Approaching her eighth anniversary at the helm, U-M President Coleman will reflect on major initiatives that have occurred under her leadership and will impact future generations of students, including the University’s interdisciplinary richness, its contributions to our beleaguered state, emphasis on ethics in our society, health care issues, a groundbreaking Google partnership, and ongoing collaboration with major educational institutions in China.

Our beloved song leader extraordinaire has written a book that chronicles the life, times, stories and achievements of U-M sports legend Don Lund.  A nine-letter winner in baseball, basketball and football, Lund began a professional baseball career with the Dodgers the same year they signed Jackie Robinson, later played for the St. Louis Browns and the Tigers and ran the Tigers’ farm system before returning to Michigan to coach the baseball team.  Ed Hood, a member of Don’s 1962 NCAA champs, will introduce Jim and Don, and the stories will roll.

Always think that disasters happen to the other guy? Jump-start your own preparedness planning as the local disaster preparedness guru presents highlights from the new Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Guide for Businesses. Jim’s presentation will include a quick overview of critical steps for planning to help save lives, money and time in a disaster, and to recover quickly while consistently following state-enforced regulations.

Take a look at Steve Kesler’s student evaluation highlights on the U-M website and you’ll find that he is “the MAN . . . a really, really nice guy” but his tests “are KILLER [and] some of the test material comes only from lectures.”  So pay attention, Rotarians, when he describes how the Great Lakes are but a temporary episode in the long process of receding glaciers, growing dunes and deltas, and accumulating water supplies.  That will be the historical context for an update on modern Great Lakes issues from shoreline erosion to the export of water.

We might all be rich if we had a nickel for every time we’ve heard someone say, “I didn’t like history in school and I still don’t.”  Kevin Graffagnino will rebut that stubborn sentiment as he explains how and why history matters to everyone, heritage buffs and naysayers alike – helping to build community ties between natives and newcomers through shared knowledge of local history, enhancing our sense of identity, and contributing to a better future for coming generations.