From a startup incubator in the heart of Detroit to a school district in rural northern Michigan, the weeklong Michigan Road Scholars tour of the state energized 29 U-M faculty and staff with new perspectives and ideas for action.
Days and evenings packed with opportunities to listen to community leaders, business owners large and small, students, government officials and nonprofits showed tour participants a side of the state even Michigan natives hadn’t seen before.
Lorraine (Laurie) Buis, Ph.D.
Laurie Buis, assistant professor of family medicine and of information, found the trip invaluable in helping expand her research into informing policy. Her work focuses on the use of mobile technology for chronic disease self-management, especially in underserved populations.
“I’m kind of done having my research stop at publication,” Buis said. “Why am I doing this if I can’t effect change? I want to be a better communicator of my science to the public, and to policymakers. In order to do that I need to see different parts of the state through a different lens.”
“So many things have an impact on our health — for instance education and socioeconomic status. So, getting a better understanding of health issues statewide was important to me.”
John M Carethers , M.D.
The tour sparked an interest in community involvement for John Carethers, professor and chair of internal medicine and professor of human genetics, as he saw challenges he didn’t know existed and ways that organizations are finding to address them.
“I’ve seen that a passionate person can make a big difference in a community,” he said. “We’re a little insulated at the university, and I think we have to be more aware of not only the issues around the state but the power of a community to make a positive difference.”
