Campus in Focus: A summer rewind

September 2, 2026

See summer photo highlights — like research in action and wildlife on campus — at UM-Dearborn.

Three students gather outdoors on campus as one writes on a clipboard held in front of them.
TRIO staff members Veronika Ramirez, Gabrielle Nettles-Owens and Nila Hooper check the list of places and items during 10th Annual Dearborn Campus Scavenger Hunt. Their team earned first place in the event.

There’s no sleeping in when it comes to life at a university — even during the summer. Faculty and students continue their research. New students and their families explore what UM-Dearborn offers. Even animals are in on the action, with baby deer frolicking on campus.

UM-Dearborn photographer Matthew Stephens captured the pulse of campus life this summer — here are a few of his favorite shots.

Five women's volleyball players pose together in blue and yellow Michigan uniforms, each forming an upside-down "M" gesture with their hands.
Get ready to cheer for UM-Dearborn’s fall sports teams! UM-Dearborn Athletics hosted their media day on Aug. 12 and 13 at the Fieldhouse. Here, women’s volleyball players show their school spirit . Are you interested in attending a sporting event? Check out the calendar.
People wearing blue antenna headbands collaborate indoors on constructing a tall structure out of wooden skewers and modeling clay.
Faculty and staff participate in the 10th Annual Dearborn Campus Scavenger Hunt on Aug. 5, organized by MHealthy. As a surprise tiebreaker, teams competed to see who could build the tallest structure using Play-Doh and wooden sticks.
A bee pollinates a bright yellow flower. Behind the flower, there is green shadows and grass.
A bee eats pollen from a cup plant — the wildflower’s scientific name is Silphium perfoliatum, in case you are curious — in front of the Environmental Interpretive Center. The EIC and the UM-Dearborn Bee Campus USA program are accepting entries now through Sept. 30 for the seventh annual Pollinator Photo Contest.
A researcher with glasses adjusts optical equipment with glowing red lasers on an optics table in a laboratory setting.
Alireza Khalilian, a doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, works in a lab in the Engineering Lab Building. Khalilian’s research focuses on handcrafted metalenses, which use tiny surface patterns to guide light and capture information that conventional cameras may miss.
A speaker addresses an audience at a podium, viewed through a frosted glass window featuring the "Block M" logo and the word "DEARBORN."
Jamie Wraight, director of the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive, addresses attendees at the 2026 Biennial Meeting of the Consortium of Higher Education Centers for Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Studies. The event was hosted at UM-Dearborn from June 16-18. As part of the conference, Lance Wheeler, vice president of education and engagement at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, presented the keynote address, “Truth Ain’t Neutral.”
A brown spotted deer stands on the grass with a forest of trees in the background
A fawn makes an appearance during summer orientation. Fawns are born between June and July, so you’ll likely see young deer while walking on campus this fall — but please enjoy them from a distance.
Daniel Little stands smiling next to a campus sign that reads "Daniel Little Building."
Former Chancellor Daniel Little stands in front of the renovated and newly named Daniel Little Building at a June 10 celebration. The building, formerly known as the Administration Building, is now home to the College of Education, Health and Human Services, as well as the university’s administration offices.
A long line of students walks along a concrete pathway in front of a large, curved brick campus building surrounded by green lawns.
Incoming students and their families attend summer orientation at UM-Dearborn on June 9. The event introduces new students to campus resources, academic programs and student life.

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