Talent & Education

Universities are rushing to create workers for Michigan’s booming cannabis industry. That can get tricky because federal law prevents students from actually touching marijuana.

Astronomers announced on Thursday they captured the first image of a blackhole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. University of Michigan research scientist Mark Reynolds weighs in on how he helps with the discovery from Ann Arbor.

Administrators say it will take a strong workforce to address academic challenges that worsened during the pandemic.

A consortium of newsrooms led by the nonprofit newsroom MuckRock is requesting child care data through Michigan Freedom of Information requests and conducting a first-of-its-kind data analysis of child care records. They will have stories and data to share in the coming weeks.

The university has faced criticism for years for its treatment of dogs during research. A new attorney general opinion states that there needs to be state oversight of animal experimentation.

The COVID-19 pandemic stopped the classes of 2020 and 2021 from having a proper graduation ceremony. Saturday, they gathered under blue skies to hear Dr. Anthony Fauci urge them to embrace leadership and reject falsities.

The GOP-controlled Legislature wants to increase funding as 15 percent. Details still need to be worked out between House, Senate plans.

Lawmakers propose competing scholarships, aid programs to return to school during Michigan budget deliberations.

Michigan has a financial cushion thanks to federal stimulus funds and stronger-than-expected recovery from the economic shock of COVID-19. But education spending is a sticking point.

Residents owe a total of $51 billion in Michigan. Here’s a primer on what we know so far about a plan to forgive some — or all — of that debt.

Using federal COVID relief funds to curb learning loss, some local school districts are putting money into tutoring. A review of 16 programs shows some schools follow best practices more closely than others.

State educations leaders have not provided the coordination and financial support as in some other states, leaving Michigan school districts to develop their own programs or take other approaches to stemming learning delays.

Scientists from around the world are expected to flock to East Lansing to conduct research at the $730 million Facility for Rare Isotopes, which officially opens Monday. Its particle accelerator is faster than yours.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is speaking at a ‘comeback ceremony’ May 7 for Class of 2020 and 2021 graduates whose commencements were curtailed because of the pandemic.

A federal civil rights agency is looking into why CMU ended men’s track and field and then revived its men’s golf program. University President Bob Davies said a tight budget (track costs more to run than golf) not racial bias was the reason.

The pandemic didn’t hospitalize or kill as many college students as it did their grandparents, but it still left a mark on “the best four years of your life.”

Across the country, conservative legislatures are trying to exclude transgender athletes from girls sports. A few sentences in a K-12 budget proposal could have a similar impact in Michigan.

The Democratic package would not use standardized test scores this year to evaluate teachers or enforce Michigan’s third-grade reading law in recognition of the disruptions caused by the pandemic. It’s unclear if Republicans will give the bills a hearing.

CMU’s president and board chair say they understand the difficulty of reversing steep enrollment declines and have big decisions to make in the next budget cycle.

The majority of Michigan’s public universities, and half its private colleges, are below the national average in the percentage of their low-income students who earn a degree. Some do far better than others in ensuring these students graduate.