Our commencements are always memorable, for sure. Honorary degree luminaries and 20,000-plus in the Big House virtually guarantee a good time. But this weekend seemed especially meaningful and joyful.

I was struck first by President Coleman’s speech at University Graduate Exercises Friday morning. She noted the bombing in Boston as coinciding with the conclusion of the students’ graduate studies this spring. But, she said, it was a powerful reminder that the pursuit of knowledge, and critical thinking, is the antidote for conjecture and prejudice.

“We are in dire need of great minds eager to collaborate and create. Great minds to develop solutions to problems that sometimes seem overwhelming—crises like disease, hunger, and wanton acts of violence.”

“There is nothing more powerful than a worthy idea.”

Graduate Exercises concluded with a touching moment. At the very end of a long line of grads waiting to be hooded was 90-year-old Kenneth Wykoff. He received his doctorate in 1958, but couldn’t attend graduation due to the commitments of life already upon him. His family worked with the chemistry department to fulfill that long-lost opportunity, and (with a little help) he walked across the stage to shake President Coleman’s hand.

Then campus turned its collective attention to the grand party that is undergraduate commencement in Michigan Stadium. It is a spectacle! Thousands of enthusiastic graduates and their families fill the stands, lots of smiles and tears of joy. Our guest speaker put a national spotlight on this year’s festivities, and the hashtag #MGoGrad trended nationally during the time we were in the Big House. We had fun scrolling tweets on the enormous video boards during portions of the program, too.

A former stand-up comedian, Costolo drew huge laughs from the crowd when he started his address by taking a photo of the audience and tweeting it to his 1 million followers. “Don’t worry, I’m a professional. This will only take a second,” he deadpanned. (I managed to get a quick Vine—though the sound quality is poor because of the wind, you’ll get the idea.) The video of Costolo’s speech has garnered more than 84,000 views so far.

Certainly Costolo’s humor and the cultural relevance of social media made a powerful impact on Saturday’s graduation ceremony. But it was his message that sticks with me still. He told the students of his time in acting class while a computer science student here at Michigan, and later taking a risk on improvisational comedy in Chicago. His performance teachers taught him to be in the moment, and he urged our newly minted graduates to do the same.

“There is no script, ” he said.

Costolo reflected that it didn’t feel authentic to him to urge the grads to go out and make a difference; rather, trust that if they are bold, make courageous choices and bet on themselves, they certainly will have a positive impact on the world.

Finally home (exhausted!) late Saturday afternoon, I scrolled through all the tweets that used the commencement hashtag. What a dynamic, diverse, multi-dimensional snapshot of a milestone event: so many voices, messages of congratulations, moment-in-time images, nostalgic tears.

So much celebration, and so much fun, captured in a scrolling ticker tape of 140 characters.

Here’s one from U-M football star and graduating senior Denard Robinson, who delayed Jaguars training camp by a day so he could attend the ceremonies.

Every #MGoGrad gotta start the wave right after @dickc!!

— Denard Robinson (@DenardX) May 4, 2013

 
I hope you enjoy this slideshow of terrific images from the event courtesy of our talented Michigan Photography staff.

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

Dick Costolo tweeting with U-M football

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

President Mary Sue Coleman

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Commencement address by Twitter CEO and U-M alumnus Richard (Dick) Costolo.

Richard Costolo (Dick Costolo)

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Commencement address by Twitter CEO and U-M alumnus Richard (Dick) Costolo.

Richard Costolo (Dick Costolo), President Mary Sue Coleman

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Commencement address by Twitter CEO and U-M alumnus Richard (Dick) Costolo.

President Mary Sue Coleman

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement.

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

Reserve Officers' Training Corps

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement. Photo by Amy Majka

Events, Amy Majka

5/4/13 Spring General Commencement.

Six undergrads hailing from different academic units converged last week to share their driving passion: entrepreneurship at Michigan. They are the leadership of our student entrepreneurship organization called MPowered, more than 100 students strong, and they blew me away with their enthusiasm, commitment and pure smarts.

Shiva Kilaru, who started as a pre-med major, described it this way: “I discovered these crazy MPowered kids one day, a whole ecosystem of doers and dreamers.”

And what an impact they’ve made on campus! MPowered now counts count 1 in every 7 U-M students as participants in its many entrepreneurial activities.

Maybe the best-known MPowered program is “1,000 Pitches.” It’s the largest student-run business pitch competition in the country, but after four years it is now inaccurately named; in 2012 it clocked more than 4,500 business ideas from undergraduate and graduate students. Talk about enthusiasm for business and innovation.

This year our campus garnered a lot of attention for another creative program, the MHacks Hackathon, bringing 550 students from the United States and Canada to compete in what is described as playful, problem-solving computer programming. We’ve called it “hacking for good.”

We talked about what makes entrepreneurship at Michigan so exciting, and so different. The environment for faculty and student entrepreneurs has gained tremendous momentum on campus over the last several years, as I wrote about in an earlier post. But what is special about U-M?

Well, let’s start with scale and scope. Because of the university’s tremendous breadth and depth of academic programs, there is a wealth of cross-discipline opportunity. Junior Ridhisha Rughani said our students take full advantage of this, and the start-up ideas they’ve seen cover an enormous range of territory. This isn’t just a tech sector thing.

Here’s a cool example: Computer science sophomore Shreyas Parat told me about his start-up company, founded by students in ecology, organizational studies, and mechanical engineering. They’re re-using wastewater from a brewery process to create organic fertilizer.

As we talked about U-M’s particular brand of entrepreneurship, though, we zeroed in on what I think is an especially important differentiator. More and more students are socially minded and focused on impact. “It’s not about the tech, per se, it’s about doing something that will make a difference in the world,” said student Scott Christopher.

That rings true for U-M entrepreneurship, but it sounds a heck of a lot like the university community as a whole, too. Broad and deep, smart, global, collaborative, and impactful: the characteristics that truly make Michigan shine.

MPowered Leadership Teams

That was my Facebook post during this year’s NCAA basketball championship game. One of my favorite comments from a friend, in response: “Supraventricular tachycardia? Or it means you’re a Wolverine.”

As I watched the U-M men’s basketball team during this year’s March Madness, I was again fascinated by the effect social media has had on our interactions with one another, and the way our stakeholders can now engage in real time with the larger university community. We’ve created a communal living room. Now, watching a sporting event often means your phone or your laptop is with you on the couch, so you can monitor the Twitter feed, offer virtual high-fives after victories or collectively grieve a loss.

We saw an astonishing social media phenomenon during the Final Four. It was a University of Michigan group hug, around the world. I’ve compiled some of the eye-popping stats in this infographic.

The university’s social media teams worked hard to engage stakeholders in exciting and creative ways. As Hunter Lochmann, Michigan Athletics marketing director, says, “It’s easy to go along for the ride but from what I saw all of our social media teams were ’50 Win Ready.’” That’s how Hunter, who hails from the NBA, describes being ready and able to capitalize on success when it comes (i.e., a 50-win season). Our communications teams were prepared, producing just-in-time graphics and other real-time content to maximize the momentum generated from the tournament.

“The Alumni Association utilized the tournament as a catalyst to serve as a connector to alumni around the world. We wanted to take them on a virtual journey to the tournament and on the alumni tour, ” says Tonja Deegan, senior digital marketing manager for the Alumni Association.

And she was right. Here’s a terrific comment, translated from Mandarin, from U-M’s presence on the Chinese micro blog Weibo:

“Supporting this team gave me so much enjoyment and great memories. A team that makes everyone so proud can embody the school’s spirit, making all of Michigan’s alumni students and teachers gather together. This made my friends at other schools cheer for Michigan just like it’s their team, too. You guys made us proud. Forever go blue!”

Both the Alumni Association and the men’s basketball team offered behind-the-scenes images and original content. Michigan Athletics embedded a student tweeter with the team, providing tremendous “special access” glimpses. Throughout the tournament, @Umichbball tweeted more than 1,000 times. The central university social media channels were busy as well, offering unique, branded content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine.

The NCAA tournament produced big increases in new followers as well as engagement across all of our social platforms. During the tournament, the central U-M Facebook page gained 10,184 fans, a 64 percent increase over last year, and saw fan interactions at 5 times the rate of our peers. Central Twitter activities resulted in 4 to 29 times our normal reach, resulting in twice the typical week’s increase in followers during the Final Four weekend.

And we had fun. One of our most popular Facebook posts was a series of photos featuring a U-M basketball showing up in various well-recognized locations across campus.

But perhaps I was most amazed by this story:

At the end of the championship game, my team posted a strong Block M graphic with the simple words “Thank You” on the U-M Facebook page. It spoke volumes about our global community’s overwhelming support, but also its grace in handling a tough loss. We didn’t win, but we sure were proud of our team. And we had all been together for the ride.

The graphic expressing our collective gratitude was liked 47,187 times and shared more than 18,000 times.

My final tweet after the game:

@lisarudgers: Thank you, @umichbball. What a game, what a run, what a team. Coach Beilein and the Wolverines did us proud. #goblue #forever

###

Please note: I was working on this post before the Boston Marathon bombings took place. In the midst of that tragedy surrounding an athletic event and the fans gathered to watch it, I felt the social media impact of communal heartbreak and support—as well as the fascinating way in which we now experience news gathering. Ford’s social media leader Scott Monty wrote a terrific blog post addressing these issues on Tuesday. I hope you’ll read it.
http://www.scottmonty.com/2013/04/restoring-faith-in-humanity-together.html

Advancing to the Final Four
Photo by Albert Pena for Michigan Photography

I’ll admit it: I haven’t been able to watch an entire U-M men’s basketball game for the last two months. I get too anxious. Instead, my high school son calls out the score occasionally from the TV room, usually only if we’re ahead so as not to worry me. This past weekend’s games were especially emotionally fraught, first pure anxiety and then pure joy.

A while back I wrote about the long time friendship my family has enjoyed with Coach John Beilein’s clan. I think it’s the personal connection that makes this feel so different for me. I can imagine what coaches’ families must go through year in and year out!

I have read a lot lately about John Beilein’s sense of integrity, of doing what’s right. John’s way of going through life reflects the deeply held values I saw in his parents, Art and Josephine. I think often of his mom, especially. Our family called her “Mrs. B,” though more often than not her kids called her Josephine. She was an early role model for me—smart, sassy, outspoken about the things she believed in, a person of great faith and great humor. Usually we saw each other at Mass or when she was visiting with my mom and grandmother, but we had the chance to spend more time together the year she was my sponsor for a religious award I earned through scouting.

Our hometown apple trees, a defining characteristic of the region

Her son John has worked hard, held true to his values, followed in family footsteps to become one of the nation’s best basketball coaches and teachers. He made good on grabbing his own bright future. All of us who grew up in a tiny, rural part of western New York have watched his career with pride. We see our hometown in him. We share a sense of family and community with him.

So you can imagine how nervous I’ll be this weekend. Good luck to our men’s basketball team and to a coach who is the very definition of a “Michigan Man.” Go Blue!

Cellist Amit Peled.
Photo by Czarnecki-Dempsey Photos.

Two performances took my breath away: the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra with Israeli-born cellist Amit Peled Friday night, and Yo-Yo Ma with his Silk Road Ensemble Saturday night. Len and I brought our 14-year-old son (a high school cellist) to both events, thinking we might have to twist his arm to be immersed in so much complex music all in one weekend. Far from it. He was at the edge of his seat during each.

Here in Ann Arbor, we often struggle to describe just how vibrant and rich a quality of life we enjoy. It’s hard to put your finger on, exactly. We talk about our food scene, more exciting all the time, combined with the energy of Main Street. We note with pride the depth and breadth of our cultural collections. We revel in the global diversity of our community and the special quirkiness of our collective personality. Our family shorthand for all of this is “only in Ann Arbor.”

There was something particularly striking about this weekend’s special events, though. It was proof positive that the Ann Arbor region and the University of Michigan mix together complementary and astonishing “town-gown” strengths. It’s a potent brew for community engagement with the arts.

The 85-year-old Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra performed at the historic Michigan Theater Friday night under the direction of conductor Arie Lipsky. Originally home to vaudeville and silent films, the Michigan Theater’s opulent design and marquee are iconic, and the theater has become a cultural centerpiece in the city. At the beginning of Friday evening’s event, the organizers announced the completion of their “Pursuit of the Podium” fundraiser, raising money for the symphony’s community education programs reaching 50,000 young people in a five-county area.

Arie Lipsky and Evan Chambers shake hands.
Photo by Czarnecki-Dempsey Photos.

The program was stunning. A percussion-crazy piece called
Crazed for the Flame, composed by U-M’s Evan Chambers, set the audience on fire. Chambers, chair of composition at U-M’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance, was in the house, which made it even more special. And then Elgar’s gorgeous Cello Concerto, performed by Amit Peled of the Peabody School in Baltimore. His expressive style and huge cello sound were unforgettable. And finally, we heard the Scheherazade, a wonderful collection of Arabian Night stories featuring most of the individual instruments in the orchestra. The talent on stage was truly impressive, including the Julliard-trained concertmaster Aaron Berofsky.

We were blown away by the performance and the musicianship.

On Saturday night we celebrated the University Musical Society’s 18th annual Ford Honors Program. I love this gala benefit because it raises money for UMS education and community engagement activities locally and regionally, providing free or low-cost opportunities for K-12 students, teachers, families, and cultural communities. The Ford Motor Company Fund has supported the initiative for all 18 years, even through very hard times in our state. The DTE Energy Foundation is a major sponsor, too, enabling the program to recognize “School of the Year” and “Educator of the Year” awards highlighting exemplary arts education. This year Carpenter Elementary School in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Public Schools teacher Matt Kazmierski won the honors.

Carpenter’s music teacher Laura Machida said during the dinner that the special events through the UMS education program change her students’ lives, when they have the chance to talk with actors or hear music performed or take part in artistic workshops offered at little or often no cost.

Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble.
Photo by Mark Gjukich.

The main attraction on Saturday evening was, of course, famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. He brought his Silk Road Ensemble to perform a sold-out show in our very special Hill Auditorium. Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble each received 2013 Distinguished Artist Awards. What a night! Ma’s vision for the Silk Road Project was evident, connecting instruments and musical traditions from around the world with one another, and bringing that cultural diversity to an audience with warmth and enthusiasm.

Yo-Yo Ma’s written message in the program not only reflected his Silk Road Project but more broadly our university and region as well. “I have met and been guided by musicians who share my wonder at the creative potential that exists where cultures intersect.”

Where can you find 65 professional orchestra members; two world-class cellists; 15 international musicians (playing instruments including the kamancheh, gaita and shakuhachi)—all in 48 hours?

Only in Ann Arbor.

NPR correspondent Michele Norris was joking when she opened her discussion with President Mary Sue Coleman and U-M’s leadership team as we met this week to discuss “The Race Card Project,” a creative initiative Norris brought to the university. It is part of LSA’s exceptional theme semester called Understanding Race.

Norris created The Race Card Project two years ago after writing her memoir Grace of Silence, exploring her own family’s attitudes and experiences with race. (It’s an amazing set of stories, and I wrote about it when Norris gave the 2012 MLK Day address here on campus.) She believes that while the subjects of race and cultural identity can be challenging, she might encourage a deeper conversation using a creative framework.

“I always hated the ‘race card’ phrase, since it so often shuts down what should be a meaningful discussion,” she says. In using the term as the provocative name of her project—and creating actual 3×5 cards—she hoped instead to “stoke” the conversation about race and ethnicity in America today. One more thing: She has asked people across the country, and now the world, to describe their thoughts in only six words.

Her message on the card describes her invitation: “Your experiences, thoughts, triumphs, laments or anthem expressed in just six words,” she writes. “Get busy. I’m listening.”

Norris has received more than 20,000 cards and online submissions so far.

“There’s been an incredible outpouring and candor about topics that allegedly folks didn’t want to talk about. People want to be heard,” she says. And even though it can take us into uncomfortable places, Norris asserts, it can start a healthier, honest dialogue from which we can all learn.

Several of the executive officers shared with me their own six-word statements.

Vice President and General Counsel Tim Lynch:
Thank God we all look different.

Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs Ora Pescovitz:
Diversity leads to discovery of self.

President Coleman:
Race still matters in educational opportunity.

And mine, reflecting my hope that Norris’s work will contribute more light than heat to an often-prickly subject:
Talking about race shouldn’t divide us.

Describing human experience in just six words can’t tell the whole story. But the creative exercise of framing a piece of your personal narrative in this way, and sharing it, helps build a larger and a more meaningful dinner table conversation where we can all have a voice.

Join the campus dialogue, and see what people are saying at the U-M Race Card Project website.

During the trip, we visited the University of Havana as well as a host of cultural and educational institutions. My fellow travel mates and I wanted to move beyond a tourist’s approach to international tours; we took a deeper dive, pushing past the stereotypes and sound bites. Our experiences will stay with me forever. The trip expanded my knowledge about the country, for sure. But I also felt a little wiser, more reflective, about the world and its interdependency.

U-M students with schoolchildren in Matanzas

I was reminded of this when I contacted U-M anthropology professor Ruth Behar. She is in Cuba now with 13 University of Michigan students, mostly juniors and seniors. The team is in the country for an intensive 11-week study program. They’re exploring Cuban literature, music, art, and film. They’re taking courses in ethnography and cultural anthropology, visiting museums, synagogues, neighborhoods and schools. They are honing their Spanish language skills.

“Students learn a great deal about Cuba and in the process gain deep lessons about life,” says Professor Behar.

The challenge of adapting to another culture to more fully engage and appreciate it is a tremendous growth experience for young people. Heck, it is for any of us. That’s why my friend, engineering professor and associate dean James Holloway argues that when students go abroad—for either full-term study abroad or other kinds of international experiences—it is not only to develop global competencies such as language competency or cultural awareness.

“These experiences also develop students’ flexibility, communications skills, ability to deal with the unexpected as well as to overcome barriers,” he wrote to me in a recent email.

Dean Holloway argues that not only will Professor Behar’s students come to know Cuba better, they’ll know their own culture better as well. They’ll think differently because of the experience of adjusting to a different context, way outside their comfort zones.

Cuba is changing quickly and intensely, as Professor Behar and I discussed during our exchange. Our students studying there will gain tremendous insights into what those changes mean for Cuban society. They’ll serve as ambassadors who share a greater understanding of Cuba with their American colleagues and families. (All of us who were on the Alumni Association trip feel like this, too. Our personal experiences with the Cuban people—the complexity of the struggles, the stories, and the irrepressible spirit—are not captured in our textbook definition of Cuba’s history.)

Certainly, the U-M students in Havana right now will gain global competencies sure to serve them well as they enter a fast-changing global economy. But perhaps most important, they’ll be wiser and more reflective world citizens.

Below are the photos I took on the Alumni Association trip. Enjoy!

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(172 Photos)

In 1934, Gerald Ford and Willis Ward were best friends as well as Michigan football teammates. Ward, a gifted football and track star, was the only African American player on the team. Ward and Ford were seniors and had high hopes of continuing the Wolverines’ dominance as national champions.

photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library

However, racism intervened.

Storied U-M athletic director Fielding Yost scheduled a match-up against Georgia Tech. He received a letter from the football coach there: “Public sentiment in the southeastern states simply demands that no team in this section play against a negro athlete.”

Word got around about Georgia Tech’s stipulation. Many people on the U-M campus and in the community expressed outrage. More than a thousand students signed a petition urging Yost to let Ward play.

Historian John Bacon tells me that era’s practice of benching black players happened at many Northern schools, but only at Michigan did alumni, faculty, students and players protest in such a loud manner.

In the end, though, Yost ordered coach Harry Kipke to bench Ward. In fact, Ward wasn’t allowed on the field or in Michigan Stadium that day. Ford, the starting center, was incensed, spoke out, threatened to quit the team—and stayed on only at the urging of his best friend.

It was an injustice Willis Ward and Gerald Ford never forgot.

I attended a screening of a documentary detailing this historic shame called “Black and Blue,” hosted as part of the university’s Martin Luther King Day ceremonies. Ford’s son Steve and Ward’s grandson Buzz Thomas were guests and panelists.

“The Willis Ward story is the pearl of who dad was,” said Ford. He described his father’s later support for the Voting Rights Act of 1964, his opposition of popular sentiment when pardoning Richard Nixon, and his support of affirmative action.

photo courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Library

Sixty-five years after the Willis Ward incident, President Ford reflected on it when he wrote in the New York Times about U-M’s defense of its admissions policies before the U.S. Supreme Court: “I don’t want future college students,” he said, “to suffer the cultural and social impoverishment that afflicted my generation.”

As I watched and listened last week, I was struck by the power of a lifelong friendship. The film includes footage of a 1976 interview with Ward, who went on to earn a law degree and become a judge. He describes how the young Ford had to step outside “the normal conduct” to be friends. “Now it’s quite easy to be a friend of a black person,” but it was not so in 1930s America.

“He was a man even though he was only 17 years old,” Ward says.

One of my favorite photos in the film is of Ward and Ford—well into their 60s—in the Oval Office. Ward visited for a college reunion of sorts. The broad smiles on both faces clearly illustrated their affection for one another—all those years later.

Courage, friendship and grace when it mattered most? It matters still.

You can watch Steve Ford and Buzz Thomas at U-M’s Ford School of Public Policy discussing “Black and Blue” here: http://www.fordschool.umich.edu/video/newest/2117348340001/

President Ford’s op-ed about affirmative action, and Willis Ward, can be found here: http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/speeches/990808.asp

Oh, one other thing. All 10 members of the team are seniors at Michigan.

Meet Filmic. 

“This couldn’t have happened at another university, I’m convinced of it,” said founding member Josh Buoy. “Everyone trusted us, brought us to the table, and had the confidence we could deliver. We’ve just had so many opportunities.”

I asked Josh and his teammates Chris Duncan and Roddy Hyduk how Filmic was launched. They entered a film contest together as part of an independent project: How To Fry an Egg in 30 Seconds. It came in fifth of 200 entries—and they were off.

“We were really able to carve our own path,” said Roddy.

These young creatives have an irrepressible entrepreneurial energy. And in the past two years they have been all over campus producing terrific video stories. I wrote about their public service announcement starring U-M alum and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard in one of my earliest posts. Also, we worked together on a welcome back message this fall called “This is Michigan.”

But my favorite Filmic project debuted a few weeks ago. The team collaborated with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to produce a video for newly admitted students. Can you imagine waiting nervously for word from Michigan and receiving this?

At more than 68,000 views so far, it is one of the university’s most popular short videos ever.

This year I invited Josh, Chris and Roddy to participate in a series of brand/marketing meetings. Since they are “living the brand” as students, I wanted their input in our larger discussion of how best to express the university’s most differentiating characteristics. “The Letter M” video is a perfect example of just how good they are at this! Their perspective is fresh but also extremely insightful. 

Listening to their feedback during last week’s meeting, I thought about the University of Michigan’s “special sauce.” What happens when smart young people join an entrepreneurial, collegial community with a “carve-your-own-path-and-make-a-difference-in-the-world” attitude? Both the students and the university are forever changed. For the greater good.

Thank you to all the founding members of the Filmic team (listed below). They’ll all graduate this spring, but they tell me they are training the next generation of student filmmakers. Can’t wait to meet you, Filmic NextGen.

Christina Bender (Senior; Northville, MI; Communications and Screen Arts & Cultures)
Josh Buoy (Northville, MI; Organizational Studies)
Steven Coffey (Fenton, MI; Screen Arts & Cultures)
Taylor Davis (Ann Arbor, MI; Informatics)
Chris Duncan (St. Louis, MO; Screen Arts & Cultures)
Stephanie Hamel (Northville, MI; Pharmacy)
Rodney Hyduk (Bloomfield Hills, MI; Screen Arts & Cultures)
Joe Kasper (Grand Rapids, MI; Business)
Emily Lyon (Bethesda, MD; BFA Directing)
Nicolas Ureño (Ann Arbor, MI; Screen Arts & Cultures)

Filmic’s work can be found here: http://filmicproductions.com/

But when we think about it that way we are missing the point. Social media has fundamentally changed how we communicate with one another and with our stakeholders. It’s time for us to stop treating it as an add-on, as if social media activity is a superficial or insubstantial diversion. The University’s vision for social media must be strategic and far-reaching if Michigan is to remain relevant in 2013 and beyond.

Let’s first consider a few basic statistics for context. The University has experienced dramatic growth in social media activity over the past year:

• Tripled @umich Twitter followers, from 9,900 to 30.2K.
• Generated 100K new “likes” to the U-M Facebook page.
• Launched Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr accounts (Instagram is averaging 520 new followers a month).
• Established the @umichstudents Twitter feed that features a different student tweeter each week.
• Launched an account on Weibo, China’s popular micro blog, with stories and photo captions in Mandarin. With more than 5,000 followers so far, U-M is now the most influential American university on the platform, according to Weibo analytics.

Across campus we see schools and units jumping into the conversation, and in areas such as athletics we are among the leaders in the country (the Michigan Football Facebook page reached 1 million subscribers recently).

But the number of “likes” or followers is not the only important part of the story. It isn’t just about volume, but rather three game-changing characteristics of social media:

A Real Voice

I see this in my own blog exploration, and value it highly for U-M. Social media is not institutional-speak. Our social presence can offer personality, life, vibrancy, emotion. I love how real-time connection and sharing a personal, authentic voice via social media have become defining characteristics of my professional role and personal lifestyle.

The University of Michigan is comprised of wonderful, diverse, smart people pursuing life-changing work with passion. When we’re fully immersed in social networks, our individual and collective personalities shine through. For the first time in my career, I can write in my own voice—as informal and stream-of-consciousness as it sometimes is—and indulge in first-person storytelling. (Using my own photography has been fun, too.)

Social media allows us to express warmth, compassion and humor—instead of simply relaying facts and figures.

Global Reach

Universities often struggle to communicate effectively internationally. No matter how many miles away from Ann Arbor they may be, alumni want their alma mater to have a presence in their lives and prospective students want a feel for campus.

Social media gives us the best opportunity ever to connect and deliver—in real-time—across the globe.

Here are two quick example of social media’s international reach.

In December, U-M’s student film company Filmic produced a great short video for newly admitted students.  Students who received it then shared it, and we shared the link across many U-M social networks as well. I just checked on YouTube where the video has 64,400(!) views so far, mostly in the U.S. but also in 109 countries around the world.

I took this photo of my beloved Cube after the first snow of the season this year. We posted it on Weibo, where it was among the most popular images of our “year in review.”

Two-Way Connection and Engagement 

Words like “connection” and “engagement” often sound too much like gobbledygook, and yet it is so critical we understand the value of connecting with—not simply talking at—others.

Social media builds in an expectation that feedback is invited, that a conversation is encouraged. This is scary, sometimes, because before the advent of online and social media, information was fashioned and shepherded in a one-way stream.

During a campus visit this fall, U-M alumnus and Twitter CEO Dick Costolo compared what is happening now with Twitter to the agora, the marketplaces of ancient Greece: Information is free flowing and unfiltered.  People are talking directly with one another, without gatekeepers determining what gets through.  Everyone has a voice.

As we become more comfortable with all these voices, we also realize the tremendous benefits of listening. “When you can hear what the world is thinking, the implications are really cool,” said Costolo. He’s right. We can engage more deeply and broadly. We can be more responsive and more proactive. We can teach and learn in different ways. We can sense one another’s humanness.

Every day I see astonishing statistics about our digitally connected, ever more mobile world.  Dick Costolo told us we now send 1 billion tweets every two and a half days.

The implications for higher education range from prospective students to pedagogy to alumni relations and philanthropy. My social media New Year’s resolution—both personally and professionally—calls for more tweeting, blogging and photo sharing in 2013. I love the opportunity to connect my U-M experiences with thousands of readers.

Social media gives all of us opportunities for diverse voices and global engagement never before imagined. We need to be at the forefront of this most fascinating time in communication.