Greetings from the Dean – Feed January 30, 2019

January 30, 2019

The fall semester in Ann Arbor was a blur of activity, and the winter semester has started with a flurry of activity (and weather)! As 2018 drew to a close, so, too, did the University of Michigan’s Victors for Michigan campaign. Thanks to the generosity and vision of our alumni and friends, we raised more than $47 million to further the Ford School’s mission. We’re so grateful, and we’re eager to increase our impact for the months, years, and decades to come.

In this edition of our newsletter, you can learn about the transformative research of our faculty. Susan Dynarski’s work to recruit low-income, high-achieving students to the University of Michigan has been met with tremendous acclaim. And Barry Rabe and Sarah Mills are tackling renewable energy policy as part of a multidisciplinary team, funded through a Catalyst Grant.

The Ford School joined with five other leading policy schools to found the Public Affairs Diversity Alliance, furthering our commitment to promoting diversity in our field and profession. We also announced a new professorship to support social policy and social justice research, established through a $2.5 million gift by the Kohn Charitable Trust. And we launched a new professorship in health policy, with a $2.5 million gift from our longtime Ford School Committee Chair Jim Hudak.

Our students continue to shine. Two of our undergrads received the MLK Spirit Award earlier this month. We’ve also expanded our Riecker Fellowship, so that now, two MPP students can have the opportunity to work on Capitol Hill for members of the Michigan congressional delegation. This semester, students are placed in the offices of U.S. Senator Gary Peters and U.S. Representative John Moolenaar. And we’ve just announced the establishment of a prestigious new student award: the Eckstein Prize for Interdisciplinary Research will recognize an outstanding PhD, MPP, or BA student research project later this semester.

For those of you in D.C., we hope you’ll join us for our annual alumni/student networking reception on February 7, 2019. Elisabeth Gerber, the Ford School’s associate dean for research and policy engagement, will reflect on the student engaged learning experience. Liz will be joined by past Applied Policy Seminar clients and DC-based alums. Several dozen MPP students will have made the trip to DC, hoping to make contacts and gain wisdom from our well-connected, savvy alumni group.

And no matter where you live, we’d love to welcome you back this fall for Homecoming. We hope you’ll join us October 4-5, 2019 to celebrate 10 years since our first BA students graduated, 20 years since being named for President Gerald R. Ford, and 50 years since our first students entered the Institute for Public Policy Studies.

Best regards,

Michael S. Barr
Joan and Sanford Weill Dean, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Frank Murphy Collegiate Professor of Public Policy
Roy and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law
University of Michigan