Center for Educational Outreach (CEO)

Inform, Engage, Inspire

About Us

What is CEO?

Inspiring Educational Outreach Across Michigan

  • U-M’s central hub for K–12 outreach and educational access since 2009
  • Supports campus units with tools, guidance, and collaboration
  • Engages directly with K–12 schools to build college-going culture
  • Leverages faculty, staff, students, and alumni to foster meaningful pathways
  • This work affirms the University’s commitment to life-changing education by sustaining and strengthening programming in communities and on campus, investing in student-facing professionals who are crucial to student success, and enhancing coordination both in communities and on campus to maximize student success and impact. In doing so, the University advances both the public good and Michigan’s long-term economic vitality.

Why is this work important?

  • MI ranks 41st in college enrollment
  • 88% of high-wage jobs require a bachelor’s; only 54.7% of HS grads enroll in college; 46.5% of working-age adults hold credentials
  • $93.5M in federal aid left unclaimed by MI students (2022)
  • High school leaders and students see U-M as out of reach; our expansion aims to dismantle this mindset by building trust and broadening access
  • The need today is greater than ever before, with 88% of Michigan's jobs paying $75,000+ requiring a bachelor's degree. However, only 54% of high school graduates in Michigan are enrolling in college, and only 46% of working-age adults in Michigan currently hold a degree or certificate. For the state to achieve the 60x30 goal, programming is needed at all ages and stages; U-M and CEO are best positioned to support K-12 interventions at various stages in students’ educational journey

Land Acknowledgement Statement

The University of Michigan is located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe people. In 1817, the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodewadami Nations made the largest single land transfer to the University of Michigan. This was offered ceremonially as a gift through the Treaty at the Foot of the Rapids so that their children could be educated. Through these words of acknowledgment, their contemporary and ancestral ties to the land and their contributions to the university are renewed and reaffirmed.