• U-M enters into agreement with federal government to end partnership with the PhD Project, a nonprofit working to diversify US business school faculties 
• U-M housed a similar program, Minority Summer Institute. The founders of the PhD Project continued the institute’s mission
• A U-M professor who was a student leader in U-M’s institute said it’s painful to see the university back away from the effort; another professor said it was time to end the relationship

The University of Michigan was the site of a program in the 1990s that became a model for the PhD Project, a national effort to increase the number of minority business faculty members at universities across the country.

Decades later, U-M has agreed with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to no longer be a part of it. 

U-M reached an agreement with the federal government, announced last week, to end its longstanding partnership with the PhD Project, which has supported the earning of business PhDs by people from historically underrepresented groups in America. Thirty other colleges and universities also agreed to end their partnerships with the nonprofit organization.

“We were the leaders and best,” said U-M professor David B. Wooten, who was a student leader in U-M’s Minority Summer Institute while earning his PhD and a member of the PhD Project’s Hall of Fame. “It does hurt to see us take a knee on this.”

U-M’s agreement with the federal government to end its partnership with the PhD project is the latest impact to the state’s largest university of President Donald Trump’s efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion in government amid threats of federal funding cuts.

Last year, U-M ended its 8-year, multimillion-dollar DEI project. The university also stopped providing gender-affirming care for minors at Michigan Medicine under pressure from Trump, who calls it “gender ideology extremism.”

“I’m disappointed but not fully surprised,” Wooten said of UM’s agreement with the government to end the partnership with the PhD project. 

Related:

• U-M halts DEI plans as Trump administration takes aim at diversity efforts
• U-M squeezed by Trump cuts; Social Security research project halted 
• Doctors under pressure as U-M ends gender-affirming care for minors

The federal government’s announcement of the agreement with U-M and other universities came almost a year after the Education Department announced an investigation into “racial preferences” in academic opportunities or scholarships.

The PhD Project began in 1994, after foundation and business leaders noticed the lack of diversity in the corporate world. Its mission is “to expand the pool of workplace talent by developing business school faculty who encourage, mentor, and support tomorrow’s leaders,” according to the organization’s website. 

It hosts an annual conference that exposes prospective candidates to the path of earning a PhD along with opportunities to meet doctoral students, professors and partner organizations. It also connects students with scholarships and other ways to cover costs. The number of PhD business candidates among Black, Hispanic and Native Americans has grown sixfold from 294 in 1994 when the project was founded to over 1,700 in 2023, according to the organization’s latest annual report.

How it started

U-M was a pioneer in a program to help minority candidates earn their doctorate degrees. Years before the launch of the PhD Project, the University of Michigan was home to the Minority Summer Institute, which offered a six-week summer program from 1990-93 for prospective minority PhD students to take classes, attend seminars, meet minority faculty and explore the journey to an academic career. 

Students who went through the Minority Summer Institute said it “truly changed my life,” according to a 2024 book commemorating a century of stories of U-M’s Ross School of Business, penned by former U-M business Prof. and institute director George Siedel. 

Around the same time, leaders at KPMG Peat Marwick Foundation and Citibank launched a series of meetings with other corporate and academic leaders to address diversifying business school faculties. The discussions were wide-ranging but included examining the strategy of the Minority Summer Institute before the establishment of the PhD Project.

‘Trump effect in action’

In the announcement, the Office for Civil Rights said the PhD Project is “an organization which provides doctoral students with insights into obtaining a PhD, but unlawfully limits eligibility based on race of the participants.”

U-M, along with institutions such as Ohio State University, University of California- Berkeley and University of Chicago, violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by “partnering with an organization that discriminates on the basis of race,” the federal government’s announcement said.

“This is the Trump effect in action: institutions of higher education are agreeing to cut ties with discriminatory organizations, recommitting themselves to abiding by federal law, and restoring equality of opportunity on campuses across the nation,” said US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

“We are hopeful that other institutions with similarly discriminatory practices will follow suit, paving the way for a future where we reject judging individuals by the color of their skin and once again embrace the principles of merit, excellence, and opportunity.” 

U-M spokesperson Kay Jarvis offered one statement in response to numerous questions, including how many PhD candidates graduated from U-M as a result of the partnership.

“The Ross School of Business has not been a member of the PhD Project since March 2025,” Jarvis said via email.

One U-M faculty member expressed outrage about the university severing ties with the program.

“Any time the University of Michigan collaborates with the Trump administration is a day of shame,” said Silke-Maria Weineck, U-M’s Grace Lee Boggs Collegiate Professor of Comparative Literature and German Studies. 

“The Trump administration’s policies are designed to roll back what little progress we have made in creating a more equitable institution. They are driven by racism, pure and simple. Every time we collaborate with them is a day of shame.”

Former U-M Flint faculty member Mark Perry took the opposite stance, calling the PhD Project an organization with “a 30+ year history of blatant and ongoing racial discrimination.”

“It’s unfortunate and embarrassing that the University of Michigan has been affiliated with a racist organization and appeared as a ‘Supporting University’ on its websites for more than a quarter century, since at least 2001,” said Perry, a vocal advocate fighting diversity, equity and inclusion programs in academia. 

“U-M’s partnership with the PhD Project could accurately be described as a ‘joint venture in illegal discrimination,’  and it’s long overdue for the university to end its affiliation with a tarnished organization that discriminated on the basis of race for many decades in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” 

The PhD Project sent a statement via email that said the organization was founded “with the goal of providing more role models in the front of business classrooms and this remains our goal today.”

“The PhD Project remains focused on our mission,” the statement said in part. “Our vision is to create a broader talent pipeline of current and future business leaders who are committed to excellence and to each other, through networking, mentorship, and unique events.”

• A proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Romulus and ICE office space in Southfield have sparked protests 
• Proposed facilities are part of a national wave of federal agencies buying or leasing warehouses for immigration enforcement
• Local and state officials say they’re exploring all the legal options they have to prevent ICE from setting up shop near Detroit

ROMULUS — Local, state and federal officials from Michigan say they are exploring “all options” to try to block the opening of a new immigrant detention center in metro Detroit, but new federal records suggest the Trump administration is preparing to move forward anyway. 

A federal regulatory assessment notice first identified this week on a government website shows the Department of Homeland Security plans to retrofit a 473,158‑square‑foot warehouse and establish a “secure operational area” on about 19 acres in Romulus.

The plans call for 3,800 linear feet of new perimeter security fencing and wastewater upgrades, among other things, but the records indicate the project could require state and local coordination or permits that some officials have already identified as a potential way to block the project. 

On Friday, Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement demanding they halt the project, arguing that the proposed activity ignores the state’s sovereign interests as well as federal and state law.

“Our system of government and the law demand transparency and partnership with state and local governments,” Nessel wrote in the letter. “But ICE seems determined not just to ignore the need for such cooperation, but to frustrate it.”

Related:

• Nessel asks residents to report ‘concerning’ ICE actions
• ICE in Michigan: More arrests, detainees and protests
• ICE denies targeting schools as lawmakers eye restrictions

Local officials say they have been kept in the dark about the project, but in a heated city council meeting on Monday, Mayor Robert McCraight said Romulus will not issue a permit or certificate of occupancy for the facility while he remains in office. 

The city, he subsequently told residents, “cannot sustain the impact to our residents, our public safety departments nor the economic impact to our community and the region should DHS open such a facility in an already overburdened and underserved city.”

Permitting is just one potential avenue officials are exploring as they try to fight to block the facility. Michigan Democrats in the US House and Senate are urging the Trump administration to back off the plans, and Nessel has not ruled out additional legal action. 

“Our No. 1 goal is to find any avenue to slow this down or stop it,” state Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, told Bridge, adding that Romulus city ordinances and zoning don’t currently allow that type of use for the building in question. 

“I’m working hand in hand with my mayor and my city council to do everything that we can to oppose this project.” 

Their options could be limited, however. 

A spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Bridge Michigan the agency already purchased the Romulus facility and promised a community impact study and due diligence process “to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure.” 

The spokesperson estimated the Romulus facility, located near the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and its construction would bring 1,458 jobs to the area and more than $33 million in tax revenue. 

 “These economic benefits don’t even take into account that removing criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers,” the spokesperson said in an email to Bridge Michigan. 

A national push

A similar debate is playing out in Southfield, where the city recently confirmed that the federal government signed a lease with One Towne Square for ICE office space. Officials there are attempting to ramp up pressure on the property owner to sever ties with ICE. 

ICE already operates the Midwest’s largest immigrant detention center in Michigan. The Baldwin facility, which as of January housed a daily average of 1,391 detainees, has been owned by a private prison company since 2009, so there was little state or local officials could do to stop it. 

But as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up controversial mass deportation efforts, ICE has reportedly acquired warehouses to potentially convert into detention centers in at least 20 communities across the country.

The process has been marked by secrecy, frustrating local officials who are accustomed to the federal government coordinating and consulting with communities when choosing locations for prisons or detention centers. 

Like in Romulus, officials in Texas, Pennsylvania and other states told the Associated Press that they were in the dark about the federal government’s plans for their communities. 

A separate review of federal records by the news outlet WIRED indicates at least 150 purchases or leases for ICE agents and attorneys are planned nationwide, many of which have eschewed typical government procurement procedures due to “national security concerns.” 

Details of the Michigan plans remain murky — Camilleri, the state senator, said he feels like he’s “acting like a detective” as he digs for more information — but the federal floodplain review first reported by Axios Detroit shows the agency is planning to reopen 7525 Cogswell St. 

The document confirms the Romulus facility would operate as a detention processing center. The agency’s proposal involves installing new security fencing, security checkpoints, cameras, lighting and outdoor recreation courts to the existing warehouse facility. 

Nessel — the Democratic attorney general who earlier this month launched a public form to encourage residents to report “concerning behavior” by ICE — called the secrecy surrounding the property acquisition “troubling” in a statement to Bridge, leaving open the possibility of her office getting involved further. 

In her Friday letter to ICE, Nessel said the warehouse isn’t currently designed to house, feed, bathe, protect or care for detainees. She argued the agency’s floodplain notice lacked the details necessary to assess whether the project complies with federal environmental laws, noting ICE had not applied for or started discussions for state permitting, either. 

Nessel also cited its proximity to local schools — Romulus Middle School and Wick Elementary School are each less than two miles from the facility — and what she called a protected wetland. “What’s more, ICE purchased the warehouse before any attempt to communicate with the State of Michigan, its agencies, or any local governing body about it,” she wrote. 

Some Michigan Republicans have argued locals should step aside and allow the plan to proceed, noting it could bring new jobs.

“Folks in Romulus need jobs and their kids need education, but the city council’s top priority is to appease some washed out white progressives and pretend they can stop the ICE facility,” Mike Cox, the former attorney general and current candidate for governor, posted on social media.  

Protests and a punch

Hundreds of people turned out for an anti-ICE rally outside Romulus City Hall Monday, where an altercation between anti-ICE protesters and counterprotesters ended in a punch being thrown and a demonstrator landing on the ground before he was escorted from the scene by police.

Several attendees who spoke with Bridge said they hoped community activism and local government resistance would ultimately mean something.

“The fact that it’s even on the docket or being considered and not immediately dismissed…it’s disheartening,” Lindsay Duke, an Ann Arbor resident who attended the rally, said of the proposed facility. “There has to be accountability for it. We have checks and balances in place.”

State Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, said she understands that people are upset with how ICE has handled certain situations but argued the country needs the border security that the federal agency provides. 

“The ICE agents are doing their job — we do need to let them do their job, and those who don’t do their job properly need to be held accountable,” she said. “If we have a crime problem with illegals committing crime, obviously ICE needs a bigger presence.”

Following the protest, city council members unanimously approved a resolution opposing the facility, arguing the presence of a detention center might “depress property values, deter business investment and impose long-term negative impacts inconsistent with the city’s development goals and land-use planning strategies.” 

On the same night, Southfield officials passed a resolution reiterating its commitment to a “welcoming and inclusive community” where police don’t participate in immigration status investigations. 

“We cannot ignore federal law, but we can and will determine how the City of Southfield engages within that framework, guided by our responsibility to protect the safety and trust of our community,” the city said in a statement announcing the resolution.

The Southfield property owner, REDICO, has said the lease was struck with the US General Services Administration and “explicitly prohibits any law enforcement, detention or similar activities to take place on the premises.”

Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Southfield Democrat, said the federal government and its business partners shouldn’t discount the power of citizen protests, which he predicted would continue for as long as the partnership does.

“Our community is going to come out and protest probably every week,” he said. “The building owner has to be a good neighbor, too, and if not, they’re going to find that people in our community are going to hold them to account.”

Moss and other Democratic lawmakers are also pursuing limits on ICE at the state level, including a ban on ICE agents wearing masks, immigration enforcement raids in sensitive areas like schools and churches and protecting private data from being misused by federal agencies. 

Those proposals will likely have a tough time getting through the Republican-led House, where Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, has expressed support for Trump and his crackdown on illegal immigration. 

What’s happening in other states

It’s not just Democratic-led states or communities questioning ICE warehouse plans. 

In New Hampshire, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte announced this week that, after what she called “productive discussions” with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Trump administration is calling off plans for an ICE detention facility in the town of Merrimack. 

Like Romulus, some other local governments have also explored permitting denials as a potential mechanism to block ICE expansion. 

In Greensboro, North Carolina, for instance, city staff recently said a planned ICE facility would require rezoning, which could take months and require approval by city council, where at least one member has said she would not support any change. 

Still, the federal government may be able to use its legal authority to preempt state and local land-use and occupancy rules in some cases, according to experts at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit think tank.

“Warehouses aren’t generally designed for continuous occupancy by people, and their use in this manner could both strain local infrastructure and result in unsafe, unhealthy conditions for detainees,” the researchers wrote in a recent report. 

“Though the federal government may be able to supersede some local zoning laws, some local governments are exploring other avenues through which they can influence ICE’s impact on people and their communities.”

US Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, said in a recent press call that Michigan needs to use every tool at its disposal to keep the ICE deals from happening.

“We will not accept a new warehouse prison in Romulus to cage hundreds of our neighbors,” she said.

• A data company analyzed meeting minutes of 142 municipalities over the past 17 years
• It found that Ann Arbor City Council had the highest rate of dissent, about 18% of agenda items
• The national rate among studied municipalities is less than 2%

Ann Arbor — known as A2 and the People’s Republic — has a new honorific: “The City that Won’t Agree.”

That’s according to an examination of 142 larger cities and counties nationwide by data company Hamlet, which analyzed meeting minutes from the past 17 years and found the Ann Arbor City Council has the highest dissent rate nationwide.

While most council meetings nationwide are pro forma affairs that end in unanimous approval of agenda items, Ann Arbor meetings can be knock-down affairs that stretch into the early morning,

Nationwide, according to an analysis of 8.1 million records, only 1.59% of city council or planning commission agenda items included a dissenting vote. 

Related:

• Want shorter lines on Election Day? It’s a science, and selfie stations help
• Ex-governors urge civility: Minneapolis ‘could be any place in Michigan’
• Fact check: Are regulations to blame for rising Michigan house costs?

In Ann Arbor, it was 18.19%. That rate is triple the No. 2, Pima County in Arizona, which includes Tucson. 

“It was really shocking to see just how low (dissent) is in most places,” Sunil Rajaraman, founder of Hamlet, wrote in an email to Bridge.

“This indicates to me that most councils just agree on what they are going to vote and act as more of a rubber-stamp mechanism. The real discussions happen outside of council chambers”

Ann Arbor hasn’t elected a Republican to City Council since 2003, prompting progressives to form blocs on specific issues, according to the study that scrutinized 53,207 council votes in the city.

Rajaraman said disagreement makes for long meetings but good democracy.

Unlike other local governments where decisions are made before public meetings, Ann Arbor’s “council members actually read the 400-page budget packet, show up with amendments, vote no when they disagree and occasionally lose a 5-1 fight over leaf blowers at 11 p.m. on a Monday night,” the study read.

“If you believe meetings should be what they claim to be — open deliberation by elected representatives who disagree honestly and settle those disagreements where the public can watch them — then Ann Arbor starts to look less like an outlier and more like the only city in this dataset that is actually doing its job.”

It’s true that Ann Arbor spent months debating leaf blowers before banning gas-powered ones in December 2023, but the city has moved onto other issues.

The new hot topic: bike parking, with the council last week re-referring a regulation overhaul back to the planning commission.

The vote to do so, perhaps unsurprisingly, was split, 5-4.

Hamlet is a private civic technology company that uses artificial intelligence to monitor council and commission minutes in 40 Michigan cities. Ann Arbor was the only Michigan city included in the analysis of 142 municipalities, Rajaraman said.

Say so long to February, Michigan! We’d be lying if we said we’ll miss you.

The weather was cold, the paczkis were prune and even the start of spring training couldn’t lift our spirits. But hope is eternal and so is the Bridge Michigan News Quiz, 10 questions to tickle the prefrontal cortex.

Back this week: Score 100%, email a screenshot of perfection to jkurth@bridgemi.com and one lucky winner gets spectacular Bridge swag. All others will be recognized in next week’s quiz.

As the frozen grape juice once said, it’s time to concentrate!

Give it up

Last week’s quiz was a tough one, so cheers all around to the following Bridge readers who scored 100%: Fred H., James H., Robert P., Jim D., Julie E., Betty W., Sherry R., James R., David L., Stephen H. and Sonia V

Politicians and policymakers are pledging that 2026 will be the year that K-12 education takes center stage in Michigan. This is a good thing.

While it’s true that EVERY year should be the year in which K-12 education is the top issue in our state, it’s refreshing to see that the people in power are making this their No. 1 priority in 2026. Our kids deserve nothing less.

The reason we’re seeing this emphasis, of course, is that things are not going well. As a state, we rank near the bottom of most K-12 education metrics, particularly in literacy. In fourth-grade reading, Michigan ranks 44th. That’s inexcusable.

We need to find solutions, and we need to find them now. The first thing we should do is look at the schools in Michigan that are working (there are a lot of them), look at the states where things are working (Mississippi), and do what they’re doing.

In terms of the schools that are working, as a charter school educator, I’m proud to say that a lot of them can be found in our sector. Star International Academy in Dearborn Heights, one of the charter schools our organization works with, is an excellent example. We serve a largely Middle Eastern student population that includes many English Language Learners, but our test scores are among the best in the area.

On the most recent SAT, our students scored an average of 974.9, well above the state average of 945, despite the fact that nearly 94% of our students are economically disadvantaged. At the same time, our students have earned over $100 million in scholarships through the years. Star International Academy is now ranked the No. 2 high school in all of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights by U.S. News and World Report, ahead of many far more affluent schools.

We also believe strongly in Career Technical Education, so we have our own CTE center that includes a fully functional radio station, robotics/engineering garage and a working health clinic. Our students regularly interview state and community leaders at the radio station, broadcasting in both English and Arabic, the robotics/engineering garage is leading students to engineer award-winning robots and the clinic gives students hands-on experience working alongside health professionals.

We’ve succeeded at Star International Academy because we provide an individualized education with rigorous academic standards; our teachers have the flexibility to innovate, and we provide multiple pathways to student success. 

There are success stories like this throughout Michigan — at charter schools and traditional schools alike — and our politicians and policymakers need to study what’s working so that we can do more of it.

We also need to look at what’s been working in other states, and there’s no better example than Mississippi. In 2013, Mississippi was 49th in the nation in fourth-grade reading. In 2024, the state had improved all the way to ninth place. Among children living in poverty, Mississippi has the highest fourth-grade reading scores in the country.

How did they pull off the “Mississippi Miracle”? By doing what Michigan can (and should) be doing. They provide research-based literacy training for teachers and hold schools accountable for outcomes. Kids can’t learn if they can’t read. Mississippi showed us that implementing a reading-based strategy over 10 years works. No student should be allowed to fall through the cracks.

Mississippi also has consistent student-outcome performance standards that don’t change every time new people are elected to office. We need that in Michigan, as well.

Other states are showing us that student success is built on a clear and proven funding structure for the long term. We spend plenty of money on education in Michigan, but overall as a state, we aren’t getting results.

How funding is distributed needs to be predictable and stable for schools to plan for student impact. Funding also needs to be flexible. Every district is different and its needs are different. We need expectations for student outcomes that consider the fact that schools are currently over-burdened with compliance rules and regulations to qualify for needed funding.

We need to adopt a multiyear plan for school funding that includes a per-pupil, weighted formula. Instead of picking winners and losers based on political favors, we should fund students based on their needs (students who need more support should get more support). We should also stabilize funding by allowing districts to use either their current student count or a three-year average, whichever is higher, to determine their per-pupil funding.

Like many educators in Michigan, I’m in this fight for the long haul. We have the brightest students and some of the best teachers in the country in our state. They deserve the flexible, stable, predictable funding, the infrastructure, and the support they need to succeed. Let this be the year we finally solve the puzzle.

• A tear-filled hearing on Michigan’s tribal boarding schools included accounts of physical, sexual abuse 
• Some tribal leaders urged additional funding for a new report, after an initial $1.1 million study was shelved
• Tribal leaders recommended state funding for mental health and substance use disorder

A taxpayer-funded report on Michigan’s tribal boarding schools — and the state’s decision to shelve the report — drew anger and tears from survivors at a House committee hearing Thursday.

While there was no consensus about whether to release the report, many urged the state to budget more money for a second, more thorough investigation chronicling a century of abuse suffered by Native American children.

That may be a tough sell. The Republican chairperson who scheduled the hearing told Bridge Michigan that he has doubts about giving more money to the same Democratic-led departments that he believes bungled the initial report.

“They already had ($1.1 million) to complete this report,” said Rep. Tom Kuhn, R-Troy, chair of the general government subcommittee. “I’m disappointed with how (The Department of) Civil Rights and the Attorney General’s office has handled this.”

As first reported by Bridge, a long-awaited study of the state’s Native American boarding schools was not released to the public as planned, with one state administrator calling the report “shoddy.”

Related:

• Michigan spent $1.1M probing tribal boarding schools, then buried the results
• Michigan tribal school survivors recount ‘hell on Earth,’ rapes, beatings
• Michigan tribal boarding school report sought apology. Instead, it was shelved

Bridge obtained a copy of the 300-page report, which included harrowing recollections of physical and sexual abuse from survivors and descendants of survivors. The report, written by Washington-based Kauffman and Associates, a Native American consulting firm, recommended Michigan join other states in issuing an apology for its role in the forcible removal of Native American children from their homes.

Michigan was home to five of the 417 federally operated American Indian boarding schools in the 19th and 20th centuries that sought to assimilate tribal children by banning traditional language or attire.

Tuesday’s hearing included testimony from Holy Childhood School of Jesus in Harbor Springs, which was the last tribal boarding school to close in 1983. Witnesses recounted physical and sexual abuse, as well as punishments for speaking their native language.

Sandra Witherspoon, chairperson of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Winnay Wemigwase, chairperson of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Ottawa Indians, both spoke haltingly of their own experiences and those of their relatives in Michigan boarding schools. While an accounting of the abuses is important for historical purposes, the recounting of abuses is “opening old wounds,” Wemigwase said.

Rodney Loonsfoot, a council member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, acknowledged that “many of the original files remain inaccessible or (lost),” making documentation difficult. “We know there are many files we do not have access to,” he said.

He urged the state to provide funding for another report that delves deeper into records, to “finish telling our story.”

Rep. Carrie Rheingans, D-Ann Arbor, told Bridge she would support more money, but that “I don’t know that we’d have a majority.”

Rheingans said she will advocate for a different use of state funding related to the harm caused by boarding schools — state money for tribal mental health and substance use disorder treatment.

Several leaders of Michigan tribes recommended funding for those services at Thursday’s hearing.

“Some of these things are going to take longer than what politicians are comfortable waiting,” Rheingans said. “It gook generations for these harms to happen, and it may take generations for the healing. We need to stop delaying and do what the tribes are asking for.”

• The US Forest Service is proposing the Silver Branch Vegetation Management Project in the Ottawa National Forest in the western Upper Peninsula
• The project would involve logging, gravel mine expansion and forest restoration efforts
• Some groups are opposed because they worry about environmental impacts and a decrease in off-road vehicle trails

The US Forest Service is proposing a massive project in a national forest in Michigan that would log land roughly the size of Detroit, expand gravel mining and build roads.

The Silver Branch Vegetation Management Project would span about 40 miles from north to south on the eastern edge of the Ottawa National Forest in the western Upper Peninsula. The area along the border with Wisconsinincludes habitat for the endangered northern long-eared bat, one of several reasons environmental groups have raised alarms about the project.

The multi-faceted proposal also includes a wild rice seeding project, improvements to campgrounds and lake access and attempts to bolster habitat for the protected Kirtland’s warbler. The whole thing is projected to last around 30 years, with periodic reviews. 

Unlike national parks, national forests serve multiple purposes. They’re set aside for recreation, wildlife habitat and to provide timber. Ottawa National Forest officials say the Silver Branch project is not primarily about logging, it’s about getting the right tree mix for forest maintenance and health. 

However, the project has drawn concerns from a wide range of groups, from environmentalists to off-roaders.

RELATED: 

• Groups mobilize to protect Upper Peninsula forest lands from mining, logging
• Singapore owns 5% of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Its wealth fund bet on timber 
• As northern Michigan cleans out from storm, some find new use for dead wood

“It involves 25,000 acres of national forest clear-cutting and yet the determination has been that there would be no significant impacts from such activities. That’s just not plausible,” said Kelly Thayer, a senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a Midwest-based legal advocacy group. 

That group and a loose coalition of organizations and businesses expressed concerns about the project in a letter and a 73-page document sent to the US Forest Service. They’re worried that logging would spread invasive species, increase water runoff and impact habitat for protected animals found in the area like gray wolves and northern long-eared bats. They also don’t like that trees more than 100 years old would be taken out.

“The mature forest is most important for sequestering carbon and helping to stabilize our climate,” Thayer said. “Replanting with young trees in their place will not replicate the kind of benefits that the public receives now.”

The groups want to see the project boundary changed to better preserve current and proposed protected wilderness areas. They also want to see an environmental impact statement produced. 

The federal government already put together an environmental assessment and determined there would be “no significant impact” from the project. If the Forest Service pursued an environmental impact statement, it would need to answer tough questions about environmental concerns and potentially propose alternatives.

The Forest Service previously offered a 30-day comment period for the project beginning Dec. 23. It’s planning to open a window for objections in March, though an exact date is not posted. It’s currently anticipating making a decision on the project that same month. 

If the project is approved, it is expected to begin in June.

The project as it stands involves a mix of logging: about 1,500 acres of clear-cutting and around 24,000 acres of a kind of clear-cutting that leaves certain trees. These sections are dispersed throughout the project area (see proposed north, middle and south maps). There would also be around 57,000 acres of other kinds of more-targeted logging. Add up the areas slated to have tree removal and they equal about 130 square miles.

The district ranger in the Bessemer, Iron River and Watersmeet Ranger Districts of the Ottawa National Forest, Trevor Hahka, told Bridge Michigan in an email it’s unclear how much money the project would generate from logging.
“Revenue from timber sales depends on market conditions,” he said.

Who would do the logging has not been decided but would be offered to private contractors through a competitive bidding process. Selected logging companies would then pay fees to the federal government for the timber they harvest and the companies would keep any profits. The money from the fees would go into federal accounts and not stay solely within the Ottawa National Forest. Contracts for gravel mining would also be competitively bid but the gravel wouldnot be sold but used for Forest Service roads.

Hahka said the proposed logging is “not the primary goal” and restoring ecological balance to the woods is. He said there are too many hardwoods, aspen trees that are getting older than desired and conifers that are declining.
“Active management in overstocked or aging stands prevents decline and promotes long-term forest health,” he said. 

The Forest Service, Hahka said, recognizes many of the concerns outlined by the coalition and have included measures to address them. He noted there are protective buffers around known northern long-eared bat roosts, they’re following best practices to reduce water runoff issues and limit the spread of invasive species, and that the project, through thinning and prescribed burns, would increase forest resilience to pests, disease and wildfire, issues amplified by climate change.

Thayer, with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, said that sometimes invasive species spread happens unintentionally during the logging process, when plants and seeds get stuck in equipment tread. He also pointed to findings in the Forest Service’s own environmental assessment that seemed to suggest some fire risk from logging: 

“There is a potential for the accrual of hazardous surface fuels after a timber harvest due to limbs, tops, and dead material within a stand after harvesting,” the environmental assessment reads. “This potentially heightens wildfire risk in stands that contain spruce and fir that have been affected by the spruce budworm and in areas with a heavy conifer component.”

In response to the groups’ asks, Hahka said no activities are proposed in designated wilderness areas, but the Forest Service does not anticipate putting together a full environmental impact statement.

David Carter, a forestry professor at Michigan State University, said the Silver Branch proposal “didn’t really raise any red flags.” He said it looked like a run-of-the-mill Forest Service project that involved some timber harvests, road maintenance and a lot of habitat restoration work.

He said Forest Service officials often become “punching bags” for people who have their hearts in the right place but who are misguided.

“It’s just so stinking hard to do the work, period, but let alone have the additional hurdle of people thinking you’re trying to do harm to the landscape when usually it’s the exact opposite,” he said.

Carter said that, when residents oppose projects like this, it’s mostly a “not in my back yard”-type situation.

“People’s demand for wood products has not gone down. It only goes up,” he said. “And so if we don’t harvest it here, we’re just going to harvest it from somewhere else.”

He said increasingly that ends up being places like Brazil, South Africa or southeast Asia, where “the regulatory infrastructure is not what it is here” in the United States.

• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is calling for universal pre-K, more money for reading curriculum and teacher training
• Whitmer will need to work with the Legislature to get these items funded
• Michigan third-grade reading scores are at a new low

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is drawing attention to the state’s low education rankings as she calls for more funding and training to improve student reading skills. 

In her final State of the State address on Wednesday, Whitmer said Michigan must do more to ensure students are literate and called on the next governor to continue the focus.

Here’s what to know.

How are Michigan students doing on literacy tests? 

Michigan ranks 44th for reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the NAEP, or the Nation’s Report Card.

Students took the test in spring of 2024. It is administered every two years across the country to a sample of students.

On the most recent state tests, only 38.9% of third grade students were proficient in English language arts. That’s a new low in the 11-year history of the test.  

What is Gov. Whitmer calling for? 

Whitmer is calling for the state to fund universal pre-K for four-year-olds, training for teachers, effective curricula and more opportunities for students to learn outside of the school day. 

Late last year, she convened a state literacy summit and said “literacy will remain my No. 1 priority.”

None of the ideas Whitmer pitched Wednesday are brand new. Starting in the 2027-2028 school year, districts will be required to screen students for traits of dyslexia, teach reading in evidence-based ways and ensure teachers are trained in how students learn to read. Those requirements were part of a law passed in late 2024.

Let’s break it down.

Does Michigan have universal pre-K? 

“This year, let’s fund free, full-day pre-K for all and set every child up for success,” Whitmer said in her Wednesday address. 

That’s already happening to some extent. Michigan 4-year-olds can attend a Great Start Readiness Program pre-K class tuition-free. These classrooms exist in public schools, nonprofit organizations and private organizations.

Related:

• Gretchen Whitmer’s last State of the State: Literacy, legacy and a Trump thank you
• GOP leader proposes $4.7B Michigan service tax to pay for property tax cuts
• New Michigan superintendent aims to raise test scores, collaborate with Whitmer

But the availability of these programs varies by area, and some programs are limited to four days a week.

Enrollment in the program continues to grow. About 51,000 students are enrolled in the Great Start Readiness Program, a 21% increase in enrollment since the previous year. 

GSRP is part of the state’s PreK for All initiative. The initiative includes the federally funded Head Start preschool program, developmental kindergarten and early childhood special education. Officials have set a goal to “serve a total of 88,500 of the state’s 118,000 four-year-old children in publicly funded programs by 2027.”

In Whitmer’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year, she is proposing $181.1 million to fund pre-K for 68,000 children. This includes $138.1 million for additional student slots and per-pupil raises, $25 million for start-up costs and $18 million for transportation, according to the State Budget Office.

What about training for teachers? 

Michigan has dedicated a total of $44 million toward Lexia LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling).

This training focuses on how the brain learns to read. Across the state, 5,843 educators had already completed the training as of early this month and another 5,558 were in the course, according to a Michigan Department of Education spokesperson. 

Teachers and literacy coaches previously told Bridge the training is extremely helpful but also very time-intensive.  

Whitmer is proposing the next budget include $50 million to be used over five years to give more teachers LETRS training.

Other states have also embraced LETRS. Mississippi, which has soared in state rankings for reading, used LETRS to train teachers. 

Is Whitmer mandating a reading curriculum? 

No, but she is calling for “effective curriculum statewide” and “additional professional learning.” 

But there are efforts to reign in the vast variety of curricula that schools use. 

During the 2022-2023 school year, elementary school teachers across the state reported using 444 different curriculum resources for English language arts, according to an analysis by Michigan State University researchers.

Now, the state provides funds for districts to purchase a reading curriculum from a vetted list. 

By the 2027-2028 school year, districts will be required to teach students in evidence-based ways. 

The state budget also requires that local districts notify parents if they are not using an evidence-based curriculum or one that is not aligned with state standards.  

What else? 

Whitmer is calling on the state to provide more funding for students to receive small-group tutoring in school, before and after school, on weekends and in the summer.

Michigan already provides funding to organizations for out-of-school time. 

In 2023, Whitmer approved a budget that includes $150 million for the Mi Kids Back on Track program, which districts could use for in-house or contracted tutoring programs. Schools could also use the funds for other academic recovery efforts. 

In the past, many school districts offered tutoring using federal pandemic relief funds but they varied widely in how big groups were, how often tutoring occurred and what training tutors had. 

State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko has signaled support for summer learning programs, referencing his work in Dearborn Public Schools to use private funders to help pay for programming.

Whitmer is calling on the Legislature to provide $135 million for before, after and summer school learning programs.

• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her eighth and final State of the State address in Lansing Wednesday evening 
• The term-limited Democrat proposed new spending on literacy, a new affordable housing tax credits and medical debt safeguards
• Whitmer urged bipartisanship and thanked President Donald Trump for his commitment to Selfridge Air National Guard Base

LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her eighth and final State of the State address Wednesday night, calling for action to tackle Michigan’s literacy crisis, create an affordable housing tax credit, limit the impact of medical debt and turn the temperature down on partisan fighting.

In a roughly 50-minute speech, the term-limited Democrat called for bipartisan cooperation, even thanking Republican President Donald Trump for committing to a new fighter mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, and reflected on her waning tenure. 

“To the people of Michigan: serving as your governor has been the honor of a lifetime,” Whitmer said during the address to a joint session of the Michigan Legislature, which she capped with a farewell: “Big Gretch, out!”

Related: 

• Watch, read Whitmer’s full State of the State address
• Here’s what Michigan says is real State of the State
• GOP leader proposes service tax to pay for property tax cuts

The governor also touted state investments in education but acknowledged that Michigan students are falling behind, ranking 44th in the nation for fourth-grade reading on a 2024 assessment. 

“This is a serious problem,” she said. “Our kids deserve better.” 

Here’s what to know about the governor’s big address.

Whitmer urges action on literacy 

Whitmer used her speech to emphasize what she had already said will be her top priority during her final year in office: improving student reading scores and literacy in Michigan schools. 

She called for earlier literacy interventions using “proven methods and extra help” and touted her multi-year effort to expand free access to preschool, saying that children are more likely to have higher literacy rates if reading is taught at earlier ages. 

Despite more money, more staffing and new laws passed by the state Legislature, Michigan K-12 schools have fallen behind.

Students here ranked 44th in the nation for fourth-grade reading on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Third-grade reading scores reached a new low on state tests last year too.

Those poor scores aren’t “the fault of any one person, party or event,” Whitmer said, calling literacy a “national challenge” that her successor will need to continue grappling with. Boys, she added, also rank lower than girls in reading in every grade. 

“Our economy demands every child possess stronger reading, writing and critical thinking skills than ever before, and yet, we’re not keeping up with top states,” Whitmer said. “But we can. We can close the gender gap and raise the bar for all kids. We can compete, but we must change to win.”

Whitmer proposed new literacy-related spending in the $88 billion executive budget she released earlier this month, which calls for $100 million for a new high-impact tutoring program, $100 million for literacy curriculum and $50 million for teacher training. 

Republicans have signalled a willingness to work with Whitmer on literacy but have also blamed her for the falling test scores. 

“It’s about time,” Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, said in an official response video, accusing Whitmer of “gutting standards” by repealing a 2016 law requiring schools to hold back third graders who test more than a year behind in reading.

Speaking to reporters after the speech, Nesbitt said Whitmer “struck the right note” on literacy, but failed to acknowledge the administration’s past actions in pushing for change. 

“I’m willing to join with anybody who’s willing to get back to the basics of saying phonics-based science, of reading literacy coaches for our teachers, and then also making sure that there’s tutoring available for those that are behind in schools,” he said. 

State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko called the governor’s enthusiasm for literacy and education “fantastic.” 

“We understand that we have some foundations here…but what we want to do is expand on that,” he said. “If we really want to push the bar, we have to continue to provide those supports.” 

A push for ‘more homes, quicker’ 

In an effort to address housing shortages, Whitmer used her State of the State speech to call for a “new, state-level affordable housing tax credit” that would pair with a federal version to incentivize the construction of housing “for working-class families.”

“Michigan’s the only state in our region without this tool,” she said, referencing a low-income housing tax credit that most other states have adopted. “And once we create one, it unlocks more federal dollars too. We need to get this done because too many workers are being priced out of homeownership.” 

In pitching the tax credit earlier this year, advocates with the Michigan Housing Council said it could cost as much as $42 million but create as many as 2,600 additional residences per year in the state. 

Whitmer also urged the Legislature to “demolish” what she called “nonsensical construction requirements” and streamline zoning, a possible reference to legislation introduced this month by a bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers that has sparked pushback by local governments. 

Lead sponsors, Republican Rep. Joe Aragona of Clinton Township and Democratic Rep. Kristian Grant of Grand Rapids, each said they were appreciative the governor had publicly endorsed their plan and looked forward to continuing work on the legislation. 

“Let’s make it easier to build in-law suites and multifamily homes,” Whitmer said. “Let’s modernize lot sizes, setback rules, and parking requirements. By improving zoning and building codes, we can build more homes quicker, at lower cost.”

Whitmer’s housing push drew praise from Business Leaders for Michigan President and CEO Jeff Donofrio. “States that clear the path move forward — those that don’t, fall behind,” he said in a statement. 

Governor pitches medical debt safeguards

While calling on members of Congress to restore the Affordable Care Act subsidies lawmakers allowed to lapse last year, Whitmer said Michigan can and should do more to lower health care costs for residents. 

She unveiled a suite of new proposals to help those facing medical bills: 

Cap interest rates on medical debt, bar medical debt from showing up on a person’s credit report, ban liens or foreclosures on homes due to medical debt and require hospitals to set up financial assistance programs.

“Being sick or getting hurt shouldn’t also mean going broke,” Whitmer said.

Michigan lawmakers have already been discussing ways to address medical debt. A two-bill package advanced earlier this year by a state Senate committee would limit how and when health care facilities or medical debt providers can recoup costs from patients.

Whitmer also urged lawmakers to help “stabilize Medicaid funding” and protect benefits by creating new taxes on vaping, gambling and digital ads. Hall and other legislative Republicans have already made clear they will not support the $800 million tax proposal.  

A Trump thank you, an LGBTQ defense

Whitmer used her final State of the State address to reflect on her time in office and thank legislative leaders, other key lawmakers, family and the general public. 

“You probably didn’t have this one on your bingo card, but I want to thank President Trump for helping us” bring the fighter mission to Selfridge, she said. 

But the governor also criticized tariffs the president has implemented and appeared to rebuff his threat to block opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Detroit: “For the first time in over a century, a new bridge connecting Michigan to Canada … will open,” she said. 

She also spoke directly to gay and transgender residents in Michigan: “You belong, you matter, and no matter who comes after you, I’ll stand in the way,” Whitmer said. “I’ll always fight for your freedom and safety, and I’ll veto any legislation that diminishes your humanity. I got your back.” 

Whitmer credited House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, with working with her on achieving one of her signature goals, a $2 billion deal she called the “biggest bipartisan roads deal in state history.” 

Hall said he appreciated the callout and expressed optimism on working with her this year, noting that he thought several of her priorities could garner Republican support. 

He told reporters he hopes he can make headway with Whitmer on his plan to eliminate state property taxes and lower utility rates, which he is proposing to fund with $4.7 billion in new taxes on select services.

“I thought a lot of the things she said were low-hanging fruit — they were things that were safe and achievable,” Hall said. “I’m challenging the governor: Let’s be more bold than that. Let’s work together on the biggest tax reform in Michigan’s history.” 

Some Dems question Trump comment

Most Democrats were quick to praise Whitmer’s final State of the State speech, with House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri calling it a “home run.”

“Look, we all know the political environment … that we’re in right now, and the reality is that she’s had an historic tenure in her eight years,” Puri, D-Canton, told Bridge Michigan. “Se did a good job recollecting just the progress she’s made in her eight years, while also talking about some of the things that may be able to get done this calendar year.”

Some Democrats including Reps. Dylan Wegela of Garden City and Carrie Rheingans of Ann Arbor were upset Whitmer did little to criticize controversial actions by Trump and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials — particularly after recent reports of ICE purchasing a warehouse in Romulus for potential use as a detention center.

“We need to defund, abolish and prosecute ICE, not congratulate the president who commands them and plans to terrorize people right in my district,” Wegela said in a statement.

Puri acknowledged that some of his members, or even other Democrats, may be upset about the lack of negative mention of the president or ICE enforcement, but noted that “the reality is, these things are complicated.”

“There’s sometimes a willingness or a desire for us to wade into every political issue that’s out there, but I think the governor stayed on message about things that are under our purview in the state of Michigan,” he said. “That doesn’t take away from the fact that this is still a priority item for our members.”

Sen. Jim Runestad, a White Lake Republican and chair of the Michigan Republican Party, blasted the speech in a statement shortly after Whitmer’s remarks, saying he did not have “even a glimmer of hope that she will fulfill the promises she made tonight.”

“The past seven years have been a complete and utter disaster under Gov. Whitmer’s leadership, and the only good thing that came from tonight’s speech is that it will be her last,” he said. 

• WSU’s new president will earn nearly $1.2 million in total compensation, his contract shows
• If he completes his 4.3-year contract, he will earn a bonus, pushing his total compensation to nearly $1.3 million
• The package is not ‘extraordinary’ among presidents serving similar public universities but ’richer’ than the contract awarded to the previous president

Wayne State University will pay newly appointed President Richard Bierschbach a $795,000 base salary, but additional compensation built into his employment contract will boost his total yearly earnings to approximately $1.2 million, according to an expert.

Bierschbach’s employment contract, released Wednesday, includes compensation beyond the base pay, according to George Mason University professor emeritus James Finkelstein:

• A target performance bonus of $75,000
• A carryover interim bonus of $25,000
• Retirement compensation of $104,500
• Deferred compensation of $125,000
• A car allowance of $9,000
• An allowance for spousal travel of up to $20,000. 

It also includes a $400,000 bonus if he serves 4.3 years through June 2030, the end of his contract. If Bierschbach completes his tenure, that bonus breaks down to approximately $95,000 annually, meaning his earnings could reach up to $1.3 million annually, said Finkelstein, who studies presidential contracts and analyzed Bierschbach’s contract at the request of Bridge Michigan.

Base salary for a university president is not as meaningful as total compensation because universities boards find ways to “hide” compensation throughout an employment contract, said Finkelstein. 

Related:

• WSU appoints interim president to permanent post without interviewing other candidates
• U-M president’s compensation may hit $3M per year, base pay could set record
• Wayne State president leaves with ‘bargain’ settlement of $760K, plus health care

Even so, Bierschbach’s total compensation package does not stand out amid other presidents serving similar public universities across the nation, said Finkelstein.

“In today’s world, where we are seeing presidential contracts for flagship universities routinely ranging from $2-3 million, for an institution like Wayne State, it’s nothing extraordinary,” said Finkelstein. “A million dollar (compensation package) is starting to become increasingly common among R1 (high research) universities that have substantial enrollments.”

Heads start to turn when public universities compensate presidents with $2-3 million, Finkelstein said, like University of Michigan recently did in an employment contract with President-elect Kent Syverud. 

The current total compensation package of MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz was not immediately known. But a university spokesperson said his base salary as of October was $1,029,210.

“It’s fair for the university and for him,” Sunny Reddy, a member of the WSU board, said of Bierschbach’s compensation.

The WSU Board of Governors this week appointed Bierschbach as the university’s 14th president after he had served for eight years as dean of the WSU law school and stepped up last September to serve as interim president following the resignation of former President Kimberly Andrews Espy.

In an unusual move, the board hired Bierschbach without interviewing any candidates, when experts say that 92% of public and private universities hire a firm to conduct a national search. WSU officials said they were trying to save university resources and listening sessions revealed that the WSU community was seeking traits in a president that matched those of Bierschbach.

As dean of the law school, Bierschbach earned $569,000; his pay increased to $769,000 as interim president, according to WSU spokesperson Matt Lockwood.

In comparison to the original contract of Espy, WSU’s first female president, Bierschbach’s contract “is meaningfully richer across nearly every major compensation dimension,” Finkelstein said.

His base salary is approximately $105,000 higher than Espy’s; his target bonus is nearly double ($75,000 vs. $40,000), and it starts immediately rather than in a second contract year.

His deferred compensation is $36,500 higher than Espy’s and then escalates automatically with salary increases — a structural advantage that grows over time. Espy did not have a completion bonus.

“Those differences are not trivial,” Finkelstein said. “They materially raise the overall compensation profile.

Several things stood out in Bierschbach’s contract, Finkelstein said.

Among the most unusual, he said, is a summer salary enhancement embedded in his contract as dean.

“The contract amends his law faculty appointment to increase his post-presidential summer stipend from 20% to 30% of his nine-month faculty salary,” said Finkelstein. “For a law professor at his salary level, that effectively converts him from a nine-month to a twelve-month employee after the presidency ends — a benefit that has nothing to do substantively with the presidency itself. That is not something you typically see in public university presidential contracts”

 Also unusual are terms outlining dismissal for cause and his tenure.

He automatically loses his tenure rights only under one of the six grounds for cause. 

“If he is fired for any of the other five reasons, the university would be required to follow the separate process outlined in Board of Governors Code Section 2.51.01 to terminate his tenure rights,” said Finkelstein. “Increasingly, we are seeing contracts that terminate tenure rights for any termination for cause.”