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The University of Michigan has developed a collection of educational resources designed to help scholars, teachers, and learners at U-M and around the world examine the significance of Kamala Harris’ historic ascension to the U.S. vice presidency.

The Democracy & Debate Theme Semester, in partnership with the National Center for Institutional Diversity in LSA, has launched the Kamala Harris Public Syllabus, which seeks to contextualize the inauguration of the first woman of color to hold the nation’s second-highest office.

The syllabus reflects a national collaborative effort. A call inviting suggestions for books, articles, podcasts and other educational material was issued to scholars across the nation, with NCID receiving more than 100 suggestions. The submissions were curated by an editorial board of U-M faculty and staff.

The materials are designed for classroom use and other avenues of critical engagement and debate. The editorial board anticipates that the collected materials will find their way into course syllabi and areas of engaged learning over the summer and well into the fall semester as Harris’ legacy and the Biden-Harris administration continue to unfold.

Angela Dillard, Professor of Afroamerican & African Studies

“This collective public syllabus project is as much about the future as the past and the present,” said Angela Dillard, chair of the theme semester’s academic advisory committee, and professor of history, and of Afroamerican and African studies.

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Read Full Story on Michigan Impact: This is Michigan

It’s the first presidential election since Michigan voters approved a 2018 proposal to vote by absentee ballot without stating a reason. Add in the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s been a huge increase in ballot requests, inundating clerk’s offices as they work long hours to keep up. A lot of their time is spent answering phone calls from voters wanting to know if their ballot has been sent or received by the clerk.

Part of the Citizen Design Interaction program, students worked with the Secretary of State’s office. As the team interviewed some of the 1,500 township and city clerks across Michigan, they kept hearing the resource challenges offices faced with extraordinarily high demand for mail-in ballots.

Using a process pioneered by Nick Sexton and Steve Gerhart from the city of Ann Arbor, the team worked with municipal IT departments to create and pilot an automated email notification system. As clerks update information in the statewide Qualified Voter File about ballot status, emails are automatically sent to voters in those cities and townships.

Read Full Story on Michigan Impact: This is Michigan

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Troy, Alabama. Selma. Nashville. Washington, DC. John Lewis’ journey bore witness to the trials and tribulations of the civil rights movement. Please join us for an important conversation on the biographic documentary about the life of this legendary civil rights pioneer, activist, and congressman, John Lewis: Good Trouble. Moderated by Robert M. Sellers, Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, the panel includes Jim Burnstein, Director of of the Screenwriting Program; Sydney Carr, graduate student in Public Policy and Political Science and president of Students of Color of Rackham; Edie Goldenberg, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science and founder of the voting advocacy group Turn Up Turnout; and Riana Anderson, Assistant Professor of Public Health and founder of EMBRace (Engaging, Managing, and Bonding through Race).

Sponsored by: The Democracy & Debate Theme Semester and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, The University of Michigan.

If you are having trouble registering for this event please contact [email protected]

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