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The University of Michigan will add 25 megawatts of renewable energy across campus through the new Maize Rays solar expansion initiative, marking a significant milestone in the university’s commitment to sustainability and climate action.

University leadership unveiled the initiative during a ceremony May 13 at the North Campus Facilities Services Building, the site of the first phase of construction.

The Maize Rays solar power expansion initiative includes the on-campus solar project and will incorporate additional projects to enhance solar capacity across all University of Michigan campuses and at off-site locations that boost Michigan-based renewables.

At the facilities services building, U-M is adding a solar power system featuring both a rooftop array and a carport installation. This construction is the first of a three-year effort and plays an important role in U-M’s goal of eliminating Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by early 2027.

During the kick-off event, several key leaders addressed the attendees, including Shana Weber, associate vice president for Campus Sustainability; Kim Kiernan, co-interim associate vice president for Facilities and Operations; Brian Hall, assistant vice president of Utilities; Victoria “Torrie” Jacobs, incoming president for Students for Clean Energy; and John Bates, chief executive officer of Radial Power, the energy and sustainability solutions firm managing the solar installations.

The on-campus 25-megawatt component of Maize Rays will eventually generate power equivalent to the annual usage of around 3,000 homes. University buildings will directly utilize the power generated, reducing Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, which are linked to purchased electricity.

By the end of 2025, Ann Arbor is expected to have more than 10 megawatts of on-campus solar power online, with future expansions planned for the Dearborn and Flint campuses.

Weber emphasized the initiative’s role in the broader Campus Plan 2050.

“The Maize Rays initiative is one component of our broader vision to be a global beacon of resilience, innovation, efficiency and inspiration for our campus community, always with an eye on scalable impact and broader community engagement,” Weber said. “It’s not just about installing solar panels, it’s also about re-imagining big projects like this to explicitly enhance engagement, community benefits, education, and research opportunities.”

Kiernan welcomed attendees by highlighting the excitement surrounding the initiative.

“The entire campus community will be able to see these installations in places all across campus. Our goal is to maximize visibility and awareness,” Kiernan said.

At the heart of the initiative is the technical expertise of the Office of Campus Sustainability alongside Facilities & Operations. Both units and external partners such as Radial Power collaborate with student groups including Students for Clean Energy and EcoData to engage the campus community, track the project’s progress and provide peer-to-peer educational opportunities focused on solar energy.

In a full-circle moment of leadership, Domenico Grasso was officially appointed as interim president during the Board of Regents regular meeting May 15 on the UM-Dearborn campus, where he had spent seven years as chancellor.

The gathering was especially significant for President Grasso, who opened his remarks by reflecting on the role the university has played in shaping his life and career. 

“I joined the U-M community in the fall of 1983, when I began pursuing a doctorate in the College of Engineering,” Grasso said. “That is also where I met my wife, Susan. Both experiences have changed my life. To be sitting here, as president, some 40 years later is a tremendous privilege.”

He pledged to continue broadening U-M’s impact and unite with faculty, students, staff and regents.

“I have devoted my career to higher education because it is the lifeblood of an educated citizenry,” Grasso told the regents. “This is especially true of public universities, and there is no greater public university than the University of Michigan. We advance our state and the nation in so many ways, from exceptional health care and transformative research to new knowledge created by faculty and the myriad contributions of our alumni.”

Grasso told the board he and his wife will relocate to the president’s house in Ann Arbor during the search process for the new president. Grasso already indicated he will not seek the permanent president role.

MORE INFORMATION

• Read President Grasso’s full Regent remarks
• See President Grasso’s background

Board Chair Katherine White led the unanimous vote of regent support.

“We are so grateful for your willingness to serve and for your commitment to this university,” White said. “Duty is inextricably bound with honor, and you have demonstrated it again and again.

“We thank you for all you’ve done as chancellor at UM-Dearborn, and we look forward to your leadership in the days ahead.”

White also thanked the regents for acting with decisiveness in swiftly naming Grasso. “I remain so proud to serve with you today,” she said.

UM-Dearborn Interim Chancellor Gabriella Scarlatta thanked Grasso on behalf of Dearborn’s leadership.

“This is symbolic that we are here in Dearborn today,” she said. “We are grateful for the chancellor for his guidance during his years at Dearborn, and we have extreme confidence in his abilities (as president).”

Speaking on the faculty promotions and tenure appointments that were approved during the meeting, Grasso reflected on his own academic journey.

“Many of us around the table remember the joy, pride, and, yes, relief that came with receiving tenure,” he said. “As president, I want to foster a vibrant environment where the best minds continue to thrive. Today’s promotions contribute deeply to that. I know you will join me in extending congratulations to these faculty members.”

The University of Michigan continues to be recognized as a top destination for graduate education in the nation, according to the 2025 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools released April 8.

Each year, U.S. News ranks professional school programs in six areas: education, engineering, law, business, medicine and nursing. It also periodically ranks programs in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, health and other areas. Not all U-M schools and colleges receive a U.S. News & World Report ranking each year.  

MORE INFORMATION

• U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools
• Previous graduate rankings stories

U-M schools and colleges included in the top 15 overall rankings for 2025 are:

• LSA’s sociology program at No. 1, clinical psychology program at No. 2, psychology program at No. 3 and political science program at No. 5​.
• The Marsal Family School of Education at No. 2.   
• The School of Public Health at No. 2. 
• The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at No. 3.  
• The School of Information’s library and information studies program at No. 5.
• The School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program at No. 6, and its master’s degree program at No. 8.
• The College of Engineering at No. 11.
• The Stephen M. Ross School of Business Master of Accounting Program at No. 4, Executive MBA program at No. 7, the Weekend MBA Program at No. 7 and the Full-time MBA program at No. 13.

UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint also received rankings for their part-time MBA programs, Nos. 126 and 143 respectively.

The rankings are based on expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. 

In addition to the overall program rankings, U-M received rankings in several specialty areas. The specialties that received rankings this year are:

Business (full-time MBA): management (2), accounting (4), project management (3), marketing (3), production operations (4), international (7), non-profit (7), supply chain (8), entrepreneurship (7), executive MBA (7), finance (10), information systems (16) and analytics (24). 

Computer science: artificial intelligence (9), programming language (13), systems (7) and theory (16). UM-Dearborn ranked 174 overall best computer science doctoral program.

Education: higher education administration (2), secondary teacher education (3), education psychology (3), curriculum and instruction (4), elementary teacher education (4), educational administration (8) and education policy (6).

Engineering: nuclear (1), industrial (2), environmental (4), aerospace (5), mechanical (5), civil (5), electrical (6), computer (7), biomedical (8), chemical (8) and materials (8).

Nursing: midwifery (3), Master’s Nurse Practitioner – family (8), Doctor of Nursing Practice – adult gerontology/primary care (6) and Doctor of Nursing Practice – family (9). 

Public affairs/policy: social policy (1), public policy analysis (2), health policy (2), environmental policy (5), global policy (12) and urban policy (12).

Public health: biostatistics (3), health policy and management (4), social behavior (4), epidemiology (5), environmental health science (6) and healthcare management (7).

In addition to the rankings noted above, UM-Flint ranked No. 151 in occupational therapy, No. 105 in physical therapy and No. 80 in nursing anesthesia. U-M’s law and medical schools no longer participate in the U.S. News & World Report graduate rankings, however, both schools remain ranked by U.S. News in the 2025 edition.

Since new rankings for 2025 were not released for all programs, the following retain their rankings from prior years:

• The School of Social Work ranked No. 1.
• The College of Pharmacy ranked No. 2.
• Science Doctoral Programs:
  • Chemistry ranked No. 14 overall.
  • Earth Sciences ranked No. 9 overall.
  • Mathematics ranked No. 11 overall.
  • Physics ranked No. 13 overall.