Social policy is health policy: Lessons from the pandemic

Join Ford School Dean and founding director of the U-M Center for Racial Justice, Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Paula Lantz, James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy, as they discuss the devastating structural inequities exposed by the COVID pandemic—and why all policymakers must now be equipped with a toolkit for navigating pandemics.

This event is part of the Ford School's Welcome HoMe celebration, in conjunction with the University of Michigan's 2022 Homecoming weekend. Attendance is free and open to the public.

Faculty Expert

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy; Director, Center for Racial Justice; Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Sociology; Research and Community Impact Fellow, Anti-Racism Collaborative

Watkins-Hayes is an internationally-recognized scholar and expert widely credited for her research at the intersection of inequality, public policy, and human service institutions, with a special focus on HIV/AIDS; poverty; and race, class, and gender studies. Dr. Watkins-Hayes has published three books, numerous articles in journals and edited volumes, and pieces in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Chicago Magazine.

Faculty Expert

Paula Lantz

James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy; Director, BA Programs

A social demographer, Lantz studies the role of public policy in improving population health and reducing social disparities in health. She is currently engaged in research regarding innovative financing approaches for supportive housing among Medicaid beneficiaries, and also on how COVID-19 is exacerbating existing social and health inequalities in the U.S.

• racial equity
• health policy
• Celeste Watkins-Hayes
• Paula Lantz