Public event

Join us for a fireside chat with Charles Luftig, Deputy Director for National Intelligence Policy and Capabilities, as we commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA). Moderated by Javed Ali, this conversation will explore current intelligence and envision a future shaped by advances in technology like open source intelligence, social media, artificial intelligence, and language learning models.

Educator staffing shortages have drawn considerable attention from policymakers and the public in recent years. While much attention is directed towards K-12 teachers, there is growing concern about shortages of substitute teachers because of the negative impact on teachers and administrators when schools regularly have insufficient staff to cover teacher absences and vacancies. 

Join the Center for Racial Justice for an inspiring night of conversation with our '23-'24 Visiting Fellows. 

Two experts with long experience in Middle East policymaking discuss the violence in Palestine and Israel and its broader implications. This event is open to Ford School students, faculty, and staff, and will be streamed live and on-demand.

Join the Center for Racial Justice and the Institute for Research on Women & Gender (IRWG) in welcoming Dr. Moya Z. Bailey, Associate Professor at Northwestern University, founder of the Digital Apothecary, and co-founder of the Black Feminist Health Science Studies Collective for a workshop on misogynoir in education.

The Ford School is sponsoring a film at this year's Ann Arbor Film Festival, which runs through March 31.The film, Strange Culture, is showing at the State Theater at 3pm on Sunday, March 31. Tickets available at the Michigan Theater.

Former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security John Tien discusses how homeland and national security policy gets done and implemented based on his experience across four Administrations: Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Biden.

As the life-threatening impacts of the climate crisis grow more aggressive each year, the Biden-Harris administration is implementing an all-of-government approach at the scale and speed this urgent situation demands. 

Former United Nations Under-Secretary General and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), will join us to discuss the intricate relationship between health equity and economic resilience in Africa. Dr. Songwe's insights will highlight Africa's role in global power dynamics and strategies for asserting its agency amid evolving economic landscapes.

Although the China Initiative has officially ended in 2022, the hostile climate has not dissipated and scientists of Chinese backgrounds still feel the pressure especially as a proposed House spending bill wants to bring the initiative back. Put in place in 2018 under the Trump administration the China Initiative led to the arrest, intimidation, and forced resignation of faculty on American University campuses. This panel discussion brings together a group of experts who will discuss their personal experiences, the legal dimensions, the costs of the initiative in the realm of scientific and technological advancements, the effects on prospective and current students, and diversity of campus.  

Each spring, Ford School faculty and staff nominate dozens of outstanding student research and service projects for recognition at the Gramlich Showcase of Student Work. Established in 2008 to honor internationally renowned economist and former Ford School dean, Ned Gramlich, this event features exceptional student work on a broad range of local, national, and international policy challenges.

Federal Reserve Bank Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr, former dean of the Ford School, will discuss the workings of the Fed, his work on banking reform, and the lessons of leadership he has learned in his career in and out of government service. 

Join the Center for Racial Justice in welcoming Dr. Clarence Wardell III, Senior Program Officer on the Economic Mobility and Opportunity team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for a virtual workshop on the importance of service design in ensuring equitable access to key government programs. 

This policy briefing is the culmination of a project carried out by five Masters of Public Policy students who worked with the American Friends Service Committee’s Michigan Criminal Justice Program in the Strategic Public Policy Consulting course at the Ford School of Public Policy. The students gathered current data on the MDOC prisoner population and modeled the potential cost savings that could be realized under the proposed Second Look legislation in Michigan. 

The Center for Racial Justice and Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) are excited to host Alejandro Mayoral Baños for his talk Beyond the Digital Divide: Unpacking the Complexities of Development and Data Colonialism. Alejandro will be exploring the intricate and multifaceted realm of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), and assessing its promising advantages and its significant downfalls.

On Wednesday, March 13, celebrate Giving Blueday's 10th anniversary! From midnight through 11:59 p.m. EST, Fordies around the globe will have the opportunity to support what we love about the Ford School and University of Michigan! 

Join us for Black Maternal Rights: Voices & Visions, a compelling panel event focusing on the multifaceted issue of Black maternal reproductive rights.

Marc Goldwein, Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, discusses the fiscal challenges awaiting the next administration.   

The Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes Chloë Cheyenne for our 2024 Masterclass in Activism event: A Conversation on Social Justice Activism in the Digital Age. This event is free and open to all. 

Racism is a multifaceted, interconnected, and fundamental cause of racialized health inequities. As such, racism impacts who gets sick, who dies, and who is able to live healthy. In this talk Dr. Pirtle will overview interventions of her empirical research, informed by critical race theory, that utilizes multidimensional measures of race and structural measures of racism to explore health outcomes for Black, Latinx, and other populations of color. 

The lives of Flint pregnant moms and babies are about to change. Mark your calendar for the heartfelt Rx Kids launch event.

Join the Center for Racial Justice in welcoming Diane J. Wright, Disability Advocate and creator of Autastic.com, for a virtual workshop on disability and racial justice.

In this presentation, Drs. McCormick and Sachs will discuss how their experiences as a researcher and practitioner working in partnership have prepared them for their new roles at the Overdeck Family Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They will also share opportunities they see to use research and evaluation to make a positive impact on education policy and how these opportunities vary across roles.  

The Honorable Lori Lightfoot, 56th mayor of Chicago, reflects on her background and preparation for public service, the challenges she faced as mayor, and lessons about leading in crises, in conversation with Ford School Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes.

*This event has been moved from in-person to Zoom as of 1/30/24*Are you considering an undergraduate degree in public policy? Join us for an opportunity to connect with current Ford School BA students!

Join the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy as we explore the legacy of Watergate fifty years on. 

Join Washington Post journalists and editors as they discuss their investigative series, "The gun that divides a nation," which examines the devastation caused by AR-15 assault rifles as well as the weapon's allure in segments of American society. Presented in collaboration with Wallace House Center for Journalists.

Join New York Times journalist and author Rachel Swarns as she discusses her book The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold To Build the American Catholic Church, a story of servitude and slavery spanning nearly two centuries and detailing the beginnings of Georgetown University and the U.S. Catholic Church. Swarns's journalism started a national conversation about universities with ties to slavery.