Community Programs
We believe that Flint’s success is our success, and we offer a number of different collaborative programs designed to connect our expertise with the community’s needs.
Co-creating meaningful programs with Flint’s community
The faculty and staff of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education are deeply committed to building and developing strong relationships with the Flint community.
On this page:
Department of Education
Ci3T Collaboration
Ci3T explores proactive, systemic methods for identifying students who require additional assistance to succeed in schools.
As part of a multi-university research team with the University of Kansas as the site lead, Associate Professor of Education Eric Common helps lead Ci3T coaching, leadership training, and free professional development sessions for preK-12 educators, administrators, related service providers, paraprofessionals, and parents.
Teacher Leadership Symposium
In collaboration with the Greater Flint Educational Consortium and UM-Flint’s K-12 Partnerships Program, UM-Flint’s Education Department hosts this annual symposium to guide Genesee County high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing a career in education. Attendees engage in various workshops and panel discussions, exploring what it’s like to be a teacher, how to get the most out of their college experience, professional development and outlook, and more.
Coverage of previous year’s Symposiums:
- Shiawassee Teacher Cadets Experience a Day in the Life at UM-Flint | CASE Blog, 2026
- High school students looking to become teachers can learn at this UM-Flint symposium | MLive, 2023
- UM-Flint invites K-12 students to campus for Teacher Leadership Symposium | UM-Flint News, 2022
- Flint education consortium inspires students to become teachers | ABC12, 2022
- Genesee County high school students learn about what it means to be a teacher at symposium | Mid-Michigan Now, 2022
Department of Fine & Performing Arts
High School Honor Band
UM-Flint Music hosts the High School Honor Band Weekend each year, bringing over 100 band director-nominated high school students from area mid-Michigan schools to rehearse and perform together.
Any wind or percussion student currently enrolled in grades 9 – 12 who is in good standing with their high school band or orchestra may be nominated for participation.
Honor Band is typically held in mid-November. If you’re a local high school band director and want to ensure you receive notifications about High School Honor Band nominations, please contact us at musicumflint@umich.edu, and we’ll add you to our communication list.
Instrumental & Vocal Workshop
UM-Flint Music offers single-day master classes and workshops for high school vocal and instrumental students.
If you’re interested in participating, please contact us at musicumflint@umich.edu, and we’ll add you to our communication list.
Summer Vocal Academy of Music
For over forty years, musically inclined 5th through 12th graders from the surrounding area have met to explore and develop their love of music. Students meet each weekday for two weeks to learn music theory and history, explore artistry, develop their vocal and collaborative skills, and prepare for a final public performance.
Department of Language & Communication
Free English Language Classes
Students in our Teaching English as a Second or Other Language Certificate program complete a teaching practicum in the local community. We often collaborate with an immigrant-serving organization to offer these free classes to immigrants who want to improve their English language skills.
To connect with our TESOL program manager, please contact Emily Feuerherm at feuerher@umich.edu.
Garland Street Literary Club
Founded in 1888, this is the oldest women’s social club in Flint. UM-Flint is founding an adjunct group and is looking for new members!
For more information, please contact Mary Jo Kietzman at mkietzma@umich.edu.
Read more about this organization:
- Garland Street Literary Club: A Victorian Sensibility | My City Magazine, 2017
- Flint literary club hasn’t missed a monthly meeting since 1888 | MLive, 2010
Rough Draft Cafe Community Writing Center
Need help with a writing project?
Stop by the Rough Draft Cafe at the Flint Public Library each Thursday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. K-12 students and adults can get support with academic, business, and creative writing; cover letters; resumes; mock interviews; and digital literacy.
The RDC is a community-based extension of the UM-Flint Marian E. Wright Writing Center.
Supervising Intern Partnerships
We collaborate with local organizations to offer supervised internships to our students, enabling them to gain real-world experience while giving back to our local community.
Current partnerships include St. Luke’s N.E.W. Life Center and St. Mary’s Mission on Flint’s Eastside.
Department of Psychology
Camp Hope
Building on the legacy established by former School of Nursing professor Maureen Tippen, the Department of Psychology began collaborating with Camp Hope to offer psychology students annual summer internships in August 2024.
This three-day camp provides a supportive environment for children and teens aged 6-17 to process grief following a loved one’s death.
Read more about UM-Flint’s partnership with Camp Hope:
- 2025: UM-Flint psychology interns develop creative tools to help kids at Camp Hope
- 2024: UM-Flint psychology interns help kids cope with grief at Camp Hope
- 2016: UM-Flint Nursing Students Help Grieving Youth at Camp
Department of Social Sciences & Humanities
Civic Park Historic District
What happens when the scholarship is finished, and we leave the community?
In collaboration with the Urban Renaissance Center and the St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center, Professor Henthorn and other UM-Flint faculty continue to build connections and maintain relationships with the citizens of this underserved community.
As the scope of historians and historic preservation scholars is limited to their disciplines, the work can be seen as “finished” once the papers are published, but that doesn’t mean that the challenges this community has faced have been met. This is an ongoing case study and collaboration to discover how academic scholarship can have a positive, lasting impact on the communities it studies.
Collaboration with Flint City Bike Tours
Professor Henthorn offers two guided tours through Flint City Bike Tours, with all the proceeds donated to charity. Ride the Redline tour explores the history of residential segregation in Flint and is an excellent example of how work rooted in peer-reviewed scholarship can produce a public-facing experience. Vehicle Cities of the Dead takes you to six of Flint’s historic cemeteries.
Forge at Factory Two
Factory Two is Flint’s Community Makerspace, featuring an array of hands-on classes and workshops. Members take courses that qualify them to use the community equipment and resources, including screen and 3D printing, sewing, and blacksmithing. UM-Flint students and the community can take blacksmithing courses from Professor Henthorn.
Interpretative Tours of the Glenwood Historical Cemetery
Join Professor Henthorn on one of his regularly scheduled guided tours of the Glenwood Historical Cemetery that leverage place-based interpretive history to provide deeper insight into our collective past. Discover how the cemetery’s motifs, architecture, and other physical features reflect mourning and concepts of death in the 19th century in the Victorian Mourning Traditions tour. Or consider what the city of Flint might have felt like on the day that J. Dallas Dort was interred, as the entire city shut down and the cemetery filled during the Famous Funerals tour.
Legal Scholars Exploration Program
In collaboration with UM-Flint’s K-12 Partnerships, our Political Science program hosts this annual two-day summer camp for students in grades 8-12 interested in learning more about a legal career. Participants will learn from UM-Flint faculty and work with current Pre-Law students as they hone their writing, speaking, and presentation skills.
For more information about future camps, please contact the program’s manager, Kim Saks, at kimsaks@umich.edu.
Local Cemetery Preservation & Workshops
Funded partly by the Wyatt Endowment, Professor Henthorn and student interns work with local communities throughout Michigan to provide hands-on workshops on cemetery preservation. While some preservation work requires specialized tools and equipment, Professor Henthorn and his students offer guidance on cleaning and caring for headstones and monuments to proactively preserve them against the ravages of time. Workshops have been offered as far north as Alpena and south as Three Oaks on the Michigan-Indiana border.
Lumber City Baseball Club of Flint, Michigan
In association with Whaley House Historic Museum, Professor Henthorn founded a vintage baseball club comprised of history enthusiasts aged 18 and older who want to wear old uniforms and play baseball by the rules of the 19th century—including no mitts! The team meets from May to August each year and plays games against 20 other vintage baseball teams across Michigan.
My Econ @ My City Magazine
Professor Chris Douglas provides insight into economics-related topics for general readers in this monthly column for My City Magazine.
Partnership with the Whaley Historic House Museum of Flint
Through this long-standing partnership, UM-Flint and the Whaley Historic House Museum offer student internships, classes, and coursework that feature the Whaley Historic House Museum as a Gilded Age house. Three UM-Flint alumni, including the current director, Justin Wetenhall, have served as the executive director of WHHM.