For over thirty years, Dr. Michael Kassel has directed the Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction (SI) programs at the University of Michigan-Flint. Having stopped out of college with a 1.4 GPA, Kassel returned to college in the late-1980s, graduating with honors earning a BA in History at UM-Flint (1989).
Kassel went on to earn a Master of Liberal Studies in American Culture from Michigan (1991) and a Ph. D. in History from Michigan State (2004).
All of his graduate work was done while serving as the Coordinator of the Academic Enrichment Center, which provides tutorial support for all UM-Flint schools including its college of Arts and Sciences. In 1996, Kassel brought Supplemental Instruction to UM-Flint and has continued to direct that program as well. In 2013, Kassel lead the program to College Reading and Learning Association International Tutor Training Program Certification. In addition to recruiting, hiring, training and administering all tutors and SI leaders, Kassel also offers numerous academic workshops on the topics of note-taking, strategies of successful students, vocabulary building, improving text comprehension, time management and test anxiety.
Kassel also teaches American history courses, as well as graduate courses in American Culture, Popular Culture and American Television History. Dr. Kassel is the proud father of two twins, now in their twenties - David, a music program administrator, and Dahlia, a doctoral student in Psychology.
