Portico: Spring 2026

At Taubman College, education has never been confined to the classroom. It unfolds in studios humming late into the evening, in fabrication labs where ideas meet the resistance of material, and on city blocks bustling with complex histories and potential. It asks our students to test their knowledge in the world through internships, capstones, and partnerships.

This kind of experiential learning teaches lessons that cannot be downloaded on demand. It requires students to negotiate uncertainty, collaborate across differences, revise with humility, and persist when a prototype fails. It cultivates relational intelligence, authentic problem-solving, and the deep learning that comes from immersion in a place, a community, and a problem.

In an era of rapid technological and social change, these experiences are not supplementary to a Taubman College education. They are its core. They prepare students not to adapt to the future, but to shape it.

The stories in this issue of Portico highlight the process behind the finished project. You will encounter students confronting the questions of our time with courage and imagination. The results, as seen in our 2026 Student Show and elsewhere in this issue, are often remarkable. But what truly distinguishes a Taubman College education is not just what our students produce, but how they learn to produce it.

To our alumni and friends: Thank you for being an integral part of this community. Your engagement sustains the vibrant culture of inquiry and opportunity that allows our students to turn curiosity into consequence, and consequence into public good.