SUBJECT: Office of Metropolitan Impact

Dear Colleagues;

I am writing to share important news regarding the Office of Metropolitan Impact (OMI). To provide background on this announcement, the Chancellor announced in November 2021 that the office of OMI would move from the Office of the Chancellor to the Office of the Provost in order to better reflect our campus focus and to support faculty and students in practice-based education. This change underscored the importance of directly aligning OMI’s efforts with the university’s strategic academic objectives. 

Thus far, we have taken steps to streamline OMI by transferring campus grants to the Office of Research (OR): reassigned one staff member to the OR’s post-award team in order to contribute more meaningfully to broader grant initiatives; transferred the Justice Reform Project to CASL; closed the Healing Centered Restorative Engagement grant; and transitioned OMI’s administration of the biennial State of the Strait Conference to the University of Windsor. 

After a thorough review of OMI’s portfolio and commitments and after talking with staff and faculty, I have decided to restructure OMI to better reflect the current needs of our campus, seek efficiencies and sustainability, better assist  the four colleges’ strategic priorities, and best align it with the Office of the Provost’s priorities. Moving forward, OMI will mainly focus on supporting all four colleges’ PBL courses and efforts, Urban Futures, the Carnegie reclassification, managing Collaboratory, and supporting faculty, staff and students with community engagement, including the ongoing City of Dearborn projects.

The Office of the Provost will directly oversee OMI’s operations and therefore, we will be bidding farewell to its Executive Director, Dr. Tracy Hall. Please join me in thanking Tracy for her outstanding service at UM-Dearborn and in wishing her all the best in her next endeavors. While Tracy’s last day will be May 1, 2023, Molly Manley and Elspeth Muzzin will continue in their roles and responsibilities, and report directly to the Office of the Provost.

Gabriella

Gabriella Scarlatta
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs