intercultural workshops at senior housing center
The Ginsberg Center recently matched University of Michigan students with a service opportunity at Cranbrook Tower Apartments, an affordable senior housing complex in Ann Arbor.
Turn Up Turnout breaks Dinners for Democracy attendance record
Turn Up Turnout (TUT), a student organization sponsored by the Ginsberg Center, recently broke their in-person event attendance record at their recurring event series Dinners for Democracy. Dinners for Democracy are nonpartisan presentations and small group discussions on topics that are important and relevant to students. TUT broke their attendance record on Jan. 16 during their "How to Be a Good Follower of Local Politics" event, which saw over 30 attendants.
Ginsberg History Timeline
Check out key moments from our 30+ years of the Center's History which includes how the Center has served as a catalyst for student engagement with local communities, source of support for scholars and community members and incubator for numerous programs now established across campus.
Ginsberg Center develops student leaders for social change
The Ginsberg Center offers numerous leadership opportunities for students that allow them to explore and deepen their skills. To demonstrate the impact of these opportunities, we share information about our various programs as well as highlights from our current students and alumni. We invite students to learn more about us and get involved.
Landscape architecture professor leads community-engaged charge in Detroit
After coming to the University of Michigan in 2020 to teach, Lisa DuRussel quickly found a community and a home with the Ginsberg Center. A landscape architect by trade, DuRussel, Assistant Professor of Practice in U-M’s School for Environment & Sustainability, teaches courses and seminars that cover topics including ecological design, planting design and community engagement.
Find volunteer opportunities related to your interests on our portal!
Connect2Community is managed by the Ginsberg Center, in collaboration with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.
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