Mission
The Mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving, and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.
Vision 2034
The University of Michigan will be the defining public university, boldly exemplified by our innovation and service to the common good. We will leverage our interdisciplinarity and excellence at scale to educate learners, advance society, and make groundbreaking discoveries to impact the greatest challenges facing humanity.
Over the next 10 years, we will harness our unparalleled excellence and vast intellectual resources to make dramatic, focused, and demonstrable advancements in service to humanity.
Campus Plan 2050 offers physical planning for UM-Ann Arbor with the recognition that each of its five campuses does not function independently, but rather are part of a single campus. With advances in technology and the continued focus on research and interdisciplinary activities, collaboration is increasing across all units and campuses, resulting in greater opportunity for UM-Ann Arbor to better function as a unified campus.
Facilitated by a proposed bus rapid transit (BRT) and automated transit system (ATS), Campus Plan 2050 supports the continued expansion of academic and research functions on a reimagined North Campus over the next 25 years — while ensuring that reinvestment in all campuses serves the community through recommendations responsive to the impact areas and core commitments of Vision 2034.
Impact Area 1: Life-Changing Education
Learning has the power to transform everything it touches — and does not merely happen inside of a classroom. Access to education and life-changing experiences expands knowledge and improves lives to create a positive impact on the future of our society. In the next decade, U-M will become the place where others turn to see what revolutionizing education can look like.
Impact Area 2: Human Health and Well-Being
Health and well-being is a fundamental human right. With this principle in mind, U-M aspires to becomea model of excellence for meeting the public health challenges facing our society, as well as addressing the needs within our U-M campus communities. As an early adopter of the Okanagan Charter in the United States, U-M is committed to continuing to embed health into all aspects of our culture.
Impact Area 3: Democracy, Civic and Global Engagement
As the defining public institution, U-M promotes democratic ideals, such as freedom of expression, civil engagement, equal protection, and respect across differences. In the next decade, U-M will continue to focus on expanding our community’s understanding of democratic practices and principles and work to enhance public conversation at U-M by nurturing spaces where respectful and meaningful dialogue can flourish.
Impact Area 4: Climate Action, Sustainability and Environmental Justice
U-M is uniquely positioned to lead the effort of mitigating and adapting to climate change through groundbreaking research, revolutionary education, campus operations, and creative programming designed to increase resilience and minimize avoidable impacts. U-M will utilize a multi-strategy approach to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 through energy efficiency, electricity from renewables, and fossil-free heating and cooling strategies.
Core Commitments
To fully realize our vision as the defining public university, we will make strategic investments in core commitments designed to advance our mission and boldly affirm the critical role of higher education in society for generations to come.
Purpose-Driven Education and Student Experience
U-M will lead the way to deliver a holistic approach to supporting intellectual growth and well-being while also preparing learners for careers and diverse experiential opportunities that are valuable and meaningful.
Research, Scholarship, Discovery, and Artificial Intelligence
The research enterprise at U-M generates knowledge that advances society. In the coming years, U-M will be more committed than ever to investing in new learning, design, technologies, and approaches that empower transdisciplinary research at a tremendous scale.
Community Health, Support, Prevention, and Performance
U-M will broaden efforts for improved access to health and prevention services, enhance wellness support and prevention infrastructure, and cultivate greater interdisciplinarity within healthcare education to support an environment where people thrive.
Arts and Creative Expression
The arts and humanities are essential to the flourishing of a society and its people. U-M commits to supporting the creation of art and cutting-edge spaces essential to artistic innovation and rich public engagement.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
In the next decade, U-M’s efforts will be dedicated to fostering a community that reflects the vision, enriches its programs, policies, and practices, and fundamentally improves the experiences of all who interact with the institution.
Faculty and Staff Engagement and Experience
U-M will develop plans that support the faculty and staff through the employment cycle, infuse the Culture Journey values into our campus ethos, and create further consistency in the faculty and staff experience.
Innovation, Partnerships, and Economic Development
U-M aims to generate a pulse of innovation and growth that reverberates across the state through stronger community partnerships, the development of an innovation district, expansion of its research enterprise, and enhanced partnerships with national laboratories.
To fully realize our vision as the defining public university, we will make strategic investments in core commitments designed to advance our mission and boldly affirm the critical role of higher education in society for generations to come.