SUBJECT: September 2025 Updates from the Office of the Provost

September 15, 2025 at 1:06 PM

Dear Colleagues, 

I hope your semester and classes are off to a great start. It has been wonderful to see faculty, staff, and students back on campus and to feel the energy of a new academic year with the campus buzzing with activity again.

Please see below for important updates and reminders for this month.

Important Fall 2025 Dates

  • Conversation with the Chancellor, September 23, 2025, RSVP by Monday, September 15th
  • Thanksgiving recess: Saturday, November 22-Sunday, November 30
  • 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 20th

Travelers to Higher Risk Areas Required to Seek Pre-Approval 
The University of Michigan now requires faculty, staff, and students from all three campuses and Michigan Medicine to receive pre-approval before traveling to higher-risk international locations, whether for university-related purposes or leisure. Countries on the high-risk list, as designated by U-M’s evacuation assistance partner Crisis24, include Afghanistan, Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia (Tigray region only), Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria (Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, and northern Adamawa states only), North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. Pre-approval ensures travelers are eligible for political or natural disaster evacuation coverage through Crisis24, contracted via GeoBlue Travel Abroad Health Insurance. Specific instructions and requirements vary by traveler type and are available on Global Michigan’s Crisis24 and travel requirement pages. Undergraduate students remain prohibited from traveling to higher-risk areas for university purposes. For more information or questions about this new process, email [email protected].

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Mental Health and Wellness Staff and Faculty Fall Training Dates
This training is designed to equip you with the tools and strategies needed to recognize, respond to, and support students who may be facing mental health challenges. With increasing demands on our students’ emotional and psychological well-being, it’s important for us as educators and staff to be well-prepared to offer compassionate and effective assistance.

Training Date Options:

  • Wednesday October 15th, 2025 2-4pm
  • Monday November 17th, 2025 2-4pm 

We offer this training several times throughout the year and thus limit sign up to 25 individuals each session in order to provide space for quality interactions. Your role in promoting mental well-being is crucial, and we believe this training will provide valuable insights and practical approaches for ensuring our students thrive academically and personally. Please RSVP by completing the Google Form. If you have any questions or require additional information, please don't hesitate to reach out to Sara Byczek ([email protected]).

Provost’s Faculty Book Showcase
The Office of the Provost is excited to continue the Provost’s Faculty Book Showcase, a celebration and recognition of the achievements of our faculty who have published professional books in the preceding academic year. The Showcase will feature faculty from a range of disciplines, celebrating their advancements in knowledge, research, and creative activity. The goal of the Showcase is to expose the university community to the breadth of faculty research and increase student awareness of the importance of these endeavors. For more information on what types of work are eligible and to submit a book for consideration, check out the Provost Faculty Book Showcase website. Please submit your work for the fall semester by October 3rd. 

Early Warnings
As we move into midsemester and following add/drop, a reminder that the campus early warning system exists for faculty and staff to submit requests for student support. Requests can address student help for poor test performance, time management, study skills, tutoring, or lack of participation. Information and instructions on how to submit a report can be found here: Early Warning Program | University of Michigan-Dearborn. Remember early warnings can be submitted anytime before final grades but the Office of Academic Success (OAS) will be reaching out directly to faculty as we approach midterms.

Digital Accessibility Information Series
The Digital Accessibility Information Series aligned with the new Title II regulations and UM-Dearborn’s Digital Accessibility Course (DAC), first offered during the summer, will be offered again on Tuesdays at 3:00pm starting on September 16. Each session will have a short,15-20 min, presentation on a specific digital accessibility topic, followed by time for Q&A or hands-on work (perhaps you can complete the related DAC assignment).  The topics covered in most of these sessions apply not only to faculty but to anyone who creates content for internal or public consumption, so staff members will find them useful as well. The training segment of the sessions will be recorded and posted to the UM-Dearborn Digital Accessibility MiVideo Channel as time allows.  You can add all of the events to your calendar, use the individual session calendar links below, or join via Zoom at the appropriate time.

Faculty-Led Learning Communities on Digital Accessibility
We're excited to announce a call for proposals for faculty-led learning communities on digital accessibility. This is a chance for you to convene a group of your peers to explore and implement accessible teaching practices, benefiting all of our students. Conveners will receive a $500 stipend and participants will each receive $200. Apply now to lead your own learning community.

Deadline for Curriculum Changes
The deadline for fall 2026 Undergraduate curricula changes and catalog updates is October 22nd for the October 30th UCDC meeting.

The deadline for fall 2026 Graduate curricula changes and catalog updates is October 15th for the October 23rd Graduate Subcommittee meeting. 

CARE Reporting
Faculty, staff, students and community members who notice unusual or concerning behavior from a student should consider submitting a CARE report. Behaviors could include things like: references to self-harm of harm to others, unaddressed mental health challenges, lack of adequate basic needs, etc. CARE reports are confidential and immediately reviewed by the CARE team, who then may respond with appropriate intervention strategies, connect students with needed resources (internally or externally) and more. This centralized collection of information can help connect the dots of disparate problems involving a student and allow the university an opportunity to intervene and support a student who may be going through a difficult time. For more information, please visit the CARE website or contact Ryan Neloms at [email protected].

SURE Showcase
It was wonderful to celebrate the students at the SURE Showcase last week at Kochoff Hall and to see the impressive research to which they and their faculty mentors dedicated their summers. Congratulations to all participants and to this year’s winners: 1st place – Hassan Bazzi, Suvranta Tripathy (CASL); 2nd place – Batoul Chalhoub, Caymen Novak (CECS); 3rd place – Sophia Guo, Yi Maggie Guo (COB); and People’s Choice – Francesca Badalamenti, Kaylan Kondapalli (CASL).

Thank you for reading this communication. I hope your semester continues to go well, and please don’t hesitate to contact me and my team should you have any questions or concerns. 


Respectfully, 

Ghassan Kridli 
Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs 


 

Office of the Provost

1080 - Daniel Little Building
4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, MI 48128
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Phone: 313-593-5030