About the Diversity Center
The hallmark of the Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies is the recognition that public policy initiatives must be understood within the context of growing societal diversity. The center builds on intellectual resources from around the University as well as those already present at the Ford School to address relevant programs and interests.
About the Diversity Center
Mission
The Ford School, like the broader University of Michigan, has a long-standing commitment to embracing the opportunities and challenges of our increasingly diverse society. Building on this legacy, the Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies promotes cutting-edge, inter-disciplinary research, educational opportunities, and dialogue to improve the design and implementation of public policy in an increasingly complex and diverse society. The center creates an intellectual focal point for research on the policy implications of diverse societies locally, nationally, and internationally.
Vision
Our vision is to create an intellectual environment that will foster dialogue and debate and lead to concrete policy solutions which address the opportunities and challenges of diversity.
The center is committed to the following goals:
- to develop and nurture an active inter-disciplinary network of scholars committed to diversity, both within the University and beyond
- to develop creative educational programming to prepare students for leadership in an increasingly diverse world
- to provide a dynamic, non-partisan forum for dialogue and debate that engages multiple perspectives on diversity issues
- to produce, fund, and disseminate policy-oriented research utilizing varied methodological approaches.
Ultimately the work of the center is to inform public policy debate by producing top-notch scholarship on issues of diversity.
Areas of Study
The center's leadership and core faculty may identify focus areas for select time periods, but these focus areas are expected to evolve, reflecting the personal interests of core faculty and the contemporary policy context.
Funding
The center builds on intellectual resources from around the University as well as those already present at the Ford School. The University of Michigan Provost's office, the University of Michigan National Center for Institutional Diversity, and the Ford School have provided initial funding for the center. We will be seeking funding support from foundations and donors to sustain and expand our work.