Michigan Minds

The vast majority of the Earth’s fresh surface water is stored in lakes, and the Great Lakes hold a significant portion — about 20 percent — of that fresh water. Drew Gronewold, associate professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability, is working to better understand water level variability on large lake systems, and how climate change and anthropogenic impacts can affect the long term water balance and levels. Most of his work is done “right in our backyard” on the Great Lakes.

Gronewold, who also holds adjunct appointments in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, joined Michigan Minds to talk about his research on water levels, how they use data to model and forecast for future decisions, and the overall significance of the Great Lakes fresh water system.

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How does renewable energy impact local communities — especially those in rural areas? Sarah Mills, research scientist at the Graham Sustainability Institute and lecturer in the School for Environment and Sustainability, is dedicated to understanding those localized impacts, the positive and negative. Mills joined Michigan Minds to talk about her work looking at rural communities in Michigan that are often the hosts for large-scale wind and solar projects.

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Sexual Assault Awareness Month, observed in April, was established to highlight sexual violence as a public health issue and educate communities on how to prevent it. Across the University of Michigan, there are numerous units dedicated to supporting individuals who have experieced sexual assault and educating the community on prevention strategies. One of those units is SAPAC: the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. In this episode of Michigan Minds, SAPAC associate director Anne Huhman outlines what SAPAC is and how they are committed to prevention education, offer confidential support, and provide resources, training, and programs for the campus community. She also highlights some of the upcoming events taking place throughout April, planned by students, to bring the community together while raising awareness. With five different student volunteer programs and more than 150 volunteers coordinating events, there is something for everyone. 

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This episode of Michigan Minds features Beth Glover Reed, PhD, Associate Professor of Social Work and Women’s and Gender Studies. Reed’s research focuses on how to define and work for social justice, barriers to this work, and how to reduce these barriers. Reed discusses how assumptions and practices related to gender, race/ethnicity and other status characteristics impact how social systems work and also our systems of knowledge and that we have to work hard to see them. She describes two important methods for illuminating how injustice is recreated and developing actions that work to further justice.

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This episode of Michigan Minds features Karla Goldman, PhD, Professor of Social Work and Judaic Studies. Goldman’s research focuses on the history of the American Jewish experience with special attention to the history of American Jewish communities and the evolving roles and contributions of American Jewish women. She directs the U-M Jewish Communal Leadership Program, a collaborative effort between the U-M School of Social Work and the LSA Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies.

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This episode of Michigan Minds features Larry M. Gant, PhD, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work and Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design. Gant is also the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Director at the U-M School of Social Work. His current work focuses on local-level change efforts in Detroit and the surrounding metropolitan areas, addressing and responding to various kinds of health, educational, and sector disparities that impact neighborhoods within the community.

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Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II joined the Michigan Minds podcast to reflect on his experiences, discuss his path to public service, and highlight the importance of celebrating the enduring power of humanity.

Gilchrist, a University of Michigan alumnus, is the first Black man to be elected lieutenant governor in the state of Michigan. He says he feels he has a responsibility to move his experience “from novelty to normalcy” to help others see themselves in similar roles.

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Undergraduate research student Ayse Eldes joined Michigan Minds to share how she became interested in STEM, her love for research, and why diversifying STEM fields is vitally important.

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U-M doctoral candidate Allie Goodman, who studies urban history and the history of incarceration in 20th-century America before World War II, joined Michigan Minds to talk about her research and the importance of historical narratives in understanding societal challenges today. She also discusses the Reverb Effect podcast, which she produces through the U-M History Department.

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Anna Kirkland, PhD, is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG). Kirkland joined Michigan Minds to talk about her research, outline how scholars can impact change, and explain how she empowers others in STEM fields.

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