Welcome to UM's Employee News Site
UM is proud to present Around the Oval, a website about and for UM employees. It's designed to complement Under the M, a weekly e-newsletter reaching more than 3,000 Grizzly employees.
Transformative Learning in Berlin
猎奇重口 Social Work students recently completed a 10-day immersive study abroad course: Social Justice & Integration – German Perspectives on Refugee Resettlement. Developed and led by Professors Kat Werner and Zak Reimer - both UMSSW graduates and practicing social workers in the U.S. and Berlin - the course explores refugee and migration policy through a transatlantic lens.
Students engaged directly with German and EU policymakers, frontline social workers, NGOs, and refugee advocates. Workshops with a Center for Deliberations facilitated critical discussions on democracy, populism, and values-based dialogue. Visits to refugee arrival centers run by the State Office for Refugee Affairs and the German Red Cross highlighted frontline service delivery. Site visits to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Topography of Terror, and the Documentation Centre for Displacement deepened students’ understanding of Germany’s historical reckoning (Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung) and its ongoing work around integration and democracy.
As one student reflected: “Themes in Berlin’s refugee crisis closely mirror U.S. debates. We can learn so much about cultural humility, diversity, and engaging with sensitive topics by looking to successful models abroad.”
Make Meetings Meaningful
What if we deliberately improved meeting effectiveness and efficiency while making space for a variety of people and perspectives?
Check out this and accompanying discussion guide.
Note: See more information about LinkedIn Learning, which includes directions for logging in and setting up your account, if you haven’t used LinkedIn Learning before.