All Sessions

We're looking forward to having you onboard! This is for trips from campus to DTW before Winter Break. Trips cost $13, and will be billed to your student account.

If your plans change, please make sure to cancel 36 hours before departure to avoid charges.

Looking for a trip back? Just show up at our airport stops! We don't take reservations for trips back. Check out the schedules on our website.

By booking, you agree to the terms of our Contract of Carriage, including our cancellation policy.

Have questions about UMSI graduate programs or the admissions process? Drop into this informal virtual Q&A to connect with a member of the UMSI admissions team and get the information you need.
Students who attend a live session will receive an application fee waiver following the event.

Unlike our Explore and Apply sessions, this event does not include a formal presentation. Instead, the time is dedicated to answering your questions about program options, curriculum, the student experience, application requirements and materials, deadlines, or anything else related to UMSI.

Whether you’re just beginning to explore UMSI, preparing your application, or deciding on your next steps, you’re welcome to join at any point during the session and ask questions.

1 session on January 9, 2026

In Person: This program is offered yearly for U-M Student Life staff free of charge. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a terrific tool for helping people change behavior. It's especially helpful for medical staff (lifestyle changes and medication adherence), therapists/counselors for behavior change to support mental health, faculty (a way to communicate with students about classwork), and academic, leadership, and wellness coaches. Its use is being expanded to Student Life advisers, supervisors, and more. Learn basic, foundational skills for MI, including spirit (Compassion, Acceptance, Partnership, Evocation), OARS (open questions, affirmations, reflections, summaries), identifying and responding to change talk, and a brief overview of discord (if time permits). There will be plenty of practice in "real plays" (you get to work on your own behavior changes that you are ambivalent about--so bring a couple of behaviors you would like to change). While you won't be an expert at MI when you are done, you will be able to start the practice, move forward in your skills, and know how to improve. Please only register if you can attend all of the training dates, as each day builds on prior sessions. All Fridays, all in person, 9 am to 2:30 pm with a 30 minutes lunch break (bring your own lunch or order in).

* Friday, January 8, 9-2:30, location University Health Service (UHS), Meeting Rooms 1&2

* Friday, January 15, 9-2:30, UHS, Meeting Rooms 1&2

* Friday, January 22, 9-2:30,UHS, Meeting Rooms 1&2

* Friday, January 29, 9-2:30,UHS, Meeting Rooms 1&2

** For non-Student Life staff there is a $300 charge for the 20 hours of training. Student Life staff, please note that there may be a $25 charge to your department if there is no cancellation at least three days before the training begins or if you no-show on the first day.**

Rackham program staff and faculty are invited to attend the Rackham Merit Fellowship (RMF) Information Session with the PACE team. During this virtual meeting we will discuss the goals of the RMF program, how to assess eligibility and evaluate for the RMF criteria, review the award process including the new application for RMF allocations, and answer any questions you have about the administration of the fellowship. Whether or not you attend the information session, we encourage you to visit our website or contact the PACE team (rackham-pace@umich.edu or 734-615-5670) with any questions. Zoom meeting details will be provided after registration.

Sarah Ropp, dialogue director, SNF Paideia Program (University of Pennsylvania)

We are excited to announce the Non- and Post-Traditional Student Community Group (NPTCG) Winter 2027 Kickoff Event happening on Friday, January 14, 2027, from 6-8 PM, in the LSA Multipurpose Room (LSA 1040)!
This special, kid-friendly event is designed to create a welcoming and supportive space for non-traditional students (those 24-years or older; returning to education after a significant break; part-time students; those balancing education with other significant life responsibilities such as being a parent/guardian/caretaker; nontraditional completion of high school education; military veteran; or was in the foster-care system 13-years old or older, experiencing home insecurity or family structure) and post-traditional students (those who might have started their academic journey later in life) while they pursue their education at U-M.
If you identity with any one of these identities, this event is a great chance to:
Enjoy free food and swag 🎉
Meet and connect with fellow non- and post-traditional students
Learn about the NPTCG and resources available to support your journey at U-M
Join in on fun activities that celebrate our unique community
Whether you are a current NPTCG member or if this is your first semester at LSA and looking for a community to call your own, we are here for you. So, no matter your path to U-M, we want to build a space that supports your success and offers you a place to belong. You are also welcome to bring guests to this event, such as partners, kids, or family members! We hope you’ll join us for a night of fun and connection!

IPE will host a study abroad funding information session where students can find out how to fund programs abroad using Financial Aid or other funding options.

Join us for an MLK Day of Service at Food Gatherers as we put our values into action and give back to our local community. Together, we’ll help support Food Gatherers’ efforts to alleviate hunger and provide nutritious food to people across Washtenaw County.

Volunteers will help process and sort rescued food, repackage bulk items, or pack boxes for distribution. This hands-on opportunity is a chance to put SEAS’s commitment to sustainability and community engagement into practice through meaningful action close to home, while building connections with members of the SEAS community through service.

Light refreshments will be provided.

Museum of Art

Sign up for a two-hour work session, followed by a hot lunch with colleagues. The Faculty On-Campus Work Retreats offer a quiet space to work with other scholars and artists, and an opportunity for you to prioritize your research and creative work by committing to one or two work sessions before teaching, service, and email take over the semester. Lunch, after the work session, is a chance to share interests and work with other colleagues, to learn about each others’ research, to grow professional and social networks, and to experience the University as a collective.
The Work Retreats are open to all ~7,600 members of the Faculty Senate, including tenure-track professors, lecturers, research faculty, clinical faculty, librarians, archivists, and curators. The series was developed by the Faculty Senate Office, is supported by the Office of the Provost, and is co-sponsored by Librarian Mary Lawrence.

Description:
Explore how generative AI can support a rigorous, advanced approach to pre-registration. This session will demonstrate how researchers can use AI to develop analysis code and create simulated datasets before collecting real-world data—helping them clarify assumptions, test analytical workflows, identify potential problems, and strengthen research transparency and reproducibility.

Rebecca Wollenberg, LSA Judaic Studies

Meagan Mitchell, School of Social Work

We want to make our events accessible to all participants. CART captioning services will be provided for the panel conversation. If you anticipate needing additional accommodations to participate, please email Cherice Chan at chericec@umich.edu.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in the aftermath of Israel’s establishment in 1948 and the Palestinian Nakba, hundreds of thousands of Jews from across the Middle East and North Africa restarted their lives in the Jewish state. Among this coalescing demographic, later known as Mizrahim (lit. Easterners) and soon to become the country’s majority, were some of the most celebrated musicians of the Arab world––and still others who were in the midst of launching their Arabic-language careers. Over a period of more than two decades, these veteran and up-and-coming artists released hundreds of commercial recordings, capturing a soundtrack of communal and individual triumphs and tragedies, quotidian difficulties, and disorienting new realities. In demonstrating the centrality of music to history, the deep connections between language and identity, and continuities before and after the ruptures of 1948, this talk challenges the notion that Arabophone Jews became muted upon their arrival in Israel and disconnected from their countries and cultures of origin. In listening for this particular past through a self-fashioned archive of vinyl records, it affords an opportunity to appraise the origins, meaning, and impact of a vast musical repertoire hitherto unstudied.

Focus: Using AI to critically assess outputs, check reasoning, and strengthen trust in findings.
Description:
This session would focus on using AI as a tool for review rather than solely for generation. Participants would practice checking results for plausibility, identifying possible errors or overclaims, and building habits for validation and reproducibility. This is especially important for avoiding misplaced confidence in AI-assisted work.
Possible hands-on activities:
Ask AI to critique an interpretation of findingsCross-check whether a result matches the stated method or assumptionsGenerate a validation checklist for an analysis workflowIdentify possible sources of bias, confounding, or errorReview examples of flawed outputs and discuss how to catch them

Focus: Using AI to communicate research clearly to different audiences.
Description:
This session would explore how AI can help researchers translate technical work into accessible and audience-appropriate communication. Participants would practice adapting the same core findings for different settings, such as collaborators, community partners, students, leadership, or public-facing summaries.
Possible hands-on activities:
Turn a technical summary into plain-language prose
Draft a short abstract, presentation blurb, or project update
Reframe the same findings for academic vs. non-academic audiences
Generate slide outlines or talking points from key results
Create a first draft of documentation, FAQs, or knowledge-transfer notes

Sarah Imhoff (she/her) is the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Chair in Jewish Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and the Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University. She writes about religion and the body with a particular interest in gender, sexuality, disability, and American religion, as well as maintaining a research specialty in religion and law. She is author of Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism (Indiana University Press, 2017) and The Lives of Jessie Sampter: Queer, Disabled, Zionist (Duke University Press, 2022). She is the founding co-editor of the journal American Religion.