WINTER 2024-25
In THE ISSUE
In
THE
ISSUE
Cover Story
The legendary actor came to U-M to become a doctor. He left on the path to stardom.
Feature
Renowned video game designer Sid Meier, ’75, continues to be a driving force in the industry.
Feature
Five years after the pandemic stopped the world, a Michigan Medicine clinic is helping improve quality of life for those facing post-COVID symptoms.
Guest Column
Ayanna McConnell
Look for Inspiration
As a student at the University of Michigan, I studied Greg Harden, ’78, MSW’81. I watched and took notes as he engaged and inspired U-M students from all walks of life, especially student-athletes and engineering students.
Guest Column
Santa Ono
Let’s Look to
This new year has opened with the optimism of new beginnings. Yet even as our resolutions are still fresh, we recognize our world is awash in challenges and uncertainties. That makes it even more important to come together, to reengage as a community and to Look to Michigan.
Around THE U
Around
The U
Cover Story
Long before becoming one of the most famous voices in the world, James Earl Jones, ’55, HLHD’71, spoke little for close to a decade. At 5 years old, Jones was nearly separated from his family and left with unknown relatives in Mississippi. The resulting trauma of begging to move to Michigan with his grandparents and the fear he’d be abandoned had led Jones to develop a debilitating stutter. So, for much of his childhood, Jones kept silent, later claiming he “was practically mute.”
Feature
When Myra Beaudoin Bertrand, PhD’08, finally reached the top of the world, she fell to her knees. She’d been climbing for nearly three weeks — clipping and unclipping herself from fixed ropes, taking small steps in her heavy boots, and relying increasingly on oxygen tanks as the altitude made it harder and harder to breathe.
Feature
With more than 70 million copies sold and more than 1 billion hours played, the computer game series Sid Meier’s Civilization has solidified its empire in the gaming industry since 1991. But creator Sid Meier, ’75, had never seen a computer in person before arriving as a student at the University of Michigan in 1971.
Feature
Five years after the pandemic stopped the world, a Michigan Medicine clinic is helping improve the quality of life for those with post-COVID conditions.
Your
Association
Where in the World is Blue?
Show your
As you travel around the world or around the block, show us your Michigan pride! Don your Maize and Blue or Block M, snap a photo, and submit it to Michigan Alum for the chance to appear in a future issue. Check out the current issue’s gallery here.
Alumni
news+notes
Michigan Alum
WINTER 2024-25
Editorial Team
CHAIR Mary Kay Haben, MBA’79 | CHAIR-ELECT Kurtis Wilder, ’81, JD’84 | TREASURER Thomas W. Hawkins, ’83 | EX OFFICIO Ayanna McConnell | SECRETARY Gabriela Teran, ’96 | Wendall Brooks, ’87 | Wayee Chu, ’97 | Salene Hitchcock-Gear, ’84 | Monica Howard Douglas, ’94 | Joseph Giles, ’96, MBA’01, JD’01 | Li Li Leung, ’95 | Prakash Patel, ’89 | Anup Popat, ’95 | Emilie Rubinfeld, ’96 | John Sabat, ’95| Charles F. Schwartz, ’90 | Rajiv Shah, ’95 | Steve Shindler, ’85 | Paul Viera, ’81 | Rick Wallace, ’82 | Sophie Wong, ’97 | Lynn Wooten, PHD’95 | Linda Zhang, ’96, MSE’98, MBA’11
