Investigations & Research from UM-Dearborn
The Investigations section brings together the research team’s interpretations of the history of the UM-Dearborn campus through a variety of engaging formats, including digital exhibits, StoryMaps, and other scholarly interpretations.
Here, you will find curated narratives like the story of women' s involvement in the growing use of computers on the campus (and in the broader UM ecosystem), interactive materials like a brief tour of some of the historic sites on campus, and secondary sources developed through ongoing research. Our aim with these resources is to offer deeper context and new ways of engaging with the campus’s past. These projects highlight both the process and the outcomes of our work, connecting archival discoveries with interpretive analysis and exciting digital formats.
As with the rest of the DCM Collective, this is a living collection, and it will continue to grow as new research is completed and additional materials are developed and added over time. We invite you to explore and learn about UM-Dearborn’s past in a new light!
Explore the Collection!
Hidden in the System
A brief history of women and computing at the University of Michigan-Dearborn
This peer reviewed exhibition traces the evolution of computing at UM-Dearborn from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, a period marked by the rise of mainframe computing, the formalization of computer science as a discipline, and the spread of personal computing. Computing transformations took place across colleges and universities nationwide, providing new opportunities for women students, staff, teachers, and administrators. Learn more about this understudied topic in "Hidden in the System" by clicking the button below!
Best In Class: A Digital Exhibit
In this digital exibit, the Inclusive Storytelling Hub (ISH) invites you behind the scenes of their 2026 documentary Best in Class: Blenda J. Wilson, Jon Onye Lockard and the Portrait that Connected Them. The exhibit includes extended interviews, extra footage, and resources used in the documentary. Find out more by clicking the button below!
IHP-Dearborn Virtual Historic Campus Tour
In this StoryMap, we invite you to take a brief tour of the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus. Though the school was originally founded in late-1950s as the "Dearborn Center," the land has been occupied for much longer, first by the indigenous peoples of the area and, later, by Henry Ford and his wife. The Ford company later sold the land to the University of Michigan to house a branch campus that could train the next generation of Ford's engineers. Find out more by clicking the button below!