Since being founded in 1959 on the original estate of automotive pioneer Henry Ford after a gift of land from Ford Motor Company, the University of Michigan-Dearborn has grown into one of the most distinguished and respected colleges of its kind.

Students celebrate UM-Dearborn’s 50th anniversary at the Henry Ford Estate on Sept. 23.

UM-Dearborn celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Henry Ford Estate on Sept. 23 with an event attended by hundreds of faculty, staff, alumni, business and community partners, government officials and more.
“We’re proud of our past and the many accomplishments of our faculty, alumni, students and campus,” said UM-Dearborn Chancellor Daniel Little about the milestone, “But we’re focused on the future and preparing to meet the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.”

UM-Dearborn, which currently has an undergraduate enrollment of 6,959 students, has received high marks in recent college ratings.

The university was rated the sixth-best master’s level public university in the Midwest according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 America’s Best Colleges report and was also picked among the top 100 best values in public colleges for 2008-2009 according to Kiplinger’s.

In the 2009 edition of U.S. News & World Report “America’s Best Colleges,” The College of Engineering and Computer Science placed among the top 10 undergraduate engineering programs, with a top five position in the undergraduate industrial manufacturing focus.

The university also has married great academics with a culturally diverse and tolerant environment, as UM-Dearborn was recently ranked among the top ten most culturally diverse and sensitive schools for Arabs and Muslims according to a study by the Muslim Accommodations Task Force. UM-Dearborn Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Life Stanley Henderson also recently won a “Community Friendship Award” from the Council of Islamic Organizations in Michigan last Sunday.

Tarek Baydoun, a member of the Arab American Political Action Committee who served as Student Government President from 2005-2007 and was also President of the Arab Student Union in 2004, looks back fondly on his time of growth at UM-Dearborn.

“It is welcoming and it’s a great asset the community,” he said.

Baydoun added that joining an organization is essential for getting the most out of the college experience at UM-Dearborn, which is a commuter college.

“I want to encourage Arab American students to become active, it’s helped them develop into leaders in all of the professions they go into,” he said.

“Social networking and civic engagement are two important things no one should go into college and leave without.”

Several distinguished Arab graduates have used UM-Dearborn as a platform to great things over the years, including Ismael Ahmed and Mayah Hammoud.

Ahmed graduated in 1975 and co-founded of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) in Dearborn, the largest Arab American human services association in the United States. He also helped found the Arab American Museum and was appointed by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services in 2007.

Hammoud is a doctor and 1969 graduate in the OB-GYN field who won the Alumni Community Service Award for her various philanthropic contributions internationally. Currently based in Qatar and studying at Cornell Medical College, she developed and directed the Middle Eastern Women’s health program in Ann Arbor, which provides culturally sensitive healthcare for women.

But despite the university’s incredible successes, some concern remains in the Arab community about allegations of unfair treatment on campus.

An incident that occurred in April during the student government election in which 18 students running for government seats were not allowed on the ballot because they fell short of the required 100 signatures after some were deemed invalid is an example of that feeling. Nearly all were Arab American, and 16 of the 18 denied a spot on the ballot belonged to a student party with strong connections to the Arab Student Union. Three belonged to the opposing Maize and Blue party and one was independent.

Henderson couldn’t explain the discrepancy at the time but said that the signature reviews were “essentially done blindly.”

The school took the step of meeting with American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and Congress of Arab American Organizations (CAAO) representatives in May to discuss the accusations.

Baydoun talked about his experiences with the administration during his days on campus.

“The administration probably isn’t as in touch with the students as it should be,” he said. “But aside from that it’s a very welcoming administration. Its faculty and academics have been extremely beneficial to the community.”

UM-Dearborn has also been beneficial to another former student government president, Farhan Latif, who has become the Director of Alumni Engagement for the school.

“I’m a really proud alum of UM-Dearborn and it’s been an amazing experience to go to school here and then to work for the university,” he said.

“I’ve met people from extremely diverse backgrounds and I’ve really developed an understanding of the metro vision the faculty has and how we’re connected to helping the region.”

The school plans to continue the celebration into 2010 with more activities for alumni including a reunion in April.