SUBJECT: November 2025 Updates from the Office of the Provost

Dear Colleagues,

As we gear up for the Thanksgiving break, I want to take a moment to wish everyone a restful and relaxing holiday. I hope the break provides you with time to recharge and enjoy meaningful moments with family and friends. Before we head into the holiday, please review the reminders and important dates included in this communication to help ensure a smooth transition into the weeks ahead.

Important Fall 2025 Dates

• Chancellor's Staff Recognition Awards Ceremony: Wednesday, November 19
• Thanksgiving recess: Saturday, November 22-Sunday, November 30
• Provost’s Faculty Book Showcase: Tuesday, December 2
• Chancellor’s Holiday Party: Wednesday, December 10
• Study days: Tuesday/Wednesday, December 9/10 & Saturday/Sunday, December 13/14
• Final exams: Thursday/Friday, December 11/12 & Monday-Wednesday, December 15-17
• Fall commencement: Saturday, December 20

Thanksgiving Break
Please remember that the campus will be closed Saturday, November 22 through Sunday, November 30, with no activities scheduled and staff enjoying time off the entire week for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Please note that:

• The Office of Research will be working with reduced staff for the first 3 days of Thanksgiving break, on 11/24, 11/25, and 11/26, and will be closed on Thursday 11/27 and Friday 11/28. Please be mindful of this as you think about applying for external funding.
• While all buildings will be locked, MCard access remains unchanged
• The Mardigian Library will be closed Saturday, November 20 and Sunday, November 21, open on Monday, November 24 and Tuesday, November 25, and closed Wednesday, November 26 through Saturday, November 29. The library will reopen for full services on Sunday, November 30.
• The RUC and University Information Center will be open Monday, November 24, through Wednesday, November 26, from 8 am - 6 pm. The RUC and all services will be closed Thursday, November 27, through Sunday, November 30.
  • The UMCU will be open 9 am - 5:30 pm, Monday through Wednesday.
  • The Bookstore will be open 9 am - 5 pm, Monday through Wednesday.
  • McKinley Cafe and catering services will be closed for the week.
• DPS and Facilities Operations will maintain campus presence.

Provost Faculty Book Showcase
Please join us for the Fall 2025 Provost Faculty Book Showcase! The showcase will take place on the first floor of the Mardigian Library on Tuesday, December 2nd, from 4-6 PM. 

We will be celebrating the works of Sally Howell (Social Sciences): Beyond Refuge in Arab Detroit, John Taylor (Language, Culture, and the Arts): To Let the Sun, and Jorge Gonzalez del Pozo (Language, Culture, and the Arts): Behind the Scream: What Lies Beneath Fantaterror. 

We hope you’re able to join us to help celebrate the accomplishments of our faculty! Light refreshments will be provided.

Michigan Online Proposals Open
The Center for Academic Innovation (CAI) invites faculty and academic units to propose ways to enhance student experience and support career success by integrating Michigan Online content into curricular and cocurricular programs. Through the creative incorporation of Michigan Online’s extensive digital resources (including content from MOOCs, certificates, and Google Professional Certificates) into new or existing online, hybrid, or residential courses, programs, and co-curricular experiences, faculty and academic units can accelerate curricular innovation, broaden access to specialized expertise, and enhance the student experience across disciplines. Approved proposals will be awarded up to $1000 in support and CAI is offering proposal development consultations. The deadline for proposals is November 21, 2025.

Engage Detroit
The 2026 Engage Detroit Workshop grant program, which supports small groups of U-M faculty, staff members, and students, will be hosting an informational session for anyone interested in applying in January 2026. The informational session will be held in a hybrid format on Tuesday, December 9th from 9-10am. To RSVP please complete this form. For an overview of the program please see the Engage Detroit website.

SURE 2026
Preparations for SURE 2026 have started! The faculty proposal application opened on Monday, November 17th and will close on Friday, January 16th. Awardees will be notified by February 4th and can confirm with student researchers they have identified for their project. The SURE admin team can also provide faculty with a list of interested students and resumes for review. For more information about SURE and to see the list of faculty/student peer-reviewed publications go to Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program | University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Commencement
UM-Dearborn Commencement will be held on Saturday, December 20th inside the Fieldhouse. The schedule is as follows:

• 10:00 a.m. Ceremony: College of Arts, Sciences, & Letters and College of Business
• 2:00 p.m. Ceremony: College of Education, Health, & Human Services and College of Engineering & Computer Science 

Faculty presence at our ceremonies is a meaningful way to support and celebrate our students and contributes greatly to the spirit of the occasion! Faculty that are participating, need to complete this quick form to confirm their ceremony. We ask that two faculty members from each department participate in the commencement ceremony for their college.

If regalia is needed, faculty should add to the UM-Dearborn order via the below customer and order number. Orders are due by Friday, November 21st.

Customer Number: 21005049000
Order Number: 5447192

Once in the UM-Dearborn account, you can either find your name (if you have ordered before) or select "New Faculty Member" and add your details. Additional details regarding commencement are available on the website.

Faculty Awards
Nominations for the six campus faculty awards are now open! Please find the time to nominate members of the UM-Dearborn faculty whom you believe are deserving of such recognition. Your nominations are essential in our efforts to solicit the strongest possible pool of candidates for consideration by the selection committee. 

• Collegiate Lectureship Award
• Distinguished Academic Citizenship Award
• Distinguished Research Award
• Distinguished Research Team Award
• Distinguished Teaching Awards
• Lecturer Excellence in Inclusive Teaching Award

International Travel Reminder
With the Fall semester winding down, here are a few important reminders with all of you who are planning international travel.

1. Remember to register your travel before your departure. Our travel registry is solely dedicated to supporting our community members while they travel internationally by locating and communicating with them in case of  emergencies.
2. If you are traveling on U-M Related Travel, make sure to have our GeoBlue travel abroad health insurance, which provides coverage for health emergencies and evacuation support. The insurance is optional for those on personal travel.
3. Please make sure to review the guidance for re-entering the U.S. before your departure. 

For any questions related to travel safety, please contact [email protected]. 

DAS Testing Reminder
With finals fast approaching, Disability and Accessibility Services (DAS) would appreciate your assistance reminding students that the due date for submitting final exam requests is December 2nd.

Please review the DAS office’s Fall 2025 Final Exam Announcement with details on available time slots as the DAS schedule differs as a direct result of the high volume of test takers during that time. DAS does recognize that there may be situations where a student is unable to submit their request by December 2nd, however we hope that with faculty assistance this number can be reduced. In addition, please remember that you do not have to upload your exam when you receive a final exam request from the DAS office, but please do submit your decision regarding the request so a seat can be arranged for your student.

Course Materials Adoption
If you haven’t submitted your course materials information to the bookstore yet, please remember the sooner they have this information the sooner they can start to identify and purchase the materials your students will need to be successful next semester.  Course materials information can be input directly through the AIP platform. You can also access the platform through any of your Canvas courses by clicking on the B&N Adoptions and Insights Portal link in the navigation panel. If you are not using materials that need to be provided by the bookstore, please be sure to submit the "No Materials Required" option so the bookstore knows you are all set.

Also, please consider checking with the library to see if they have free access to the materials you plan to use in your class. Using library materials or open access materials when available could save your students a substantial amount of money. While you are thinking about your course materials, be sure to let the library know if they can help you by providing links to any materials which they already have available.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this communication. I appreciate all that you do, and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving break! If you need anything or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or my team.

Respectfully, 

Ghassan Kridli 
Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs