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New solar installations distributed across the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses will have a total capacity of 25 megawatts of renewable electricity after a three-year installation process is complete.

The electricity generated — enough to power about 3,000 homes — will feed directly into U-M buildings rather than going back into the regional power grid and will work toward the university’s goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity, known as Scope 2 emissions.

The installations also will contribute to the energy resilience and climate action goals of the city of Ann Arbor.

Along with new off-site, Michigan-based renewable-power purchase agreements, the installations will allow the university to achieve its Scope 2 emissions goal within an estimated two years.

The solar installations will be constructed in phases. Initial locations will be on the tops of existing parking areas and large rooftops, where installations will cause minimal disruption. Other locations will be assessed over time.

The first installation phase will begin in 2025 with facilities services buildings on the perimeter of the Ann Arbor campus before moving to higher-use campus locations. By the end of that year, the university expects to have more than 10 megawatts of power online in Ann Arbor.

The full project will span three years, with installations at UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint in later phases.

The project demonstrates one part of the university’s broad commitment to carbon neutrality and modernizing its energy infrastructure with resilient technologies that better serve communities, said Shana Weber, associate vice president for campus sustainability.

“In addition to moving the university closer to demonstrating repeatable and scalable approaches to climate action, we seek to deepen an immersive educational and research experience that advances innovation and builds high-impact partnerships,” Weber said.

She described the overarching approach as one that strives to cultivate the campus and community as a living learning lab across all climate action initiatives.

The solar installations are part of the university’s Campus Plan 2050, which was released Sept. 30 and guides comprehensive campus development for the next 25 years. The effort also reflects the commitment of the university’s Vision 2034 “Climate Action, Sustainability and Environmental Justice” impact area. 

“Sourcing our electricity from Michigan-based renewable sources is only one piece of the solution,” said Kim Kiernan, co-interim associate vice president for facilities and operations. “By connecting to the larger campus plan, and to the pillars of the university’s Vision 2034, physical systems will work together with programmatic goals to advance exciting initiatives.”

“When combined with other investments in building electrification, including geo-exchange and heat pump systems for heating and cooling, sustainable building methods, transit infrastructure improvements and more, we move closer to realizing a resilient, innovative, livable community that is a go-to leader in responsiveness to global needs,” Weber said.

The university says the upfront investments in making this transition will provide long-term benefits, including improved energy resilience, reduced financial risk due to volatile fuel markets, reputational leadership, educational and research opportunities, and reduced operating costs.

The University of Michigan is expanding eligibility for its Go Blue Guarantee, enabling nearly 2,200 additional in-state, current undergraduate students to qualify for tuition-free education at the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses.

The university announced Dec. 5 that eligible incoming and returning full-time, in-state students whose families have annual incomes up to $125,000 and assets up to $125,000 will qualify beginning in the fall of 2025.

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• Go Blue Guarantee

The move will mean that, by the fall, more than 10,000 students will have received the full-tuition guarantee since the initiative began.

“The Go Blue Guarantee breaks down economic barriers and ensures that a world-class education is available to Michigan students from all backgrounds, no matter their family’s economic means,” said President Santa J. Ono.

“Having witnessed the initiative’s transformative impact, we’re proud to take this step to support a greater number of our state’s most promising students and reaffirm our commitment to affordability and equal opportunity.”

The Go Blue Guarantee launched on the Ann Arbor campus in January 2018 and offered free tuition for in-state students from families with an annual income up to $65,000 and assets up to $50,000. The Board of Regents extended the commitment in 2021, with the same income and asset thresholds, to UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint students with a 3.5 GPA.

The income and asset thresholds moved to $75,000 for the Ann Arbor campus in 2023, and the income threshold increased to $75,000 for new students on the Dearborn campus in fall of 2024.

The university will invest an additional $8.8 million annually to expand the commitment, which since inception has extended free tuition to more than 8,000 students. With this expansion, an additional 2,200 students on all three campuses will be eligible for the guarantee. Dearborn and Flint will continue to require students to have a 3.5 GPA to qualify.

“As a state university, we have a responsibility to serve the people of Michigan and — given the many pressures of today’s economy — we want to ensure that working-class and middle-class Michiganders can send their children to this great university and benefit from all that it offers,” said Board Chair Katherine E. White.

“The Go Blue Guarantee has had a meaningful impact on the lives of Dearborn students,” said UM-Dearborn Chancellor Domenico Grasso. “Half of our student population is Pell (Grant) eligible and nearly half are first generation to attend college. Providing additional financial assistance allows more in-state students to obtain a Michigan degree, put their dreams into practice and change the trajectory of their lives.”

“The Go Blue Guarantee reflects our commitment to making higher education accessible,” said UM-Flint Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander. “By covering full undergraduate tuition for qualifying Flint students, we empower first-time students and transfer students to achieve their greatest potential and transform their futures. This program ensures that financial circumstances do not stand in the way of success.”

Undergraduate financial aid for students at the Ann Arbor campus has increased by an average of more than 9% annually over the past decade. As a result, 63% of in-state undergraduates and 43% of out-of-state undergraduate students at Ann Arbor receive grant or scholarship aid.

For most resident undergraduate students who receive need-based financial aid, the net cost of attending U-M Ann Arbor is less than it was 10 years ago, after adjusting for inflation. Nearly 3,000 fewer students are taking out loans compared with a decade ago. 

At Dearborn and Flint, annual undergraduate financial aid over the past decade has increased about 9% and 6%, respectively.

“During the admissions process, the three University of Michigan campuses strive to encourage students from all backgrounds to consider t​he life-changing effect a U-M education will have on their future. Today’s announcement makes the U-M experience affordable for many more students,” said Adele C. Brumfield, vice provost for enrollment management.

U-M’s Ann Arbor campus is the only public university in Michigan that meets full demonstrated need for in-state students, providing support for students beyond the Go Blue Guarantee with family incomes up to $180,000.

UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint will continue to provide significant financial aid for students who do not qualify for the Go Blue Guarantee based on individual need and merit.

Republican Carl Meyers has been elected and Democrat Denise Ilitch has been reelected to eight-year terms on the University of Michigan Board of Regents.

With all 83 Michigan counties reporting, unofficial statewide totals indicate Meyers was the top vote-getter in the Nov. 5 election with 2,553,175 votes or 25.76% of votes cast, according to the Michigan Secretary of State’s website. Ilitch received 2,472,806 votes, or 24.95%.

Democrat Shauna Ryder Diggs and Republican Sevag Vartanian finished third and fourth, respectively, with Diggs getting 2,330,275 votes, or 23.52%, and Vartanian getting 2,239,397 votes, or 22.60%.

Meanwhile, Kimberly A. Thomas, clinical professor of law at the Law School and director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic, won her bid for an eight-year term on the Michigan Supreme Court. Thomas received 2,572,928 votes, or 61.36%.

Meyers will succeed Regent Ron Weiser, whose term is ending. This will be Ilitch’s third term on the board. Both will begin their terms Jan. 1, 2025.

Meyers of Dearborn is a senior vice president of investments for Raymond James in Plymouth, Michigan, and a 1979 graduate of the UM-Dearborn, receiving his B.S.A. degree. He ran for the board unsuccessfully in 2004, 2016 and 2020.

Ilitch of Bingham Farms was elected to the Board of Regents in 2008 and reelected in 2016. She is an owner of Ilitch Family Companies and president of Ilitch Enterprises. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from U-M in 1977 and has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Detroit.

U-M’s eight regents serve overlapping terms, with two seats up for election every two years.

Other candidates for the Board of Regents and their unofficial vote totals were:

• Donna Oetman, U.S. Taxpayers Party, 157,773 votes.
• Andrew Chadderdon, Libertarian, 156,296 votes.