Saying that students at the University of Michigan are motivated often goes without saying. But the professors there know the magic words to get them to go the extra mile. One of those words is Detroit.
"Helping Detroit motivated everybody around here," says William Lovejoy, professor of operations & technology at the
University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
Lovejoy overseas the "Integrated Product Development" class at the University of Michigan, which is working with the likes of
Cass Community Social Services (based in Detroit) to help create social entrepreneurship businesses and get them off the ground. The partnership recently helped launch a mini-business that turns recycled glass into coasters.
Lovejoy says that venture is currently selling as much product as it can make. It is also employing eight formerly homeless people. The Cass Community Social Services also has two other such businesses. One turns discarded tires into welcome mats and the other employs developmentally disabled adults who can't read at a document-shredding company.
"We know that students are energized by having some sort of social agenda with the project," Lovejoy says. "They see themselves reaching for something farther than just themselves."
The class is currently working with Cass Community Social Services to help create more sustainable businesses for the Motor City.
Source: William Lovejoy, professor of operations & technology at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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