“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
MAYA ANGELOU
DIRECTOR’S LETTER
“Big changes are in store for OS.”
MARK MIZRUCHI
Barger Family Professor and Director of Organizational Studies
Welcome to the 2021 edition of the Organizational Studies Newsletter. As you know, we have spent the entire year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying shutdown. We hope that you are managing to stay safe, and that we can all look forward to life returning to normal in the fall. But despite the obstacles we’ve faced, our students, faculty, and staff have managed to experience another fantastic year, filled with great courses, impressive achievements both inside and outside the classroom, and remarkable success in maintaining our sense of community.
We had a number of highlights this year. You will have a chance to learn more about them in the pages of this newsletter, but here is just a brief sampling: On the personnel front, our newest faculty member, Nicholas Camp, joined us last fall, and in the winter term taught a highly-acclaimed course on the causes and consequences of racial disparities in policing.
Nick also received one of the University’s inaugural “Confronting and Combating Racism” grants for his research
project using police body camera footage to examine the effects of police encounters on community trust and health. We hired a new student services assistant, Emily Jones, who has bolstered the support that we provide to our OS majors. And although, due to the hiring freeze, we did not make any new faculty appointments this year, we expect to be able to hire a new faculty member in 2022.
We are also proud to announce that Sara Soderstrom became a newly-tenured member of our faculty, a crucial development that provided immediate leadership in the program. Along with Elizabeth (Beth) Popp Berman, Sara has spearheaded one of our most important new initiatives: the formation of the OS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. This committee, which will begin operating in the fall, will consist of staff and students as well as faculty, and will focus on a range of issues, including student and faculty recruitment, curriculum, and providing an inclusive environment in our classes and in the broader OS community. The committee will build on the efforts of our long-standing student-run organization, the Organizational Diversity Initiative (ODI).
In our efforts to further diversify our student cohort, we admitted 15% underrepresented students with 13% first-gen and 23% lower SES students. Meanwhile, our students continue to amaze. This spring, 17 OS students were elected to Phi Beta Kappa, including nearly
one-third of our entire senior class. This is a phenomenal accomplishment, especially given that fewer than ten percent of seniors university-wide are nominated for this honor.
Big changes are in store for OS as well. Last year at this time we were preparing to announce the Campaign for OS, an effort to build a one million dollar endowment that would allow us to fund our many studentcentered programs in perpetuity. Led by the efforts of our chief administrator, Melissa Eljamal, and bolstered by the work of more than two dozen of our OS alumni, we launched the campaign in the fall. Even in the midst of the pandemic, we have already achieved enormous early success. We secured a matching gift of up to $30,000. We raised more than $10,000 on our most recent Giving Blueday alone. And our alumni, parents, and even current students have inspired us with their generosity. These efforts remind us of the amazing commitment to the program exhibited by the entire OS family. You are the reason that we are, have been, and will continue to be, the great program that we are.
Thanks again to all of you for everything you do, and have done, for OS. I hope that you are able to stay safe as the pandemic begins to wind down. I look forward to reconnecting, in person, with as many of you as possible. And of course...
Adapting to a World of Virtual Interactions
Zoom fatigue might be the buzz phrase of 2020. Not only have our bedrooms and living rooms become offices and classrooms, they have also become places for socializing and making connections virtually.
Over the course of this pandemic, most (if not all) of us have developed an appreciation for how vital face-to-face human interaction is in just about any context. In addition to new restrictions on our academic and social lives, we had to take a different approach to the work of building and maintaining the OS community. In trying times, leaders have the option to either cling to the status quo or challenge themselves to transform. This year, the OS Student Leadership Team chose the latter. Here is their perspective on how they transformed their roles.
OS DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION TEAM
“As we were the first to take on the title of this role, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to delve firsthand into the inner workings of the intersection between DEI and OS. This role pushed us to think critically, ask the hard questions, and push for discussions of inclusivity and diversity within the program. We worked together with our fellow student leadership members, like the recruitment team and events team, to analyze where we needed to make improvements or changes. We also presented a Kahoot survey to the OS 201 Leadership class, helping to bring awareness to DEI issues on campus.
We hope that our positions will continue to encourage OS to continually do the best in terms of its commitment to DEI. This will not come without uprooting and challenging status quos, but it is essential to the success of the program.
Lorna Brown DEI Team
Maria Ulayyet DEI Team
OS EVENTS TEAM
“In these trying times, the desire to connect with others in our OS community grew immensely, and our role felt even more important because of the lack of informal interaction between cohort members. Without opportunities to chat with classmates before class or run into friends on the diag, we had to create opportunities for both formal and informal connections.
In a time when it’s incredibly easy to isolate yourself from your networks, having frequent and lower-stakes events made it easier to facilitate casual conversations and helped the program feel more accessible.
Perhaps our crowning achievement this year was the Buddy Program, where we intentionally partnered juniors and seniors with similar pathways and interests. After a massive ice-breaking event, students were able to build upon those initial connections in their own timeframes.
At the end of the day, the powerpoint parties, virtual trivia nights, and even Zumba classes led by one of our very own OS students brought people together beyond the classroom. We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to transform the event planning committee into a stronger vessel for friendship in this incredible program!”
OS PEER MENTORS
“Being a peer mentor in the Covid-19 era was certainly different than what we were expecting our senior year to be! While the manner in which we interacted with fellow student leadership team members and prospective students was different, working virtually opened many doors and created opportunities for connection and collaboration. Being online also forced us to streamline our processing and increase accessibility to all OS resources, and in a post-pandemic world, these resources will continue to be accessible to all students.
The virtual working environment also meant many were struggling to transition to online school. As peer mentors, we worked to become liaisons between the faculty, staff, and students. This year, that role meant checking in with the junior cohort to ensure their first year in OS was going smoothly. We wanted to ensure they knew they could rely on us for support which materialized in the form of a town hall so we could hear their concerns about their transition in OS. This year’s work has shown us that so much more is possible in the virtual community than we ever thought before!”
Rachel Klein Events Team
Natalie Cadotte Events Team
Simran Jagirdar Peer Mentor
Anita Michaud Peer Mentor
OS RECRUITMENT TEAM
“As the recruitment team, we had a lot to change in our new virtual environment. Traditionally, the team is most effective with short, pop-in presentations in classrooms or club meetings to explain what Organizational Studies is and what makes it so special.
This past year we tried reaching out to professors about the possibility of doing a quick presentation in their Zoom classrooms, but every response was a “no” due to the ever-present Zoom fatigue. We transformed our recruitment strategy completely, and found success through reaching out to student organizations and asking them to circulate our promotional materials. We also found success in our yearly Application Workshop, and turned the previously in-person workshop to a 4 week, individually-focused event where prospective students were paired with a current OSer. This was hugely successful, and we ended up helping over 100 students with their applications! Although it was a tough year, the love for Organizational Studies helped us be creative and overcome obstacles.”
OS SOCIAL MEDIA
“At the beginning of the semester, I set out to transform our Instagram and Facebook into a virtual embodiment of the 8th floor of Weiser. I determined that even though students could not study with one another in Weiser, perhaps, they could connect through what is closest to them… their phones. We welcomed the junior cohort with individual features, celebrated our current students and alumni accomplishments, and paraded our seniors and their enormous achievements. We also opened up our Instagram for students to “take over” and give the rest of the community a glimpse into their daily lives. While it may not have been a conventional sense of community-building, I am proud that our social media created a virtual representation of the OS community, and in turn helped build a special environment among students, faculty, and staff.”
By taking a step back from the status quo and challenging ourselves to innovate, we created highly efficient and effective new systems that we believe can be employed in the future, even when we return to on-campus programming.
To our incoming students: This fall we anticipate a return to living and learning on campus. Before then, we encourage you to join the GroupMe and get to know each other. Get a head start finding others with similar hobbies and interests. Send each other silly memes. Do what you can to make Fall 2021 feel like a reunion with each other, rather than an introduction!
Jean Cutter Recruitment Team
Melanie Stamelman Recruitment Team & Social Media
Transforming the Way OS Addresses DEI Work
The events of the past year created a watershed moment in which the systemic inequities in the US were placed squarely in the spotlight. The pandemic has disproportionately impacted the mental and physical health and economic status of communities of color. The continuation of police violence led to greater community response to the murders of Black citizens across the country. The transition to remote work and learning highlighted the inequity of access to education in an online format, placing less privileged individuals behind those with better computing equipment and stronger access to the internet. Organizational Studies chose this year to address with a greater fervor the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our own unit.
Just as the launch of OS was initiated by student demand for the major, students led
the way in addressing DEI issues. Past student recruitment teams focused their efforts on targeting students who were historically under-represented in the program.
In 2013, the student organization, Organizational Diversity Initiative (ODI), was founded, and added an application workshop to recruitment efforts, in addition to addressing inclusion inside and outside the classroom. This past year, the faculty agreed to formalize efforts beyond the student level by launching the OS DEI committee. This committee will consist of six members: two faculty, two staff, and two students proactively working to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the program; ensuring communication between faculty, staff, and students around DEI concerns; and responding to new DEI issues as they arise.
Although the committee will not officially launch until the 2021-22 academic year, a smaller group of faculty, staff, and students has been busy at work during the winter term to lay the groundwork for the new committee. The team consisted of Professor Beth Popp Berman, Professor Sara Soderstrom, Chief Administrator Melissa Eljamal, inaugural OS student DEI team leads Lorna Brown and Maria Ulayyet, and graduate student Juniar Lucien, who specializes in DEI issues within the STEM fields. Within a few short months they generated recommendations that were immediately implemented during the winter term. They altered steps of the admissions process to help diversify the admitted pool. They reviewed orientation materials to include DEI statements and an exercise to help magnify the value we place on inclusive experiences for our students. They re-worked job posting language to recruit more diverse faculty to OS. Finally, they supported the OS community during continued acts of racist violence across the country.
Our student DEI leads worked to craft the new position they occupied and collaborated with faculty to consider how DEI issues could be incorporated into various classes. Co-lead Lorna Brown notes, “as a student whose time has been spent in spaces of activism, this was the ultimate opportunity to expand and
utilize ideas and philosophies learned, and to apply them into real world scenarios. I have learned a significant amount not only about the essence of OS as a program, but what we can do to ensure that OS has a future that can continue to expand and include students of all backgrounds, experience, abilities, and perspectives to truly create a brighter and more inclusive future.”
Although much work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done. We look forward to sharing in a future issue the achievements of the full DEI committee of 21-22.
“Through these unprecedented times, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with my fellow OS students and faculty before I graduate, especially working on topics that are important to me as a first-generation, Arab-American woman in the OS program. It has been so rewarding to work with and talk to younger students and dedicate my time towards seeing this program grow and diversify.”
- MARIA ULAYYET
A Fresh Perspective
BY PROFESSOR NICK CAMP
This year has certainly been one of transition and change, both personally and collectively. As a first-year professor in OS, I’ve gotten to know our amazing students (over Zoom), start up a research lab (remotely), and experience the beauty of Ann Arbor (socially distanced and mostly outdoors). On top of the move to Michigan and the transition to a new job, I also took on a second position this summer: father to a spirited young boy. Our department transitioned to teaching and learning in a COVID world, which came with its own challenges and opportunities. Zoom classes let us bring in speakers from around the world, without leaving our own homes (or our sweatpants); at the same time, we had to grow accustomed to a new way of communicating with each other, with all the stumbles and accidental mutings that entails.
To be sure, it has been a strange and difficult
year. However, it has also illustrated the importance of a community like ours in OS. Even though we could not gather in Weiser Hall, staff, faculty, and students sought each other out, supported one another, and shared in the trials and triumphs of the school year.
I know that I had to adjust from lab meetings with my research assistants, where we would typically brainstorm study ideas over snacks, to Slack discussions and conference calls. Adjust we did, sharing advice and encouragement, if not pretzels.
I saw a similar flexibility as I taught my first OS seminar this Winter, on racial disparities in policing. Indeed, this is a transformative moment in our country with regards to issues of racial equity. Conversations around racial inequality are difficult no matter the time; how would these discussions go over a Zoom call? The OS students rose to the challenge, displaying curiosity, compassion, and courage throughout the semester. Their final
presentations took the perspective of different organizations operating in the criminal justice system, identifying contributions to disparities, and suggesting areas where organizations can change these outcomes.
In so many ways, this year has made us realize the importance of organizations to collectively solve what we can’t overcome individually. With widespread vaccination, I look forward to coming together as a community — in person— in the fall!
“The most relevant course I’ve taken at Michigan.”
- JEAN CUTTER CLASS OF 2021
Reshaping Student Engagement
BY PROFESSOR SARA SODERSTROM
It’s still surreal to think back to March 11, 2020 - the last day I taught in person classes. Many OS students were wrapping up a negotiation exercise when the email from President Schlissel came through noting that we’d be moving to remote instruction, effective immediately. I’m still in awe of everyone making that transition. Students welcomed my 5-year old into various Zoom classes as the distinction between home and work evaporated. I am really looking forward to being back in the classroom in the fall, but I also think it’s important to reflect on some of my lessons learned the past year with remote teaching.
First, the importance of centering compassion was evident in each of my classes. The past year highlighted even more how much many students are balancing and
navigating across their lives. I had incredible GSIs who were very supportive in helping me redesign aspects of class to be more flexible and more accessible to students. Second, the remote space pushed me to develop a greater variety of ways to engage with students and shape class participation. I loved seeing discussions emerge in chat, learning more about students through reflections, and building realworld applications into class from student experiences. Even in the remote year, coming to our various class “Zoom rooms” became a highlight of every week for me. Students’ compassion to me, and my engagement with them, helped make this difficult time better.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Transformation of the OS Classroom
BY DR. DAVID SWEETMAN
Like so many of us, I’ve grown tired of some things during the pandemic. For each of us, that list is likely a bit different. On the top of my list: talking about what we’re missing. Yes, life has been different. There are so many things we expected to do but have been unable. However, rather than focusing on what we’ve lost, what are the things we’ve gained? This simple principle has helped guide my thinking.
Additionally, a second principle has guided me: the core of what we’re doing in OS is unchanged. We are preparing students to be leaders in a complex world, to
create and influence organizations while understanding how those organizations in turn influence them. We’ve increased empathy in the unprecedented circumstances of our time while being steadfast to our high academic standards.
What does staying true to these core principles mean to the learning experience for our students? That has evolved as our pandemic life has evolved. In the spring of 2020, our world was turned upside down with so many rapid changes. Social lives were upended. Social interaction became about as rare as toilet paper in the stores. At that point in time, my focus in the classroom was on predictability and community. How do we keep the
community we had formed strong? Having synchronous remote classes each week at the normally-scheduled time created stability where it was lacking. It also created a community where communities had dissipated. Breakout rooms with meaningful discussion prompts provided the opportunity to engage, interact, and learn with and from each other. The pandemic magnified the positive and the less-positive in so many ways. The world around us provided a crucible for learning from leadership examples we witnessed during this time.
On to the fall semester and a new challenge: the incoming OS junior cohort. How do we build a new community remotely so that we maximize our ability to learn and grow together? With intention. That’s how. The resilience of the students was inspiring. Their commitment to their education, their commitment to each other, their ideas and willingness to experiment to make it the best possible experience. Something gained during this time: the text chats during class. Suddenly, what was once a one-on-one sidebar comment was now something the whole class could see. The questions and clarifications from fellow students during class, the additional insights shared to augment discussions, affirmations on presentations and other contributions. This layer of interaction does not exist in in-person classes.
In fall semester we knew much more about the virus and how to safely interact, leading to some of our smaller classes
being hybrid, with remote and in-person attendance at the same time. We quickly learned that the best way to inclusive discussion - especially small group discussions - was for everyone to be logged on to Zoom. That way, in-person and remote attendees could readily interact with each other. In-person or remote was seamless, although in-person could sometimes feel like just-happening to be in the same room for a Zoom session.
Moving forward to Winter 2021. A full year into remote learning and students in our 150-person leadership course experienced a tremendous degree of interaction. During a 90-minute lecture, students could have lecture time, clarify questions via chat, explore ideas in more detail with members of their discussion section, have small group time with the professor and GSIs, and also work with their project team to apply lecture materials to an upcoming assignment. That sort of variety in meaningful small group interactions would not have been possible in a large lecture hall.
Where do we go from here? No one can predict the future. The world is changing and changing rapidly. Former President Franklin Roosevelt once said “we cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” That quote has always resonated with me, and especially at this time. By focusing on what we can gain, and by focusing on our students, we can best prepare them to be adaptable and well-prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.
“we cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
Congratulations
Congratulations Class of 2021 Congratulations Class of
Class of 2021
Cover
Graphic
2021
• Matthew Asnis
• Paige Badenhorst
• Chloe Becker
• Nicole Belans
• Hannah Borrows
• Carly Brensilber
• Jake Broder
• Lorna Brown
• Natalie Cadotte
• Mark Castaneda
• David Cohen
• Jean Cutter
• Ella Draplin
• Lauren Farley
• Sophia Filipe
• Charles Gay
• Elizabeth Hoornstra
CLASS OF 2021
• Isabelle Jacobs
• Simran Jagirdar
• Dahlia Katz
• Ellie Katz
• Jinho Nicholas Kim
• Rachel Klein*
• Corey Kraftsow
• Mikayla Kruse
• Ian Kwant
• Charlotte Landzberg
• Kimberly Lao
• Jenna Lebowitz
• Sydney Malkin
• Anita Michaud
• Alexander Pan
• Alexa Posey
• Claire Purdy
• Ryan Rich
• Leor Rosen
• Josh Savitz
• Sarah Schepis
• David Schneemann
• Jordan Schuler
• An Hua (Alice) Shih
• Eliot Sollinger
• Morgan Solomon
• Melanie Stamelman
• Maria Ulayyet
• Brianne VanDyke*
• Rye Yang
• Lily Yang
• Serena Yee
* OS Honors
CELEBRATING OUR SENIORS
Virtual Graduation & Senior Activities
Students celebrated at home with their family and friends in our second (but hopefully last) live, virtual graduation ceremony! The ceremony started with remarks from Director Mark Mizruchi, speaking on the adaptability of our graduates, and continued with special speakers, surprise student awards, and the presentation of the Class of 2021. Transforming our in-person graduation has given us the ability to provide our ceremony to a wider net of viewers.
This year’s ceremony was viewed from five countries outside of the US: Chile, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
A huge thank you to program alum Adam Compain (‘08, left), our OS Keynote Speaker, and to senior Natalie Cadotte (right), our OS Student Speaker, for their eloquent and inspiring remarks during the ceremony!
“It is not about the
ups and downs,
but about the tacks back and forth. Try not
to focus on the overall journey, but the transitions from one to the next. Because you are resilient and adaptive, this is the most efficient and fun way to transform over your career and life.”
- ADAM COMPAIN
Thank you to this year’s graduation committee for their fabulous work on the senior send-off activities.
Jean Cutter
Liz Hoornstra
Rachel Klein
Sarah Schepis
Chelsea Williams
Special thank you to Melanie Stamelman for spotlighting many of our seniors and their favorite OS memories on our Instagram and new Facebook group. Follow & Share!
Missed our live ceremony? View it here, and share it with your friendsandfamily.
The Organizational Studies Honors option is designed to enable advanced undergraduate students to gain experience in the design, conduct, and analysis of research on organizations and organizational behavior. The commitment, dedication, and resiliency of this years’ OS Honors students was shown through their hard work on their research and theses.
RACHEL KLEIN
Celebrating Seniors
A Jewish Call to Action: The Effect of Jewish Identity and Religiosity on Political Activism and Mobilization Among College Students at the University of Michigan
“This experience helped me grow as a student, researcher, and person. This was the first time I ever engaged in research, so there was definitely a learning curve. I was able to engage in meaningful conversations with my peers and gain insight into a topic I am passionate about. This project solidified my passion for Jewish social justice work, and I am so appreciative of the OS honors program for allowing me to pursue this research.”
BRIANNE VANDYKE
Surviving and Serving During COVID-19: The Influence of Size and Diversification on Organizational Adaptation in Midwest Community Development Corporations
“Through this experience, I grew not only as a student and a researcher but as an individual. I engaged in meaningful conversations, gained insight into the influence of organizational characteristics on adaptability, and witnessed the resilience of community organizations. Observing such resilience is what fuels my passion to pursue work in community-led development, and I will forever be grateful for my experiences in the OS honors program.”
Celebrating Our Seniors
OS SPECIAL AWARDS
Three awards celebrate individual excellence at the OS graduation ceremony:
1. The Andy and Ellyn Lansing Leader-Scholar award, given to a senior who serves as a “model” Organizational Studies student, demonstrating academic excellence in the classroom and leadership qualities in the OS Program and/or larger University of Michigan community.
2. The Jordan Harris Social Justice Award, created in memory of OS alumna Jordan Harris, and given to a graduating OS senior whose activities suggest the potential to make a significant contribution to the pursuit of social justice.
3. The Suzanne M. Jones OS Spirit Award, honoring former OS Administrator Suzanne Jones, and bestowed upon any member of the OS family who has exhibited dedication to the development of a close-knit OS community.
Graduating senior Lorna Brown took home BOTH of the first two awards listed. Lorna demonstrated leadership in many areas related to social justice issues. She worked as a Success Connects Partner at the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives mentoring students of color and other marginalized student populations. She served as editor of the Michigan in Color section of the Michigan Daily, publishing pieces by underrepresented students. As student representative to the nascent OS DEI Committee, Lorna applied the DEI lens to the OS program’s climate, student recruitment, and inclusive curriculum. Her dedication to these causes in OS extended even beyond the early completion of her stellar academic career in December, 2020, as she worked tirelessly to make the OS program more inclusive.
The OS community voted to award OS Event Team co-lead Natalie Cadotte with the Suzanne M. Jones Spirit Award. Students, staff, and faculty were direct beneficiaries of Natalie’s positivity and dedication to sustaining the OS community spirit, despite remote learning, zoom fatigue, and lack of opportunities to meet in person during the pandemic. In addition to the events (Powerpoint Party, Buddy Night, OS Friendsgiving, and Trivia Night) created together with her co-lead, Natalie was an uplifting contributor in Student Leadership Team meetings, with positive affirmations of her peers’ work and useful suggestions to help with student engagement. She modeled the importance of gratitude, personally writing a third of the thank you letters to this year’s Giving Blueday donors. Natalie’s ability to highlight the silver lining meant the OS community flourished, despite the dire circumstance of the past year.
Fundraising Report on the CampaignforOS
Ayear ago in our 2020 annual newsletter, we announced the anticipated launch of our Campaign for OS, an endowment fund that would help to ensure that cocurricular activities and funding streams for our various awards would be offered in perpetuity. To that end, we gathered a team of fearless fundraisers who helped support our efforts to spread the word about the campaign as well encourage peers to contribute to our cause. We began in November by securing an anonymous matching gift of $1 for every dollar raised (up to $30,000) to help inspire others to give to the program. Our class agent team sent emails to peers in November and leading up to Giving Blueday. Two OS’ers in the higher education fundraising field helped draft catchy materials for our email campaigns and others sent in videos reminding others why they give to OS. We reached out to parents, current and past faculty/GSIs/staff, former OSLC members, OS friends and donors, as well as to our dedicated alumni, including those who completed OS as an individualized concentration program (ICP) before the formal OS Program was founded. These efforts were enormously successful! As of the end of our third quarter we have over
$570,000 in the endowment! We encourage those who gave gifts to check with their employers to see if they have a matching gift program.
Our special thanks to the following OS alumni who helped in this process:
Kate Balzer ‘10
Rebecca Eisen ‘06
Danielle Epstein ‘19
Jenna Fiore ‘15
Katherine Fitzpatrick ‘15
Matthew Gordon ‘11
Lilah Kalfus ‘19
Heather Kendrick ‘16
Lindsay Hiser ‘18
Charlotte Hoppen ‘20
Mikell Hyman ‘06
Brooke Kahl ‘18
Dahlia Katz ‘21
Gary King ‘17
Nicole McAlvanah ‘18
Kelly Reinhardt ‘08
Grace Ridings ‘19
Aaron Singer ‘04
Shekinah Singletery ‘14
Jessica St. George ‘19
Neil Tambe ‘09
Anna Topping ‘20
LeAnne Wintrode ‘04
Jeff Wojcik ‘11
$430K $430K $430K
Remaining funds to raise in our campaign
Provides opportunities for alumni shadowing experiences, cohort bonding and social events
$190K $190K $190K
$380K $380K $380K
Provides scholarships to fund internships, study abroad and other awards
HALFWAY TO OUR CAMPAIGN GOAL
$1 MIL $1 MIL $1 MIL
Gifts from Around the World
Giving Blueday 2021 brought an increase in support, more than doubling the number of gifts from last year and increasing the dollars earned by 66%. Thank you to all of our generous OS supporters, from across the country and world, for helping us in reaching our goal!
Faculty Updates
ELIZABETH POPP BERMAN
Beth debuted a new class on Data, Work and Organizations in the fall, and also worked with OS undergrads to collect interviews with first-gen and underrepresented students at U-M as part of a project on higher education organizations. She also completed a book this year, ThinkingLikeanEconomist: HowEfficiencyReplacedEqualityinU.S.PublicPolicy, which is forthcoming with Princeton University Press.
NICHOLAS CAMP
Nick wrapped up his first semester teaching in OS, leading a seminar on Racial Disparities in Policing: Causes, Consequences, and Correctives. He was impressed by the thoughtfulness and enthusiasm of his students, who reviewed research on racial inequities and discussed avenues for change. A highlight was the class discussions with stakeholder organizations spanning law enforcement, community activism, and elected officials. Students drew on these conversations to recommend policies to close gaps in the criminal justice system. While Nick has enjoyed his introduction to OS this year, he is looking forward to being back on campus in the fall!
JEREMY LEVINE
Jeremy is excited to announce that his first book, Constructing Community, will be published this summer with Princeton University Press. He is already at work on his next book, thanks to the helpful guidance and research assistance provided by students in his OS 490 courses.
MARK MIZRUCHI
In his ninth year as OS director, Mark taught, for the second time, a seminar called “Economy and Society.” He also continued his research on the role of large corporations in American democracy, with his work appearing in The Guardian, Forbes, Deseret News, and the Japanese financial news outlet, Nikkei. He was a keynote speaker (virtually) at an event at the Edinburgh (Scotland) Business School, and was a featured panelist on a Niskanen Center/Business for America webinar series for business executives called “Divided We Fall: How Business Can Depolarize the U.S.”
SARA SODERSTROM
Sara is excited to announce her tenure! She shares a bit on her experience and journey with U-M.
“From both a personal and professional perspective, earning tenure this past year centered my long love of the University of Michigan. As many of you know, I grew up as a huge Michigan fan in a maize and blue family. I remember as a kid coming down to Ann Arbor for football games - my family would grab lunch at Dominicks, walk to the band building to watch the pre-game show and march to the stadium with the band, and then collect cans (yes they used to allow you to bring in cans!) after the game to make money on those 10 cent returns. Anytime we had family visitors from out of state, we’d come down and walk central campus, going up in the grad library to gaze over campus. To now be able to go to the office, head up to the 10th floor, and see campus spread in front of me brings up these wonderful memories. Back when I was a student, I couldn’t have imagined a future where I’d get to work at Michigan, let alone to receive tenure and be able to contribute back in this way to U-M. Thank you all for your support on this path. Students were always central to my research and teaching - you were all a huge component of this success. I am so excited to keep working with you all.”
DAVID SWEETMAN
David is happy to announce he published a textbook this year: TheScienceandPracticeofLeadership. He is so inspired by the talent and dedication of our OS students. After an amazing experience with the class of 2022 cohort in OS305 last fall, David is so excited to welcome the cohort to OS410 for their first in-person class all together as a cohort this fall. He is also looking forward to teaching OS435, Strategic Change Through Human Resource Management.
Transformative Alumni Engagement
This year we had the opportunity to connect with our community in more ways than ever before. See the ways our alumni showed up to support our students and program!
THE CAMPAIGN FOR OS
We had incredible alumni participation from fundraisers to donors
SUMMER MEET-UPS
We continued to nurture our community with virtual alumni meet-ups
WIL EVENTS + CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS
Alumni connected with students as panelists and guest speakers
RECRUITMENT EVENTS & OS INFO NIGHTS
Our alumni helped spread the excitement for OS and inform our prospective students
OS ORIENTATION
We were able to involve alumni in a bigger way for our virtual orientation
GRADUATION
A wonderful Keynote Speaker
ADRIENNE WALLER started 2006
2007
GINA VALO completed her Informatics from Duke University
2008
DAREN MARTIN welcomed Martin), and was promoted America for Datadog.
2009
JUSTIN BENSON son (Jacob)
MIKE ROWAN moved to Detroit for Chorus America, but now
2010
MEGAN (MITROVICH) BOYLE
Ethan Boyle, a civil engineer family ceremony, with Megan’s
2011
ALYSSA (JACOBSON) SYLVESTER MO in 2020. (unexpected army time in the army in June 2021,and Birmingham, AL. On December Anne, to the world.
MITCH CRISPELL moved back house.
CAROLINE (ROONEY) SERRANO excited to be expecting their
2012
BREAH DEAN graduated Georgetown University.
SARA VANDER ZANDEN started begins law school in the fall!
JILL ZIENTARSKI started a for small businesses in 2020
Master of Management degree in Clinical University School of Medicine in August 2021. her own business.
AJACK DUIVEN graduated with a Masters in Ministry Leadership from Moody Theological Seminary. 2013
LOGAN CHADDE kept over 24 houseplants alive during a pandemic.
2014
a new baby girl born 12/1/20 (Sydney Rose promoted to Regional VP of Southern US and Latin
2016
(Jacob) turned 2 in December.
Detroit after 12 years of living in DC. Still working now working remotely.
L U
BOYLE was married on December 29, 2020 to engineer with WOODPATEL. They held an intimate Megan’s father officiating
MSYLVESTER moved from metro-Austin, TX to rural army move). Her husband will finish his service 2021,and then they will be moving to metroDecember 18, 2020, they welcomed their daughter,
2017
ADAM RUBENFIRE was named the 2020 MVP of the Year at Crain Communications.
back home to Washington, DC and bought a
SERRANO and her husband (fellow U-M alum) are first child in May.
2018
TAYLOR (WILLIAMS) CLARK is expecting her first child in September.
SHERILYN GOULD graduated with an MHA Degree from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 2020
ELANA HORWITZ is currently a medical student at Duke University School of Medicine and is spending the year in Leon, Nicaragua doing research in infectious diseases.
MANDY KREISBERG is getting married this September.
NATHAN NOVARIA moved after 4 years in Chicago and made the jump back to Washington, D.C., where he interned as an undergraduate in the Michigan in Washington Program. Nathan will be working fully remote indefinitely with a new employer in D.C.
AUBREY O’NEAL recently became a design lead for IBM Quantum and is ecstatic to play a part in making this frontier technology accessible to wider audiences.
with her Master’s in Public Policy from
started a non-profit consulting business and
Icompany that specializes in HR consulting - Workery Consulting.
2020
HUONG (NGUYEN) HALEY got married in July of 2019 to her college sweetheart and is still living in Seattle.
NJESSE OFFENHARTZ will be attending Cornell Law school this Fall.
JESSIE BERNARD was recognized by the CEO of Kraft Heinz for an idea she pitched (which they are now working on).
ANNA TOPPING will be joining the Venture for America fellowship as a 2021 Cohort member.
ABIGAIL UFKES transferred EY offices and will now be aligned to the Detroit office. This means a move back to Ann Arbor.
VICTORIA RILETT relocated to Denver, CO and will be starting a master’s program in Educational Foundations, Policy & Practice at the University of Colorado- Boulder this fall.
NADIA FINKEL is starting law school at Georgetown Law.
Your OS Community
FACULTY
ELIZABETH POPP BERMAN
Associate Professor, Organizational Studies (OS Advisory Committee)
NICHOLAS CAMP
Assistant Professor, Organizational Studies
LISA FEIN Lecturer, Organizational Studies
ARNOLD HO
Assistant Professor, Organizational Studies and Psychology
JEREMY LEVINE
Assistant Professor, Organizational Studies
MARK MIZRUCHI
Director, Organizational Studies and Professor, Sociology and Ross School of Business (OS Advisory Committee)
STEVEN SAMFORD
Assistant Professor, Organizational Studies
SARA SODERSTROM
Associate Professor, Organizational Studies and Program in the Environment (OS Advisory Committee)
DAVID SWEETMAN Lecturer, Organizational Studies
STAFF
MELISSA ELJAMAL
Chief Administrator
EMILY OLLERO JONES
Student Services Coordinator
TANYA MOORE
Executive Assistant
CATHERINE PHILBIN
Advising Coordinator
CHELSEA WILLIAMS Events & Communications Coordinator
AFFILIATED FACULTY
ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG Professor, Sociology and Women’s Studies (OS Advisory Committee)
WAYNE BAKER Professor, Ross School of Business and Sociology
MICHAEL BASTEDO Professor, School of Education
GERALD DAVIS Professor, Ross School of Business and Sociology (OS Advisory Committee)
RICHARD GONZALEZ Professor, Psychology and Statistics
KATHRYN HEINZE Associate Professor, School of Kinesiology (OS Alum)
ANDREW HOFFMAN Professor, School for Environment and Sustainability and Ross School of Business (OS Advisory Committee)
RAMASWAMI MAHALINGAM Professor, Psychology and Women’s Studies (OS Advisory Committee)
JASON OWEN-SMITH Professor, Sociology (OS Advisory Committee)
SHOBITA PARTHASARATHY Professor, Ford School of Public Policy and Women’s Studies
RICHARD H. PRICE Professor Emeritus, Psychology
LANCE SANDELANDS Professor, Psychology and Ross School of Business
DENISE SEKAQUAPTEWA Professor, Psychology
GRETCHEN SPREITZER Professor, Ross School of Business
JAMES P. WALSH Professor, Ross School of Business (OS Advisory Committee)
OSCAR YBARRA Professor, Psychology (OS Advisory Committee)
