My City January 2022

MYLOOKBACK

February cont. Motown Man

In November 2020, Flint Native Bob Campbell published his rst novel, Motown Man , a story of an interracial romance set in a faded, Midwestern industrial town. Campbell said, “Much of the setting is in an automotive components plant. I was able to explore gender role, family relationships, interracial communication and factory life. Humanity of the Black man is a signi cant theme.” Born and raised in Vehicle City, Campbell attended Southwestern High School, worked for GM for seven years and was a writer for various newspapers, including the Flint Journal , Lexington Her- ald-Leader and Detroit Free Press . Campbell is currently the senior communications manager for the Flint & Genesee Group.

march

UM-Flint Murchie Science Building Expansion Planning for the new 61,000-square-foot wing began in 2015, and opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in January.‹e project was aided by a $29.25 million capital outlay appropriation from the State of Michigan, and the Charles Stew- art Mott Foundation awarded an $11 million grant to help fund construction, upgrade the exist- ing building and support STEM studies campus-wide.‹e wing features robotics labs, design lab and fabrication workshops, inde- pendent and group research labs, reservable group-study rooms, student club hub and learning commons, to name a few.

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