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Celebrating the Earth

A woman holding an iguana speaks to another woman at an outdoor event
Lannis Smith of the Leslie Nature & Science Center interacts with a visitor during Earthfest on Sept. 30. The 30th anniversary of Earthfest took place under sun-filled, clear skies on the Diag and featured a chef demo by MDining that included campus-grown and locally sourced ingredients; free bike repair and commuting advice from Common Cycle; Student Life Sustainability activities, including free screen printing and grad cord-making; and animal ambassador visits from the Leslie Science & Nature Center. Earthfest celebrates sustainability initiatives across U-M and the surrounding communities, while providing an inclusive platform to educate and engage the campus community on opportunities to support sustainability and environmental justice on campus and in our daily lives. (Photo by Maddie Fox, School for Environment and Sustainability)

2025 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report now available

U-M’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report was released Sept. 29, 2025. This report, produced through the Division of Public Safety and Security, provides an overview of crime statistics and fire safety data for the Ann Arbor campus from 2024, 2023 and 2022. It also highlights important policies, procedures and safety resources available to the community, including:

  • Be emergency-ready. Sign up for U-M Emergency Alerts to receive timely, critical updates and download the DPSS Public Safety App. 
  • Promptly report crimes, concerns or suspicious activity. DPSS urges community members to promptly report incidents so they can be properly investigated and addressed.
  • Get involved with educational outreach. DPSS provides training, programs and resources to help empower individuals with knowledge and skills to stay safe. 
  • Lean into community partnerships. DPSS works closely with units across campus to create a secure and supportive environment for everyone. Visit the community engagement page for ideas or a direct contact to explore possibilities. 

University Human Resources announces holidays, Season Days

The university’s holiday and season day schedule for 2026 is now available on the University of Human Resources website. The university observes seven holidays each calendar year: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day following Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. Eligible employees receive time off for Season Days, the four days between the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays and the Floating Holiday. The Floating Holiday is a paid single day of absence that must be used within the current calendar year. Following are 2026 Holidays and Season Days:

  • Jan. 1: New Year’s Day, Thursday
  • May 25: Memorial Day, Monday ​
  • July 3: Independence Day (observed), Friday
  • Sept. 7: Labor Day, Monday
  • Nov. 26: Thanksgiving Day, Thursday
  • Nov. 27: Friday
  • Dec. 25: Christmas Day, Friday
  • Dec. 28: Season Day, Monday
  • Dec. 29: Season Day, Tuesday
  • Dec. 30: Season Day, Wednesday
  • Dec. 31: Season Day, Thursday
  • Jan. 1: New Year’s Day, Friday

Saturday Morning Physics returns to celebrate 30th anniversary year

Saturday Morning Physics, the popular outreach series, is back and celebrating its 30th anniversary year with a schedule packed with family-friendly presentations. For three decades, U-M’s Saturday Morning Physics has been exploring cosmic mysteries and answering practical problems with the public through striking experiments and live lectures. The 30th season of SMP will continue that tradition with a lineup that includes talks about science language, the age of the universe and the mysteries of quantum science, as well as a full morning of crowd-pleasing, family-friendly physics demonstrations Dec. 6. Here are the upcoming events:

  • Anne Curzan (U-M), “When ‘Physic(k)s’ Lost Its ‘k’ and Other Language Quarks,” Oct. 18.
  • Scott Watson (Syracuse University), “How Old Is the Universe—That is, What Time Is It?” Nov. 8.
  • Gabriele Carcassi (U-M), “What Is Classical and What Is Quantum?” Nov. 15.
  • 30 Years of SMP! (U-M), Family-friendly physics demonstrations, Dec. 6.

The events, which are free and open to the public, take place at Weiser Hall, rooms 170 and 182, 500 Church St. SMP is sponsored by the Dr. Mary Lois Tiffany Endowment, Hideko Tomozawa Endowment, Van Loo Family Endowment, Pulikeshi Dayalu Astrophysics Fund and Friends of the Program. For more information on the series.

— Compiled by Jeff Bleiler, The University Record

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