July 3, 2023
In a recent segment of WEMU's Washtenaw United, Spectrum Center director Jesse Beal talked with David Fair about institutional progress, ongoing work, and centering students in everything we do.
Beal, who arrived at U-M in 2021 and became director in 2022, called their job an “unparalleled opportunity”—serving students, working with an incredible team led by then-director Will Sherry, and building on the impact the center made in its first 50 years.
“Our community has different needs than it had years before. I've been doing this work for 20 years now, and some needs have stayed the same… but there are new challenges,” Beal said. “Now, we're doing that next-level, 2.0 work… to ensure that our students have what they need to thrive here.” Whether that’s “being able to put their chosen name on their dissertation,” creating a welcoming center space, or creating new, innovative programming, “we want them to feel like this place belongs to them because, truly, it does.”
Listen to the full segment, “Creating safe spaces at the University of Michigan’s Spectrum Center,” on WEMU.