University of Detroit Mercy
What is the purpose of a brick and mortar university in the 21st century? How do we build them—rather, how should we build them? And for whom do they exist?
In 2024, GreenHouse set out to answer these—and other questions—in cooperation with University of Detroit Mercy which is leading the way to a new model for higher education; a model that meets the challenges and leverages the opportunities that are unique to the digital age…and in the era of the novel virus.
Our continuing partnership is uncovering a surfeit of insights, chief among them:: the growing importance of meaningful community engagement, and on a variety of levels.
The traditional paths to engagement have been a one-way street (i.e. a university imposes its ideas of service on the groups of actors within its orbit.) Working closely with its neighbors in Detroit—and in student communities around the world—UDM is committed to learning how to serve others not as it wishes to serve; and not to serve as it wishes to be served but as members of communities want and need to be served.
This simple yet profound design principle is informing the University’s numerous efforts—e.g. new programs, new courses, new community initiatives, and a new “living brand”—as it prepares for its upcoming 150-year anniversary.
And, in the process, it is setting a precedent for leadership at universities around the country that are pledging to rethink both purpose and mission. As UDM is demonstrating, it requires the courage and the humility to invite different voices, neighborhood voices to the table—neighbors from down the street or half a world away—to co-design meaningful and mutually beneficial engagement initiatives and experiences that express “purpose and mission” in ways that are far more aligned with conditions and concerns of the 21st century.
THe Hidden value of community
GreenHouse’s evolving partnership with University of Detroit Mercy kicked off with a series of roundtables with the Detroit community that led to a simple yet profound insight:: rather than serving others as it wishes to serve, or as it would like to be served, UDM is committed to serving as members of various communities want and need to be served. Adopted as design principle, this animated idea is informing numerous GreenHouse-led/GreenHouse-supported initiatives at UDM as it prepares for its 150th anniversary.