Press Releases
Detroit Free Press
April 29, 2005
Two days a week, Andrew Green, a University of Michigan graduate student, works with kids in an after-school program at Robinson Middle School in Detroit. Some days, they talk about getting good grades and other times they talk about staying away from drugs.
But some days they just have fun. On Thursday, about 35 kids went on a field trip to the Bronco Lanes in Warren to bowl a few frames.
Green, who is studying for his master's degree in social work at U-M, is also an AmeriCorps volunteer doing an internship with the middle school program, known as Youth on the Edge of Greatness, as part of his studies. He is one of dozens of U-M students, faculty and staff working in community programs in Detroit.
On Thursday, U-M officials announced the creation of a new hub for the programs in a U-M Detroit Center. It's to be housed in a 10,500-square-foot space on the first floor of Orchestra Place, next to the Max M. Fisher Music Center on Woodward Avenue.
The center, scheduled to open in the fall, will provide office and conference space for U-M staff from 18 departments and also create an incubator to hatch new programs.
“Providing a home for our many Detroit projects in the heart of the city's cultural center makes us more visible and accessible and enables us to be part of its revitalization,” U-M President Mary Sue Coleman said in a news release.
Anne Parsons, president and executive director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, said U-M's move to Orchestra Place will help revitalize the Orchestra Hall neighborhood and stimulate development.
“Thrilled is the only word that's appropriate,” Parsons said Thursday. “We've long been looking for tenants and I can't think of a better choice than U-M.”
Green, 22, who grew up in Brighton, said he enjoys working with the diverse community of students at Robinson and sees it as an opportunity to implement some of the things he has learned in his classes. He started a student leadership council to give students a chance to plan activities.
“I've learned more about the kids and how they want to help the community,” Green said. “We've also started a parent involvement initiative to help families plan healthy activities.”
Aimee LaLonde, site coordinator for the Robinson program, said Green, the only male employee in the program, provides a good role model for the kids.
“It's important to have someone the boys can identify with and for girls to see a respectful male,” she said. “It will be hard for us when he has to leave.”
Carl Williams, an eighth-grader at Robinson, has participated in the program for two years.
“I like Andrew; he's cool,” said Carl, 14, of Detroit. “He keeps me out of trouble. I learn about jobs, how to eat healthy and stay away from drugs. Otherwise, I'd be at home watching TV or hanging out at the basketball court.”
The schools that plan to use the U-M center for outreach programs, in addition to Social Work, include art and design, education, information, public health, nursing, and natural resources and environment. The A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the U-M Dearborn campus will also use the new space.
Larry Gant, an associate professor of social work at U-M, will set up shop in the new center for his Center for Urban Innovation, a partnership with Detroit community organizations to provide wireless technology for the city.
The $520,000 cost for the center will be shared by the colleges and the provost's office, according to U-M officials, who signed a 5-year lease Thursday.
BY MARYANNE GEORGE
FREE PRESS ANN ARBOR BUREAU