Call Center Company in Dearborn, MI

DEARBORN, MI - Domenico Grasso, a former U.S. Army major with two Cold War deployments, brings his military attitude to academic leadership, one of his University of Michigan-Dearborn faculty members said.

“I was happy to interview him about his time in the U.S. Army for one of my military history classes,” Jamie Wraight, chair of the Dearborn campus’ lecturers’ union, said. “It was easy to discern how his experience in the military influenced him as an academic leader.”

“Always forward thinking and never leading from behind,” Wraight said.

Grasso, chancellor for the Dearborn campus, was selected as the university’s interim president, officials announced Thursday, May 8. The decision is pending a May 15 vote by the Board of Regents in its meeting in Dearborn.

Grasso will not pursue the permanent position, according to a UM release.

Grasso, 69, has been the Dearborn campus’ chancellor since August 2018. He earned his doctorate in environmental engineering from the University of Michigan, spending his career mostly in the northeast until he became provost of University of Delaware in 2013.

Wraight said Grasso’s priorities towards students was in the right place.

“I appreciated his commitment to student success on our campus,” Wraight said, ultimately wishing Grasso success in Ann Arbor.

Bruce Maxim, chair of Dearborn’s Faculty Senate, agreed with Wraight’s sentiment.

“I have enjoyed working with him,” Maxim said. “He always has the best interests of the students, faculty and staff in mind.”

Maxim pointed to Grasso’s accomplishments the last seven years as particularly impressive for a regional university. One included reaching “R2″ status as a research institution, meaning the university brings at least $5 million a year in external research funding.

The funding went from $4.8 million to a projected $13.2 million this past fiscal year, according to university data.

“Achieving R2 status at UMD and maintaining the size of the campus while maintaining the quality of the student body in these times is pretty amazing,” he said.

Grasso’s other accomplishments included his GoBLUEprint for Success plan - a tracker for university success in enrollment, graduation rates and more. The Dearborn campus set a first-year enrollment record in both 2023, continuing its growth by nearly 5% in the ensuing fall 2024 semester. The campus also boasted a 16% increase in its four-year graduation rate, according to campus data.

He also helped implement the Go Blue Guarantee, a free tuition program for families making $125,000 or less a year, to include the Dearborn campus. About 44% of students pay no tuition due to this program, Grasso’s need-based financial aid initiative and Michigan Achievement Scholarships, the campus said in its fall 2024 enrollment update.

The Dearborn campus has seen a number of changes during Grasso’s tenure. He fostered the $90 million renovation to the Engineering Lab Building and Renick University Center. He also updated the campus master plan to allow for safer bicycle transportation.

“President Grasso is widely admired for his visionary work leading University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he has held the role of chancellor since 2018,” the Board of Regents wrote in the May 8 message to the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses and Michigan Medicine. “We have full confidence that President Grasso will provide steady leadership during this critical time of transition.”

Maxim said Grasso “will be missed.”

“The accomplishments listed in the regent’s announcement are real,” he said.

DEARBORN, Mich. – You’ll be able to watch glassmaking while you sip beverages at a new bar that is opening in Dearborn next month.

Glass Academy is scheduled to open The Michigan Room, a lounge and bar, on Friday, May 9, 2025, in its 14,000 square foot facility.

“We want to give glass enthusiasts and newcomers a comfortable environment to watch the exciting process of glassblowing,” said Jacob Nordin, second-generation Glass Academy owner. “Few people get the chance to watch glassblowing up close, and The Michigan Room will provide an experience that immerses guests in the world of glass.”

There will be drafts and seltzers from Dearborn Brewing, botanical gin from Ann Arbor Distilling, small batch lemonade tonic from TeaHaus in Ann Arbor, bourbon and rum from Detroit City Distillery and small batch botanical sodas from Casamara Club Sodas in Detroit.

The beverages will be served in custom, hand-blown glasses that are specifically designed for each drink, and if you like the cup, you’ll be able to purchase one.

Once you grab your drink, you can hang out in The Michigan Room’s lounge area, or you can take a seat at the railing that runs along the hot shop for the closest view of the glassmaking happening in the 6,500 square foot hot shop.

When designing the lounge, Michigan and its Great Lakes were used as inspiration, according to the release. You’ll find vintage lamps, upcycled tables, and the color blue throughout, with the railing, bar and main counter crafted from Michigan-sourced black walnut.

The bar will be open to the public from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. There will be glass-making activities during the public hours and glass-blowing demonstrations on Thursdays.

The Glass Academy is located at 25331 Trowbridge Road.

People are also able to book The Michigan Room for private events for 30-125 people each day of the week. Possible events include glass demonstrations, “Design Your Own Glassware” happy hours.

Dearborn plans this summer to overhaul the intersection that its mayor says has the most dangerous left turn in the city for crashes ― one of several traffic-calming measures it will roll out in the coming months.

The intersection where Schaefer Road meets Prospect Street, which does not have a stoplight, is a mish-mash of streets: Schaefer is the north-south artery, punctuated by Prospect, which doesn't run straight across Schaefer but is broken up on either side of the roadway. Maple Street intersects with Schaefer at about a 45-degree angle, and meets Leonard Street at the north-south thoroughfare. A mosque, the Bint Jebail Cultural Center and a handful of businesses are in the immediate area.

Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said the presence of businesses and the mosque increased traffic at the intersection after the roads were built, worsening the area's issues. He called the roadway's design an engineering failure.

"Hopefully by you standing there, you can see why it's such a nightmare of a design," he said.

Hammoud said at his State of the City address earlier this month the left turn from Prospect onto Schaefer is the most dangerous left turn in the city for crashes, and is particularly bad for T-bone collisions. Planned changes to the intersection include prohibiting left turns from Prospect onto Schaefer on the west side of the road, making Leonard and Prospect on the east side of Schaefer ― which go past the mosque ― each one-way so traffic around the building flows the same direction, and widening pedestrian islands in the area. Prospect also intersects with a short stretch of Maple on the east side of Schaefer.

Kevin Harper, a delivery driver, said he'd most like to see a stoplight or a few roundabouts because either one would force people to slow down. Motioning toward Prospect and Leonard Streets where they intersect with Schaefer, he said he'd like to see a roundabout at both streets.

"Slow everybody down. (Fewer) accidents are going to happen because you're doing 15 miles an hour," Harper said, while he got gas at a Shell station at the intersection along Schaefer. "You're more likely to stop on a dime going 15 than you are doing 35 (or) 40."

He said if he has to make a left turn off of Schaefer, which runs north-south, he purposely goes through the Shell parking lot because it's the safest option.

Hammoud said, though, that the area doesn't have a clean four-way design that would accommodate a stoplight.

"I wish there was symmetry there where a stoplight would work and you could have turn signals," he said.

Khaled Alghazali, a pharmacist at Life Pharmacy on Maple, pointed across the street to cars coming from the opposite direction making sharp 45-degree left turns from the street, which runs past a nearby mosque, onto Schaefer. He said it's difficult for cars making the turn to see oncoming traffic.

Alghazali said cars also frequently make prohibited left turns off of Maple past the pharmacy ― there's a "right turn only" sign as it intersects with Schaefer ― and go the wrong direction down that section of the road, which is a one-way street as it runs past the business, despite the "do not enter" sign.

"There's just so much happening here. If you look at it right now, there are so many cars going from every direction. It's just not ideal at all, compared to any other intersection that I've seen."

The work on the intersection is among a number of traffic measures Dearborn has planned before the end of the year. The city is installing more illuminated traffic signs, raised crosswalks and hundreds more speed humps.

Plans for Dearborn's first roundabout, at Chase and Ruby, are currently in a traffic study.

Hammoud said new speed humps installed through the spring and summer will be concentrated around schools, senior facilities and parks. But he added they're not well-suited for residential streets because of snow plowing. At his State of the City address, he said Dearborn has piloted speed humps around Hemlock, Levagood and Lapeer parks and seen speed in those areas decrease more than 20 percent.

The mayor said the traffic infrastructure plans are part of a three-pronged approach in the city for safety: engineering, enforcement and education.

"We have to do all that we can to ensure the public health of our residents and prevent the accidents that occur because of traffic safety issues," Hammoud said.

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On April 17, 2025, "The Global Front Of Resistance Youth," an Iran-backed group that promotes anti-U.S. and anti-Israel "resistance" ideology among youth, posted on its Arabic- and Farsi-language Telegram channels a one-minute promotional video describing Dearborn, Michigan, as the central point of support for Palestine in America.[1]

The Global Front for Resistance Youth: "Here Is America…"

"Dearborn, Michigan, is America's first city with a Muslim majority. It is the place where the banner of Hussayn, peace be upon him, always flies, and the outcry of support for Palestine the oppressed rises up, making the heart of America tremble," reads the post, which promoted the hashtag: #An_Outcry_Without_Frontier.

Imam Hussayn is the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the son of the fourth Caliph, Ali Ibn Abi Talib. He is regarded as the third imam in Shi'ite Islam. His suffering and martyrdom became a symbol of sacrifice in the struggle for right against wrong.

The video documents pro-Palestine protests and gatherings, as well as scenes from the "March for Justice Annual Procession," held in July 2024, organized by the Ashura Project, a Shi'ite institution that promotes the values of Imam Hussayn in the Detroit-Metro community. Camera drones and a helicopter flying an "O Hussayn" banner were used during the event:

"The Ashura Project is an effort of dedicated individuals of all ages to reflect on the legacy of the event of Ashura, raise awareness of its messages for humanity, and help the Detroit-Metro community understand its life-changing significance,” according to the Ashura Project website.[2]

Significant Outreach Potential: Ties To The Iranian State, IRGC, Palestinian Groups, And Iraqi Militias

"The Global Front for Resistance Youth," which describes itself as a popular movement based in Qom, Iran, claims to have thousands of Shi'ite youth members from around the world. The group is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is believed to be a state-run organization that conducts annual conferences and events aimed at mobilizing youth in support of Iran's international and regional agenda.[3] The organization runs two Telegram channels, in Farsi and in Arabic, with subscribers numbering 166,942 and 159,514 respectively.

The organization's director, Ismail Bor Hawashimi, maintains close ties with militia leaders in Baghdad, such as Hadi Al-Ameri, the head of Iraq's Iran-backed Badr Organization, whom he met in Baghdad on August 13, 2024.[4]

During the first few weeks of the Gaza war, The Global Front for Resistance Youth's Telegram channel in Farsi has been sharing fliers suggesting that supporters could hand out fliers at "gatherings" to influence public opinion about the Hamas attack on Israel, codenamed "Al-Aqsa Flood."[5] The Arabic channel also promoted posts featuring anti-Israel, and anti-U.S. slogans in English, suggesting that they be used at anti-Israel student protests.

On October 21, 2023, the group platformed Hamas's representative in Tehran, Khalid Al-Qadoumi, filming a video of him urging supporters around the world to donate, describing the group as a popular support group that comprises young elites and which has a good reputation for providing social work and humanitarian aid.[6]