UM seniors, proudly carrying their convocation honors swag, mingled with Ann Arbor Rotarians heading toward the Michigan Union on Wednesday.  By 12:30, 75 Rotarians and their 10 guests were joined by 10 Zoomers as President Dawn Johnson rang the bell to begin our meeting.

Pianist extraordinaire Jody Tull de Salis played our National Anthem, and then President Dawn led is in reciting the 4-Way Test.   In honor of the 26th anniversary of Earth Day, Dennis Burke reminded us that the environmental movement first got traction with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring published in 1962. A host of environmental achievements such as the EPA, Clean Air and Water Acts, Paris Accords then followed to improve our world’s environmental quality.  Burke concluded by reading a portion of American poet Phyllis Wheatley Peters’ “Thoughts on the WORKS OF PROVIDENCE” which remains as relevant to our appreciation of Nature today as they did in 1773:

  All-wise Almighty Providence we trace

In honor of today’s keynote speaker, Regent Paul Brown, song leader Downs Herold led us in the singing of the University of Michigan’s alma mater, The Yellow and Blue, written by Charles M. Gayley in 1886. Herold reminded our Club of Past President and former Regent Tom Roach (who played percussion in the UM Marching  and Alumni  Bands), who used to say, “Being a Regent is the best non-paying job.”

President Dawn welcomed the Club to today’s meeting and guests were introduced.  Johnson thanked today’s meeting team which included Dennis Burke, Barbara Eichmuller, Larry Gray, Downs Herold, Carolyn Hyatt, Kennan Robins, Rob Shiff, Mary Steffek Blaske, Jody Tull de Salis, and Jamie York.

Birthday confetti to Bob Buckler, Lois Stenger, Kat Forsythe, Larry Gray, Mark Ouimet, Bob Mull, Dennis Powers, Emily Olson, Brandy Merritt and Dave McDowell.

1.  Rotary Foundation Budget and our updated Policies are being reviewed for approval at the May Board Meeting.  You may be contacted by committee chairs to provide feedback before that May vote.

2.  Thank you Dan Romanchik for serving as the Director of Public Image for the Club. Dan will be stepping off that role, so there is currently a search for a new Director.

3. The 3rd Yoga Retreat will be in honor of the late Agnes Reading, longtime and loyal AARC member.  Yoga event co-organizer Jody Tull de Salis is asking for all members to write a few lines of fond memories of Agnes that will be read during the Yoga Retreat.

4.  John White has new Program Announcements for the month of May.

5.  Marsha Chamberlin took the podium to announce the winners of the 2026 Community Allocations Grant applications.  She reported that there were 54 applications this year – all focused on “helping kids succeed.”  Given the grant parameters: 1) to help children (infants to 18 years old) in education and social development;  2) to build the skills necessary for success later in life; and 3) to provide services for at-risk children, the following Washtenaw County non-profits will receive funds:

* 826Michigan – for a summer writing project. ($5,000)

* Apple Playschool – to expand early education access through scholarships ($3,000)

* Children’s Literacy Network – BookPals ($5,000)

* Ele’s Place – grief back packs and tool kits ($5,000)

* Food Gatherers – health school pantry program ($2,000)

* Foundation Preschool – for child care stability ($5,000)

* Judson Center – Parent Education Training Program to Support Children with Autism ($5,000)

* Neutral Zone – Project Ignition, an after school program ($5,000)

* SOS – parents as teachers for Washtenaw County kids ($5,000)

* Ozone House – opportunities for homeless youngsters ($5,000)

* Student Advocacy Center – pairing students with mentors over multiple years ($5,000)

* Washtenaw County Placement – scholarships for low-income kids to go to sleep over camps ($5,000)

* Science Olympiad – funding for its 24th year ($5,000)

* Community Action Network – Deep Dive – Great Lakes summer camps ($5,000)

Chamberlin gave a shout-out to the excellent work by co-chair Carolina Typaldos who organizes all the application data and ranking scores made by the committee members.  Chamberlin also invited each member of our Club to attend the June 16 awardee recognition reception to be held at Venue at 5 p.m.  This is your opportunity to meet the leaders of these outstanding non-profit organizations and hear about how our Rotary dollars are being used to help kids succeed.

6.  Dennis Powers, chair of the Rotaractor-Rotary Committee provided a comprehensive update on Rotaract Club activities, including their successful Winterfest outreach bringing in 15 new members, collaboration with local Interact clubs, service projects at Food Gatherers and St. Andrews, and the graduation recognition of six members.

7.  Tom Millard, with the support of two UM students who formed “BluePrints for Pangea,” spoke about the upcoming drive for the donation of medical supplies for under served, both nationally and internationally.  The Ann Arbor drive drop off date is May 2, from 1-3 p.m. at 4750 S State.  To date, this 501c3 non-profit has collected $10M in supplies to be sent to 15 countries. Please see the April 20 Rotarian for details of what types of medical supplies and equipment is needed.

8.  Leo Shedden and Ed Johnson reported that this past weekend, 16 Rotarians collected a record 73 bags of trash on the State Street/I-94 entrance as part of the Adopt-a-Highway program.  Thank you to all the volunteers!

Regent Brown, introduced by Dennis Burke, focused the first portion of his talk on the UM’s economic impact on Ann Arbor and the State of Michigan.

Brown presented a number of impressive stats including:

* UM has 50,000 employees making it the largest employer in Michigan with $11B in wages and benefits;

* In 2025, the UM paid $32M to the City of Ann Arbor for services such as water and sewer;

* UM received $2.16B in research funding in 2025, making it one of the top research universities in the country;

* UM boasts more than 100 graduate programs that are in the top 10 in the country;

Brown noted that in 2025, the UM initiated 673 new inventions, 31 new start ups, and generated $31.4M in licensing revenue.  He proudly noted that the UM’s success in translating research into economic impact by noting recent success story of Histosonics (see Rotarian minutes for talk by Engineering Dean Thole first explaining this invention that uses sound waves to destroy liver tumor) is now valued at more than $2B.  He shared that ASICS shoes will spend $25M in sports science research at the UM over the next five years.   He added that over the past two decades there have been 10 FDA-approved therapeutics and 31 devices that have emerged from UM research.

The last portion of Regent Brown’s presentation focused on the search for the next UM President.  Brown discussed the recent unexpected and unfortunate departure of their chosen candidate, Kent Syverud, as UM President, due to health issues.  Syverud will continue at the UM law school and in a consulting role while the presidential search process restarts.  Regent Brown commended the excellent work by Dominco Grasso, and that Grasso will serve as President until the new President is named.  The search committee, which includes alumni, students, faculty, and staff will refresh the pool of finalists from the previous search and potentially add new candidates. The UM is aiming to have its new President in place by fall of 2026 or early 2027.

Brown concluded his talk by sharing this past weekend’s Democratic Party convention events where he was re-elected as a regent candidate for the November ballot.  He said Amir Makled won the second nomination, amid tensions surrounding the Palestinian and Israeli conflict.

There was a warm round of applause from the audience, and President Dawn thanked Regent