College of Business

Student Success

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College of Engineering and Computer Science

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Sat, 04/26/2025 - 17:47

��-Dearborn awarded 1,074 degrees during three commencement ceremonies on April 26.

��-Dearborn's newest graduates celebrated after the April 26 commencement ceremonies. Photos by Matthew Stephens/Michigan Photography

Class of Spring 2025: Fatmah Saleh

stuxbury — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 14:17:04 +0000

Class of Spring 2025: Fatmah Saleh stuxbury Wed, 04/23/2025 - 10:17

Fatmah Saleh, a College of Business student, interacts with global corporation leaders as an executive board member for ��-Dearborn’s chapter of the Financial Management Association. She has completed internships with automotive suppliers like Yazaki North America and Stellantis. And, immediately after her Spring 2025 graduation, she’ll start a position as an international accounting analyst with Stellantis.

Saleh also has a SAP business platform certification, a good GPA and is a familiar face among business students. While talking with Reporter in the Renick University Center recently, students waved to her as they walked by. Saleh's upbeat demeanor is a good complement to her dedication to the field of business — her email signature even has a quote from entrepreneur Mark Cuban. It reads, “It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. You only have to be right once.”

Saleh — who first saw Cuban on the show “Shark Tank” — explains that the quote resonates with her. Behind the scenes everyone struggles, but success is when someone keeps trying, perseveres and eventually gets it right. People wouldn’t know it when meeting her, but Saleh has experienced many challenges in her 23 years.

Her father passed away when she was six. She’s worked full time since her high school graduation to help support her mom, who has a long-term illness. And Saleh is her mom’s caregiver. “Family means everything to me. I wanted to go to college, but wasn’t even sure I should because I wanted to be there for her. My mom and my older brother encouraged me to enroll. That was very important to my mom,” says Saleh, noting that her brother — who is 18 years older — secured a home as a young adult and moved the family into it after their dad passed away. “Her doctor wanted her to have surgery this month, but she told him that it needed to wait until after my graduation. She scheduled her surgery to happen four days after I graduate. That’s how important that day is to her.”

Fatmah Saleh's father, mother and brother are pictured with a young Saleh, circa 2003.

On top of these challenges, she’s gone through life with a stutter in her speech. Talking with Saleh, it isn’t noticeable. But growing up with a speech disorder has impacted her. “It’s something I’ve battled with for as long as I can remember. If I’m being honest, it’s the one thing that’s made me question my potential the most. Every interview, every meeting, every classroom presentation, I used to wonder: ‘What if I mess up? What if they don’t take me seriously because of the way I speak?’ That fear was real,” Saleh says. “But it never stopped me.”

Acknowledging it as a part of her identity, Saleh looked at ways she could minimize her stutter’s negative effect. She joined the College of Business’ student organization FMA, where she often gives Introductions at events or meetings. Realizing that her stutter is more prominent when she is nervous, she builds in time to adequately prepare for presentations. She attends ��-Dearborn career fairs regularly to gain confidence when interacting with potential employers. And she’s honest about her challenges when she has interview opportunities.

When she had an interview with Yazaki for a student analyst position — a role she heard about at a ��-Dearborn career fair — Saleh was taking a full-time course load while working at an accounting office. She scheduled the Zoom interview between work and class time. “I had to do the interview in my car because of my schedule. I was worried that I wouldn’t get the position because I was obviously in my car. I was honest when the interviewer asked about it,” says Saleh, who also mentioned her stutter near the beginning of the interview. “Instead of it being seen as a negative, they felt it showed them that I was very determined because I'm not going to allow anything to stop me. I got the job.”

That year-long experience in the automotive supplier field led to an internship at Stellantis as a student analyst. The Stellantis role was especially important to Saleh because her father once worked for the corporation as a production employee. “I remember going with my dad to work and how much I liked being there with him,” she says. “It is a memory that stayed with me. Now I work for the same company. To me, it is a sign that God is looking out for me and my dad is too.”

She says the past year with Stellantis also reminded her that her challenges will not detour her. “It was more than just a professional opportunity. It was personal. I walked into a global company with a lot of self-doubt, but what I found was support, encouragement and proof that I belonged. I wasn’t just ‘the girl with the speech issue.’ I was a valuable part of a team,” she says. “I contributed. I grew. I found my confidence.”

She credits ��-Dearborn staff and faculty with moving her toward her goals too. A first-generation college student, Saleh, says COB Advisor Lori Ormsby guided her through finding the right classes that fit with her busy work and home life. She says COB faculty have also been supportive of her pursuing the Certified Public Accountant designation after graduation and have provided her with study resources.

Feeling a strong level of support in her life, she says she pays it forward and provides the same for her friends and classmates. She listens to their concerns, helps tailor their resumes and links peers to opportunities. Through her time in FMA, she’s made strong connections at Ford Motor Company, General Motors and more. “I learn about job opportunities. If I know someone who would be a good fit, I’ll help connect them. For example, I recently helped someone land a supply chain rotational program position at Ford,” she says.

Once again quoting Mark Cuban, “sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is.” Approaching graduation, Saleh has put in her sweat equity — and it’s paid off dividends. “I have good friends. I have a life where I have a job at a company I care about. And I’ll be able to work hybrid, so I’ll have the opportunity to be home with my mom, too,” she says. “Others believed in me, believed I could do it even with everything happening in my life. I am thankful for them. I now believe in myself.”

Saleh is dedicating her graduation to her mother, brother and family. She says they always showed up for her and their selfless actions taught her a valuable life lesson about being present. Her advice to those who are struggling? Keep showing up.

“I’ve learned that success isn’t always loud. It’s not always obvious,” Saleh says. “Sometimes, success is quiet resilience. It’s choosing to speak up when it’s hard. It’s pushing past fear when no one sees the battle you’re fighting. It’s choosing growth over perfection. When I graduate this month, that’s a lesson I will be taking with me. You don’t need perfect grades or perfect speech to build a powerful future. You just need to keep showing up.”

Story by Sarah Tuxbury

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Wed, 04/23/2025 - 14:16

College of Business grad Fatmah Saleh is graduating with a full-time job at a Fortune 500 company. But she is most proud of how she persevered at ��-Dearborn.

Class of Spring 2025 graduate Fatmah Saleh says the key to overcoming challenges is to keep showing up. Photo by Sarah Tuxbury

The Administration Building and Social Sciences Building are getting makeovers

lblouin — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:24:20 +0000

The Administration Building and Social Sciences Building are getting makeovers lblouin Wed, 04/23/2025 - 08:24

Moving the College of Business and College of Education, Health and Human Services, both now housed in the Fairlane Center, to the main campus is one of the key parts of ��-Dearborn’s current Comprehensive Campus Plan. If all goes according to schedule, the faculty and administrative staff from CEHHS will make a move to what’s now the Administration Building in time for the Fall 2026 semester. (The building will also likely get a new name!) By late the following year, COB plans to take up residence in a renovated Social Sciences Building, much of which has been vacant ever since the College of Arts, Sciences and Letters brought its social science faculty to the CASL building a couple years ago, though some classes are still taught there.

Facilities teams will be kicking off one of the first big steps in that process in just a few weeks when they relocate administrative staff from the AB to temporary offices in the SSB in order to make way for construction teams. Director of Facilities Planning and Construction Emily Hamilton, who’s overseeing both projects, characterizes this as a more “modest” renovation than the recent overhaul of the Renick University Center’s first floor. But like that project, one of the guiding principles is to do a lot more within the same amount of space. Business Affairs will consolidate Financial Services and Student Accounts into the existing suite. All other administrative departments within the AB — the Chancellor’s Office, Provost’s Office, Office of Research, External Relations, Institutional Advancement and Alumni Engagement, and Human Resources — will be consolidated into the east wing of the building, making the west wing available for CEHHS. Hamilton says to accomplish that, the design teams are taking advantage of hybrid and remote work schedules, a dramatic decrease in the need for paper file storage, and shared reception areas, which have left many units needing less physical space. This new administrative wing of the building is also gaining a kitchen, a flexible meeting room space, a few flex offices and a copy room, all of which can be used by any of the administrative units.

Most of the renovation budget is being funneled into the CEHHS wing of the building, where the plan calls for new faculty offices, a dean’s suite, a college-level advising office, two classrooms, open student collaboration and lounge spaces, and several multipurpose spaces that faculty and staff can use for meetings or lunch breaks. Hamilton says that if the budget allows, the team is also planning to update the underutilized open space in the middle of the building. Cosmetically, the interior is getting new paint, carpet, ceilings and some modern sliding office doors like those in the renovated RUC, which save a lot of space compared to conventional in-swing doors.

A rendering of an open collaboration area in the renovated Administration Building. Credit: Neumann/Smith Architecture

The renovation of the SSB is currently in the early design phase, but Hamilton says they’re already discussing some exciting renovation ideas. On the exterior, the east side of the building will be getting a new, more welcoming entry. And inside, the team will be rethinking the two auditoriums. In conjunction with the Registrar's Office, the facilities team recently completed a space utilization study and found that there is diminishing need for this once-quintessential style of college classroom. (She says COB doesn’t use this classroom style at all anymore.) In a portion of these spaces, the plan calls for removing every other row of fixed theater seating so the new wider terraces can host fixed tables and moveable chairs, suitable for case study use. The design team is also investigating making a portion of these rooms ground level to house the college’s labs, including its flagship Bloomberg Lab. Similar to the lab’s current location in the Fairlane Center, you can expect lots of glass, so passersby can look in on the action. The SSB’s main hallway will also be widened to carve out more informal hangout and collaboration spaces for students, as well as space for events.

With both the AB and SSB, Hamilton says the facilities team has collaborated closely with the colleges to create designs that best serve their needs. Work on the AB is currently out for bid and will begin this summer. Because the SSB is being used to temporarily house the administrative units, work won’t start on that project until the AB renovation is complete.

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Want to learn more about ��-Dearborn’s plans to reshape its physical campus? Check out our recent story on the Comprehensive Campus Plan. Story by Lou Blouin

Faculty and Staff

University-wide

College of Education, Health, and Human Services

Facilities Planning

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Wed, 04/23/2025 - 12:16

It’s been two decades since all four of ��-Dearborn’s colleges were on the main campus. One of the first big steps in the plan to bring COB and CEHHS back is kicking off in June.

The Administration Building is set to become the new home of the College of Education, Health and Human Services. The renovation includes several new informal hangout and collaboration spaces for students. Rendering by Neumann/Smith Architecture

‘Forever built-in best friends’

stuxbury — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 13:02:53 +0000

‘Forever built-in best friends’ stuxbury Wed, 04/09/2025 - 09:02

Quadruplets Elizabeth, Catherine, Gabrielle and Colin Sethi — born in that order — are often in sync. They are all Dearborn Wolverines. They are all in the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity. They are all creative. “If you follow astrology, that’s the Pisces in us,” says Elizabeth, noting that she enjoys fashion design and Catherine likes crafting, while Gabrielle journals and Colin draws.

But there are times where the four fraternal quadruplets may not be aligned — like when they order pizza from the Renick University Center’s cafeteria. “When we’d be on campus together all day, we’d get lunch. Since there are four of us, we’d get a specialty pizza to share. Except we couldn’t always agree on toppings — so we’d put some things on one half and other toppings on the other half. I think the people at the pizza counter hated to see us coming,” says Elizabeth, laughing.

The four siblings gathered for an afternoon Zoom call in their West Bloomfield home right before April 10’s National Siblings Day — Elizabeth, the oldest, coordinated getting four busy people all together in the same place — to discuss campus life and reflect on what next year might look like with two of them graduating this semester.

Elizabeth says it is rare that they are home together from class, internships, work and study groups before 9 p.m. Congregated in the kitchen, Catherine is making chai. Gabrielle is grabbing Oreos. And Colin is working on homework on his laptop.

"Gabrielle is the person that, if you're having a bad day, you want to go to her because she's just super bubbly and makes you happy. Colin's the funniest and has a sarcastic sense of humor. Catherine's the most athletic and independent. She inspires us to be open to new experiences,” Elizabeth says. “I like to express myself through fashion. And I'd definitely say that I'm the most serious and like to keep everything organized. They like to remind me that I’m not mom.”

Elizabeth, a digital marketing major, and Gabrielle, a psychology major, will celebrate their graduation from the College of Business and the College of Arts, Sciences and Letters at the same ceremony on April 26. Both sisters plan to move out of state to continue their education. Elizabeth will attend graduate school at LIM College in Manhattan for fashion merchandising and retail management and Gabrielle was accepted to a master’s program in social work at Columbia University.

“When we were in high school, we toured universities like Duke and the University of North Carolina, but we weren’t quite ready to leave home. ��-Dearborn is a good school that’s close to home — we all decided to go there together,” Elizabeth says. “It’s going to be a little weird not to be the four of us, but I’m ready to make a big move.” Colin, a finance and supply chain double major, expects to graduate in Fall 2025 and Catherine, a premed major, plans to graduate the semester after Colin.

But, before graduation, they have a couple more Alpha Kappa Psi meetings to attend together. Colin and Elizabeth, who are College of Business students, joined first. Then, after hearing how beneficial the fraternity was with networking and job-skill honing, Catherine and Gabrielle joined.

Even though they do a lot together, people often don’t confuse them — anymore. Elizabeth is 5’2” with curly hair and Catherine is 5’7” with straight hair. However, in grade school, they’d often have to remind their teachers who is who. “We didn’t look alike then either, but I think having us in a class together can be confusing at first,” Elizabeth says. “That hasn’t been a problem at ��-Dearborn.”

Each agreed that their time at ��-Dearborn has helped them further develop their own career interests and make new friends separate from one another. But they also continue to find ways to spend time together. For example, they regularly try new restaurants in downtown Dearborn since it is so close to campus. A current favorite is The Great Commoner on Michigan Avenue.

They were raised to be individuals by their parents — fun fact: mom Carol is a ��-Dearborn alum — and they will continue to grow in their own directions while also sharing their successes with each other.

“We have all different mindsets and perspectives on things, but we all agree that we have a special bond and will be there for each other no matter where we end up in the future,” Elizabeth says. “I am so grateful to have three forever built-in best friends.”

Story by Sarah Tuxbury

Off

Wed, 04/09/2025 - 13:02

Quadruplets Elizabeth, Catherine, Gabrielle and Colin Sethi will begin to travel different paths after graduation — but they know their bond will continue.

Catherine, Elizabeth, Gabrielle and Colin Sethi — pictured in that order — decided to become Dearborn Wolverines together. Photo courtesy of Sethi family

Three of a kind

stuxbury — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 12:56:45 +0000

Three of a kind stuxbury Wed, 04/09/2025 - 08:56

Three is a lucky number. And the Class of Spring 2025 will be seeing triple at their commencement. During the first of April 26’s three ceremonies, three identical brothers will walk across the stage in honor of their three degrees.

Ali, Elias and Hadi Elzein, born in that order and studying economics, accounting and finance, and biology, respectively, do everything together — and graduation day won’t be different. “I finished last semester, but delayed my graduation so I could walk with my brothers,” Hadi says. “We have a story of family, of love forged through challenge. As brothers, we chose to walk together every step of the way.”

That’s not the only celebration day for the Elzein brothers this month. Today, April 10, is National Siblings Day. Hadi says National Siblings Day could be every day for them. They have a group chat on their phone. They share a room at home. They work together at Habib’s Cuisine. “If something comes up and one of us can’t go in for a shift, we can fill in for each other,” says Hadi, a biology major who's in the process of applying for graduate school.

The brothers’ resemblance is usually the first thing that catches people’s eyes. Speaking at the Renick University Center, they wear matching black shirts. They have a rhythm between them — the way they finish each other’s thoughts, the unspoken understanding — that’s a bond built on more than shared birthdays or DNA.

To help people tell them apart, they do things to physically distinguish themselves. Ali wears a silver necklace and Elias a silver bracelet. And when they are sitting next to each other, you can see their personality differences — Hadi laughs more, Elias chooses his words thoughtfully and Ali is very social. But when they are solo, that’s when the mistakes happen. “People will come up to me thinking that I was one of my brothers. I don’t mind that,” Hadi says. “When it happens to me on campus, it’s a good way to make new friends.”

Chatting in the RUC, they chime in to complete each other’s thoughts. They joke around. And they talk about the future. “No one can tell the future, but I do know that we will always be there for each other in this next part of our lives,” says Elias, who is a Class of Spring 2025 Dean’s Medallion awardee from the College of Business. Through the university’s Accounting 4+1 program, he’ll earn a graduate degree with one more year of college.

When it comes to their closeness, the brothers say there’s a natural bond that comes from being a multiple. But their loyalty to one another goes beyond that — it was forged by persevering through life-changing events.

Born in the United States, the triplets went to Lebanon to visit family for a summer when they were six. While there, their father, Hussein, was admitted to a hospital with a sudden illness and fell into a coma. During the next seven years, they lived with family in Lebanon in hopes of their father’s recovery.

“Our mom would be up early to see us off to school and then would go to the hospital in Beirut to take care of our father the best that she could. She showed us what unconditional love looks like,” says Ali, an economics major who is in the process of lining up a full-time job in the mortgage business. “He was in a coma for a long time. For seven years, we hoped he would wake up and come home. He was our father and our sense of security. Then, when we were 13, there was a new feeling each of us had. The fear left. When we were ready to accept any outcome, he passed away. Our father held on until we were in a place where we were ready to accept it.”

It was a painful moment, but not a defining one, Hadi adds. “His absence became the space in which we learned to rely on each other and on ourselves. The experience didn’t harden us — it united us,” he says.

All three brothers say that their father continues to guide their future, even a decade after his passing. “People come up to us and ask if we are Hussein’s sons,” Ali says. “We continue to have people recognize us because of how loyal of a friend our father was to people in the Dearborn community. It speaks volumes on who he was as a person and it makes our hearts grow.”

Not long after their father’s passing, the boys and their mother, Zanoubia, moved back to Michigan. “Even with the financial and emotional difficulty of moving, we had family supporting us every step of the way,” Elias says. “Just like our family in Lebanon supported us while we were there, we had uncles in Dearborn help us get on our feet so we could hit the ground running.”

The triplets enrolled at Dearborn High School. “People were really nice and thought it was interesting that there were three of us, but it was still hard,” says Ali. “We were born in the U.S., but our memories were of Lebanon. We spoke English, but grew up with a different cultural background. We also had to build from the ground up when we came back. We had a roof over our heads, but it was tough financially. But that was a good thing to experience early too — it showed us that material things are nice, but not essential. What’s most important is family and how it is important to come together to help each other out.”

The brothers, who attended ��-Dearborn with the Go Blue Guarantee scholarship, pooled resources during their four years of college. For example, they saved up money right before their first year and bought a 2011 Buick LaCrosse, which they still use today. Sometimes sharing a car would mean they’d be on campus all day waiting for each other — but, when possible, they coordinated their class schedules. They also had to factor in Hadi’s cell biology research time with Associate Professor of Biology Kalyan Kondapalli, Elias’ Beta Alpha Psi fraternity meetings, Ali’s job shadowing at a law firm and more. Elias says a lot of planning, in addition to online and hybrid classes, made the situation work.

Not too long ago — to accommodate their increasingly busy schedules and because they’ll be on different paths after graduation — they purchased a second car to share. But even when life will lead them down different roads, they know they’ll always find ways to come back together. “We have been through things together that make our bond strong. Distance or busy schedules can’t weaken that,” Elias says. Ali adds, “We might irritate each other at times, but I need to connect with my brothers to recharge. We need each other to push ourselves to be the best version that we can be. It’s all about family and we will continue to prioritize that — it’s just how we do it that might look a little different.”

That next step — or steps, since there’s three of them — includes work and graduate school. But first comes commencement. On April 26, when their names are called, the Elzeins will walk across the stage to uncles, cousins and friends cheering in the audience. But the brothers will focus on one person: Their mother.

Remember the complex class schedule coordination? She’s the one who helped them do it. She cheered them on, made their favorite meals and kept things moving forward in the hardest of times. “Even with all of the challenges in our lives, our mom continued to focus on what would give us a brighter future,” Elias says. “We learned how to be responsible and reliable men from a strong woman.”

His brothers nod in agreement. As much as they are looking forward to graduating, they are even more proud to show their mom what they accomplished thanks to her.

“None of this would have happened without her. She gave everything and now it’s our turn to rise because of it and give back to her. This is not just a story about triplets graduating. It’s a story about resilience, about sacrifice, about the quiet strength that comes from real love,” Hadi says. “And most of all, it’s a story about a family that never let go of each other no matter how far life tried to stretch them.”

Story by Sarah Tuxbury

Student Success

Off

Wed, 04/09/2025 - 12:55

Today is National Siblings Day. Identical Elzein triplets — Ali, Elias and Hadi — found success at ��-Dearborn by overcoming challenges the best way they know how: Together.

The Elzein triplets — from left, Hadi, Ali and Elias — are graduating together on April 26. Photo by Benjamin Vertin

Meeting future business needs today

stuxbury — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 12:43:25 +0000

Meeting future business needs today stuxbury Mon, 04/07/2025 - 08:43

Over the next three years, 92% of companies plan to increase their artificial intelligence investments, according to a 2025 global report. Assistant Professor of Marketing Mainak Sarkar — an expert in AI marketing — is preparing the next generation of professionals for this paradigm shift in ��-Dearborn’s College of Business classrooms.

Sarkar, who started at COB in Fall 2024, recently worked as an assistant professor at University of Stavanger in Norway and was a visiting scholar at ��-Ann Arbor’s Ross School of Business after earning his doctorate in marketing in 2022 from ESSEC Business School in France. His AI-focused dissertation led to Sarkar having one of the most downloaded papers on SSRN’s e-library in the areas of customer relationship management, managerial marketing and marketing science.

Drawing from his research, Sarkar is currently developing a new marketing analytics course — which will be offered during the 2025-26 academic year — to get ��-Dearborn students familiar with a variety of marketing models. "The course is for students to be knowledgeable about the existing traditional approaches of doing marketing analytics and know how to leverage the latest AI methods,” he says. “It's important to be prepared for today and for the future."

As focused as Sarkar is on teaching business and optimizing AI technologies for business use, he didn’t start there. As a young adult in India, where Sarkar grew up, he originally went into a field where he’d quickly land a job. “Information technology in India is quite big and I was focused on where I could get a job once I graduated,” says Sarkar, who earned a bachelor of technology degree from West Bengal University of Technology in Kolkata in 2011.

After a couple years working as an IT professional, Sarkar realized that he needed to follow his passion for the business field. “When you are doing something purely engineering-oriented, you see how the technical side of things work. That’s very good, but you are missing that understanding of your work’s larger purpose, the business side. I had a lot of curiosity,” he says. “I’d read business books about finance and marketing — I’d try to read everything I could when it came to business topics. My interest and curiosity was so strong that I decided it’s a world I wanted to explore.” Sarkar earned his MBA from the Management Development Institute in Gurgaon in 2015.

Sarkar blended his IT background with business strategy when he took a marketing role with a financial services company shortly after earning his MBA. “I was devising all these strategies that would be pitched to the customer as they moved along their relationship with the company. For example, if someone takes a certain loan for a two-year period — I’d use programming and data to look into what would be the best next product to sell to that customer,” he says. “I found those projects really interesting, and that made me want to delve even deeper into marketing.”

Then a major event dominated the conversation in Sarkar’s professional social circles: the DeepMind Challenge Match. In 2016, the AI bot AlphaGo beat the world’s best player of Go, a board game that’s considered more complex than chess. “Not only that, it was able to come up with completely new moves which humans had never thought about previously,” Sarkar says. “That got my attention and made me realize that AI is going to be something very important in the coming years.”

Thinking about his marketing work with the bank, Sarkar realized that AI could optimize managing customer relationships. “From a business side, AI customer relationship models can help you target customers better, which can lead to more profits. From the customer side, you can better personalize the experience and quickly connect them with what they may want or need,” he says. “So I would say AI can create a win-win for both the customer and the business.” And that led Sarkar to return to school — this time for a doctorate in marketing — to research AI in marketing.

Sarkar’s dissertation research led to a publication that was the first of its kind. He showed how deep-learning sequence models in customer relationship management systems can be more effective and efficient than traditional marketing methods. “Natural language models are trained to predict the next word in a sentence. If you repeat that for enough number of times, it develops an understanding of an overall topic, which can lead to it answering different questions that you can ask it,” says Sarkar, noting a chatbot can be an example of a natural language model. “My research was on using these kinds of language models and not just using them to develop chatbots — but to develop customer relationship models that can predict and analyze customer behavior. My research showed that it can predict, with high accuracy, how customer behavior will unfold.”

Seeing the power of AI, Sarkar — just as the 2025 report points out — expects to see it used more and more in business. He wants to teach the next generation of professionals how to effectively implement it when it comes to marketing strategies. And ��-Dearborn is the right place for him to do that.

“��-Dearborn is special because it has smaller class sizes and this allows me to provide more individualized attention to our students,” he says. “The University of Michigan brand has a reputation for developing leaders and it is an honor to teach here.”

Story by Sarah Tuxbury

Faculty Research

Off

Mon, 04/07/2025 - 12:42

New College of Business Assistant Professor Mainak Sarkar, a former visiting scholar with ��-Ann Arbor’s Ross School of Business, brings his artificial intelligence expertise to ��-Dearborn.

Assistant Professor of Marketing Mainak Sarkar brings his AI expertise into the classroom. Photo courtesy of Mainak Sarkar

Congrats to the CASL and COB Medallion winners

stuxbury — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:49:14 +0000

Congrats to the CASL and COB Medallion winners stuxbury Wed, 04/02/2025 - 08:49

From conducting melanoma research to advocating for veterans, ��-Dearborn’s Spring Class of 2025’s leaders and best have accomplished many things. Adding to that: Twelve of this year’s top graduates earned the Chancellor’s Medallion or Dean’s Medallion awards.

Three Dean’s Medallion recipients are awarded per college with one of those students receiving the Chancellor’s Medallion. These students will be honored at April 26’s Commencement.

Here are ��-Dearborn’s College of Arts, Sciences and Letters and the College of Business recipients — including the Chancellor’s Medallion winner, who is a CASL graduate. The awardees from the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Education, Health and Human Services will be profiled in an article on Tuesday.

Chancellor’s Medallion

Ayah Farhat
College of Arts, Sciences and Letters

Degree: Bachelor of Science in biochemistry

Awards, Honors and Distinction: University Honors (F22, W23); Dean’s List (F22-F23, F24); James B. Angell Scholar (2024); William J. Branstrom Freshman Prize (2023); SURE Fellowship (2024); Honors Scholar (2025)

Scholarships: Mardigian Library Student Assistant Scholarship; Alumni Legacy Scholarship; Michigan Competitive Scholarship; Excellence Scholarship; CASL Alumni Affiliate Scholarship; Andy and Cheryl Chapekis Scholarship; Dr. Richard A. Potts Endowed Scholarship; William and Alice Jenkins Memorial Scholarship

Academic Achievements and Internships: Ayah is a dedicated researcher who worked with Assistant Professor of Biochemistry Besa Xhabija to conduct cutting-edge research in melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer. She characterized melanoma morphologically, optically and behaviorally to better understand its aggressive nature and metastatic potential. Her research has already resulted in a first-author publication in Advanced Biology and has been featured as the front cover of its February 2025 issue.

Extracurricular and Community Projects: ��-Dearborn Mardigian Library Circulation Desk student assistant; American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and ASBMB student chapter (president); Kumon Math and Reading tutor; Wolverine Mentor Collective mentor; volunteer at Corewell Health, Caroline Kennedy Library, ��-Dearborn Food Pantry and ��-Dearborn Wolverine Wardrobe

Future Plans: Ayah plans to attend and present her research at the national conference of the American Chemical Society this fall. Her long-term goal is to become a physician who serves marginalized and vulnerable populations in metro Detroit.

Dean’s Medallion

College of Arts, Sciences and Letters

Vincent Intrieri

Degree: Bachelor of Arts in international studies

Awards, Honors and Distinction: University Honors (W24, F24); Dean’s List (F22-F24); ��-Dearborn Difference Maker (2024); Honors Scholar (2025)

Scholarships: CASL Alumni Affiliate Scholarship; Hugh M. Archer Veterans Scholarship; John J. Brownfain Endowed Memorial Scholarship; ��-Dearborn Veterans Scholarship

Academic Achievements and Internships: Vincent was the inaugural president of the Wolverine Media Network, uniting the university’s student newspaper, radio, video and arts journal into a single cohesive structure. He completed the Ottawa Internship in Canadian Parliament and participated in a virtual exchange program with the University of El Salvador in which he completed an e-book in Spanish with a Salvadoran partner. He was a work-study employee in the university’s Veterans Affairs office and is a mentor in the Dearborn Veterans Treatment Court, where he supports fellow veterans who are navigating the criminal justice system. Vincent is a nontraditional student and Navy veteran who retired as a petty officer second class logistics specialist.

Extracurricular and Community Projects: Wolverine Media Network (president); Lyceum (editor-in-chief); Student Veterans Association (treasurer); Dearborn Veterans Treatment Court mentor; Veterans of the Game; Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council

Future Plans: Vincent has been admitted to American University’s master’s program in international relations and is considering law school. He is interested in pursuing a career in public interest or international law.

Ahmad Makki

Degrees: Dual Bachelors of Science in mathematics and economics

Awards, Honors and Distinction: University Honors (W21, F21, F24); Honors Scholar in economics (2025); Dean’s List (F20-F24); SURE Fellowship (2022); Outstanding Delegate, Model Arab League (2023-2025); Overall Outstanding Delegation, Model Arab League (2024)

Scholarships: Metropolitan Scholarship; Kochoff Impact Scholarship; Mathematics Scholarship; Dr. Ronald Stockton Scholarship; Dean’s Scholarship (U-M Law School)

Academic Achievements and Internships: Ahmad has conducted research with Associate Professor of Political Science Emily Luxon focused on the attribution of responsibility for climate change in newspaper coverage. As a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Fellow, Ahmad also researched nationalistic bias within networks related to accusation of chemical weapon use.

Extracurricular and Community Projects: Arab Affairs League Club (founder/president); Model Arab League; violin instructor

Ahmad is also a talented language learner with proficiency in Korean and Arabic and intermediate skill in West African Creole.

Future Plans: Ahmad has been admitted to the University of Michigan Law School and intends to attend starting in Fall 2025.

College of Business

Christian Ankawi

Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and finance

Awards, Honors and Distinction: Honors Scholar (2025); James B. Angell Scholar (2023, 2024); University Honors (F21-F22, F23-F24); Dean’s List (F21-F24)

Scholarships: Kris & Ruth Pfaehler Scholarship; Allard Family Trust Scholarship;

��-Dearborn Dean’s Scholarship; COB Undergraduate 4+1 Scholarship

Academic Achievements and Internships: Christian’s career in accounting began in summer 2022 with an internship at Rocket Central, where he collaborated with senior leaders to resolve disputes and developed a review process that resulted in shorter lead times for reimbursements and expense requests. The following summer and fall he worked as a tax intern at Carhartt and performed a variety of tasks. In summer 2024, he was an audit intern at Doeren Mayhew and gained more specialized experience.

Extracurricular and Community Projects: Supplemental instructor for College of Business; Beta Gamma Sigma honor society; Accounting Aid Society volunteer; Forgotten Harvest volunteer; frequent guest speaker for Business Foundations course

Future Plans: This summer, Christian will take the first part of the CPA exam and begin a full-time role as an assurance intern at Ernst & Young. As a 4+1 student, he will return to the College of Business in the fall and work toward his Master of Science in accounting and completing the CPA exam. Upon achieving these goals, Christian plans to work full time with a public accounting firm and currently has an open offer to return to Doeren Mayhew.

Elias Elzein

Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and finance

Awards, Honors and Distinction: University Honors (W22, W24, F24); Dean’s List (F21-F22,

F23-F24)

Scholarships: ��-Dearborn Dean’s Scholarship (2021-2024); COB Undergraduate 4+1 Scholarship

Academic Achievements and Internships: In summer 2023, Elias worked as an accounting intern at Varsity Lincoln. In this role, he reconciled bank statements and inventory records, collaborated with the dealership’s CPA on financial statement preparation and gained hands-on experience in several accounting processes.

Extracurricular and Community Projects: Beta Alpha Psi (member since 2022; reporter 2023-2024; co-president April 2024-April 2025); Michigan Model Arab League (team received the 2025 Distinguished Delegation Award)

As an active member and leader of Beta Alpha Psi, an international honors organization for accounting and finance students, Elias has participated in several competitions across the country. He has pursued professional development opportunities through these competitions, including improving his public speaking and presentation skills, and helped lead the ��-Dearborn chapter to a national-level competition.

Future Plans: Elias will spend the summer completing an audit internship at Plante Moran and preparing for the CPA exam. He will return to the College of Business in the fall as part of the 4+1 program to earn his Master of Science in accounting. He hopes to continue working with Plante Moran upon completing his master’s degree and earning his CPA.

Carlos Gonzalez

Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration in digital marketing

Awards, Honors and Distinction: James B. Angell Scholar (2023); University Honors (W22-W23); Dean’s List (W22-F24); Honors Scholar (2025); student speaker at the College of Business Celebration of Excellence (2024); Bill Linn Fiction Prize Honorable Mention (2023)

Scholarships: LEAD Scholarship; ��-Dearborn Dean’s Scholarship; Jeffrey R. & Donna T. Smith Scholarship; Michael & Vana Surmanian Family Scholarship; ��-Dearborn Honors Scholarship; Central Study Abroad Scholarship; College of Business Fast Track Scholarship; Russel J. Ebeid Scholarship; Louanne Sanez Scholarship

Academic Achievements and Internships: Carlos began participating in ��-Dearborn’s Digital Storytelling project as a first-year student when he created his own story. He was promoted to a mentorship role his sophomore year. As a mentor, he guided new participants through the creative process by organizing workshops and helping with technical challenges. Carlos took on more responsibilities over the years, such as assisting with curriculum development, and eventually became a lead strategist for directing faculty members on their own digital stories. He also worked as a digital marketing intern for MedsFinder in summer 2021 and as a digital marketing and business strategy intern for ESOP One from August 2023 to August 2024. Christopher Spilker, head of the Mardigian Library Research Center, observed that Carlos was an integral part of the Digital Storytelling project, stating that “his dedication not only strengthened the program but also inspired those around him.”

Extracurricular and Community Projects: LEAD Scholars member and LEAD Advisory Board member; ISPM-Italy participant; LeaderShape participant; Real Estate Association; Eagle Scout.

Future Plans: Carlos plans to pursue his Master of Business Administration in a specialization that will enable him to utilize his talents for storytelling and strategic thinking, such as marketing management or business analytics. He hopes to work for a multinational corporation and one day advance to an executive leadership position where he can inspire others to create meaningful content.

Awards

Student Success

Off

Wed, 04/02/2025 - 12:48

��-Dearborn recognizes a select group of soon-to-be grads each semester for outstanding achievement.

COB and CASL graduating students were awarded for their high achievement. Graphic by Lou Blouin

Spring 2025 Commencement: A guide to the big day

lblouin — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 11:58:30 +0000

Spring 2025 Commencement: A guide to the big day lblouin Wed, 04/02/2025 - 07:58

More than 1,000 graduates will earn degrees at next month’s commencement ceremony on April 26. As in past years, the full day of spring graduation festivities will be split into three ceremonies. Undergraduates from the College of Arts, Sciences and Letters and College of Business kick things off at 9 a.m., followed by undergrads from the College of Education, Health and Human Services and College of Engineering and Computer Science at 1 p.m. The final ceremony for doctoral and graduate students from all four colleges is at 5 p.m.

Here are a few more good-to-knows for the big day.

Speakers

James Scapa, a graduate of Columbia University and an ’83 U-M MBA grad, will be the featured speaker at both undergraduate ceremonies. Scapa is founder, chair and CEO of Altair, a global leader in computational intelligence software and technology. He founded the company in 1985 with two partners when he was just 25 years old. Altair now employs more than 3,000 scientists, engineers and creative thinkers across 28 countries and serves more than 16,000 customers across a broad range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, government and defense, finance, energy, technology, life sciences, architecture and construction. Under Scapa’s leadership, Altair also sponsored the #OnlyForward Scholarship, which awarded $25,000 scholarships to ��-Dearborn students pursuing a four-year degree in computer science or engineering.

Tim Yerdon, an executive leader with SAE Industry Technologies Consortia, will be the featured speaker at the 5 p.m. ceremony for graduate students. Yerdon is an experienced mobility leader with a track record of driving breakthrough technology change through collaboration and innovative thinking. He holds a key role within SAE International, a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicle industries. Prior to SAE, Tim ran the consulting firm Plymouth Technology Advisors, after serving in executive positions with Ford Motor Co. and Visteon Corp. At Ford, he served on the company's dedicated team for electric vehicles, which developed the Mustang Mach-E SUV, F-150 Lightning truck and E-Transit van. He also chairs ��-Dearborn’s CECS Industry Advisory Board.

Asil Khanafer, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in behavioral and biological sciences, with a minor in applied arts, is the student speaker at the two undergraduate ceremonies. During her time at ��-Dearborn, Khanafer was president of both the Pre-Professional Health Society and the Lebanese Diaspora Relief Organization, as well as vice president of the National Arab American Medical Association student chapter. In addition, she conducted research on bonobo cognition as a research assistant in Associate Professor of Psychology Francine Dollins’ lab. She also served as a chemistry and psychology supplemental instruction leader and vice chair of the Student Organization Allocation Council. Khanafer plans to pursue a career in veterinary medicine and will continue her studies at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in the fall.

Mohsen Chaaban, who is graduating from ��-Dearborn with a Master of Science in cybersecurity and information assurance, will address his fellow graduate students at the 5 p.m. ceremony. Chaaban earned his bachelor’s at ��-Dearborn in 2023 and currently works as a software controls engineer at General Motors. Throughout his time at the university, he actively engaged in student organizations and mentorship programs. During his undergraduate years, he was a member of Student Organization Account Services, where he helped student organizations with financial services and event planning. He has also been active in community service efforts in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, taking part in initiatives such as toy drives, as well as Easter and Ramadan essential drives.

Commencement stats

This spring, the university is awarding a total of 1,067 degrees to 1,049 graduates. Among undergraduates, the youngest is just 17 years old and the oldest is 68. The average undergraduate GPA is 3.4. Spring graduates represent 26 Michigan counties and 13 states.

Tickets

Each student receives four tickets to their ceremony for guests. Graduating students participating in the ceremony do not need a ticket for themselves. Students can currently pick up tickets at the One Stop, located on the first floor of the Renick University Center, Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thursday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Students must show their Mcard or government-issued ID (driver's license or passport) and a receipt that they purchased their cap and gown to pick up tickets. All guests at the commencement ceremonies must have a ticket, except for children under 2 who will be sitting on the lap of a guest. Tickets can also be placed at Will Call and picked up the day of the ceremony.

Students should email umd-commencement@umich.edu with the number of tickets they would like held (up to four). All tickets must be claimed (either picked up or Will Call request) by Friday, April 11. Those who don’t need all their tickets can pick up their tickets and give them to friends or classmates who need additional tickets. Students can also return tickets they will not need to the One Stop so other students can claim them. Students are not permitted to sell tickets. More information about extra tickets will be shared on Monday, April 14.

Volunteering

If you are a staff member and would like to volunteer at the ceremonies, please email Campus Event Planner Mandy Earl. Tasks include distributing Will Call tickets, checking in graduates, helping direct the crowd and other activities.

How to watch

If you won't be attending commencement in person, you can still watch online on the university’s YouTube page.

###

Still have more questions about Spring 2025 Commencement? Check out the university’s commencement page. Story by Lou Blouin

University-wide

College of Education, Health, and Human Services

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Off

Wed, 04/02/2025 - 11:58

Meet the commencement speakers and get ceremony details for the April 26 festivities.

This spring, the university is awarding a total of 1,067 degrees to 1,049 graduates. Photo by Michigan Photography

Landlords and Tenants: Know Your Rights with Attorney Molesky

azehel — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 13:24:48 +0000

Landlords and Tenants: Know Your Rights with Attorney Molesky azehel Thu, 03/20/2025 - 09:24

Thinking about investing in real estate—or just trying to survive student housing? Whether you're planning to become the next real estate mogul or simply want to avoid lease headaches, understanding your rights as a tenant (or future landlord) is crucial.

Join us for "Landlords & Tenants: Know Your Rights with Attorney Molesky", an engaging and informative event designed to help you navigate landlord-tenant laws with confidence. Learn how to handle leases, security deposits, disputes, and more—so you can rent smarter, invest wisely, and protect yourself from common pitfalls.

Attorney Molesky, a business law expert, will share practical insights and answer your questions, giving you the knowledge to take control of your rental experience or investment journey.

Don’t leave your rights—or your money—to chance.
Gain the tools to lease and invest like a pro!

2025-04-01T17:00:00-0400 to2025-04-01T18:00:00-0400

Fairlane Center North

19000 Hubbard Drive
Dearborn, MI 48126
United States

https://goo.gl/maps/V7k4sRBWVNeEpf7b9

127

United States

On Campus

Real Estate Association

Yuvraj Khosay

khosa@umich.edu

Current Students

Everyone

Undergraduate students

Graduate students

COB Student Organizations

Career / Networking

College of Business Virtual Graduate Open House (6.5.25)

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 20:55:16 +0000

College of Business Virtual Graduate Open House (6.5.25) Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/17/2025 - 16:55

Thanks for taking the next step to learn about the MBA and MS programs in the College of Business. At this webinar, you’ll learn more about our graduate programs and the admission process, and you'll have an opportunity to live chat your questions.

2025-06-05T12:00:00-0400 to2025-06-05T13:00:00-0400

United States

Office of Graduate Studies

313-583-6321

umd-graduatestudies@umich.edu

Graduate students