Hello, colleagues and friends across the University of Michigan community.
We’re at the beginning of a new new year and new semester with all of the possibilities of 2025. One of the reasons I’m so excited about the new year is that it’s the second anniversary of the launch and growth phase of the Arts Initiative and the first year in which we’ll be celebrating our University of Michigan artist-in-residence.
I began trying to play the cello while growing up in Baltimore, and it taught me lessons about courage and patience that continue to infuse my personal life and career. Making progress in the cello takes patience and perseverance, but the rewards are immeasurable. The same proved true for my work as a scientist. It was also informed and inspired by arts. That’s why the arts are so important to me. They infuse all aspects of our lives, provoking thought and meaning, deepening our understanding, and lifting our eyes.
The arts are also an essential element of our Vision 2034, and I’m convinced that as one of the nation’s foremost public universities, that we must be as excellent in the sciences as we are in the arts. At University of Michigan, every student and member of our staff and faculty should have the opportunity to experience the inspiration and power of the arts.
Our Arts Initiative shares this ethos, this commitment to excellence, creativity, and connection. Through the initiative, we seek to transform the student experience, spark interdisciplinary discovery and creativity, broaden and deepen our connections with our artists and community, and make Michigan an even more compelling destination for artists and creatives everywhere. Our artist-in-residence program was established to further those goals by bringing extraordinary, innovative artists to campus, engaging our university community in the transformative power of the arts, while inspiring and impacting our world.
Our inaugural University of Michigan Artist-in-Residence, and this month’s Portrait of a Wolverine is doing so in a singular fashion. Rhiannon Giddens, a singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and scholar, as well as a MacArthur Fellow, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and two-time Grammy awardee will be joining us this month in residency that will last through to October. During that time, she will further her research with our faculty, engage with students and staff through workshops and collaborative projects, and perform at public events.
As important as her incredible artistry, she also brings a commitment to scholarship, to uplifting those who have made compelling, but previously forgotten contributions to the music of America. We’re so excited to have her join us on campus this year, and she’s just as excited about coming to the University of Michigan. Our community will be touched in profound ways through Rhiannon’s residency. I encourage everyone to watch for details of her events and to commit to a resolution that will bring you joy in this new year.
Make the arts heart of your own life. Go to our University Museum with its free admission. Take a class in creative writing or film or the digital arts. Experience a world-class performance at the Power Center or the Hill Auditorium. I guarantee you it will be a life-changing experience. Music and the arts animate our lives, a pulse, a heartbeat, and a drumbeat of time. Every moment matters, so let us use each living stanza and let us make the most of 2025.
Happy New Year!
