04/15/2026
Social Work 509: Essentials of Community and Organizational Practice students worked all semester long on community-engaged projects made possible through an Edward Ginsberg Center faculty grant awarded to Dr. Ayesha Ghazi Edwin. This support helped create meaningful opportunities for students to connect rigorous research with real-world civic and community priorities.
Students then presented their final work to the following stakeholders: State Rep. Representative Carrie A. Rheingans, State Rep. Jimmie Wilson Jr., Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor, Ann Arbor City Council Member Cynthia Harrison, Ann Arbor Police Chief Andre Anderson, AAPD Lt. Corey Mills, DNC Climate and Environment Chair Michelle Deatrick, and Executive Director of IHN Alpha House Shonagh Taruza.
Student projects contributed to a state bill to protect student athletes as public employees in universities; helped to restart discussion on a city bill that will protect the unhoused from encampment sweeps; spoke to University of Michigan regents about the need for the proposed data center in Ypsilanti to have a community benefits agreement; evaluated the outreach of the MiCare Bill to determine if their outreach strategy is hitting medically underserved areas in the state; and they presented to the AAPD Chief of Police models of unarmed crises response (the chief subsequently has invited that group to present to senior leadership of AAPD).
Two groups have also been selected to present in front of the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission. We are grateful to the community leaders and partners who took the time to engage with students, and proud to support learning that strengthens public impact and community collaboration through the Ginsberg Center.
