Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy 2006 Commencement Ceremony

Reception Immediately following at the Alumni Center

Eligibility to participate at Ford School Commencement

Students who will have graduated before or during the Summer or Fall 2005 terms, or Spring or Winter 2006 terms, or in April of 2007 are welcome to walk at the April 29th Ford School Commencement and the All-University Spring Commencement on Saturday, April 29, at 9:30 am in the University of Michigan Stadium.

Students receiving a MPA or MPP during the Winter 2006 term also are invited to the University Graduate Exercises (Rackham), Friday, April 28, at 1:00 pm at Hill Auditorium. Please visit the website for more information.

Commencement Speaker, Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Douglas Holtz-Eakin is the director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and the Paul A. Volcker Chair in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. Douglas Holtz-Eakin most recently served as the sixth director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), where he was appointed for a four-year term beginning February 4, 2003. Dr. Holtz-Eakin worked for 18 months as Chief Economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisers, where he also served as Senior Staff Economist in 1989 and 1990. Prior to that, Dr. Holtz-Eakin served as CBO's representative on the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board.

Dr. Holtz-Eakin previously served as a trustee professor of economics at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University. At the Maxwell School, he served as chair of the department of Economics and associate director of the Center for Policy Research. He also has served as editor of the National Tax Journal, associate editor of the Journal of Human Resources, and as a member of the editorial board for Public Budgeting & Finance, Economics and Politics, Journal of Sports Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and Public Works Management and Policy.

Dr. Holtz-Eakin has a long-standing and broad interest in the economics of public policy. He has studied the role of federal taxes in home ownership, the contribution of inventories to the business cycle, and a wide variety of topics in state and local government finance. Recently, his research has centered on the economics of fundamental tax reform, productivity effects of public infrastructure; income mobility in the United States; and the role of families, capital markets, health insurance and tax policy in the start-up and survival of entrepreneurial ventures.

Commencement Rehearsal

Wednesday, April 19, 2006
11am - 12:30pm
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre at the Michigan League

If you plan to participate in the Commencement ceremony please plan to attend rehearsal. The class photo will also be taken during this time. Dress is casual.

You can purchase cap, gown and hood at the Michigan Union Bookstore & Ulrichs. To ensure that there will be Public Policy hoods in stock, please purchase by April 19th. Public Policy hoods are turquoise and gold.

Invitations

Commencement invitations will be available in 440 Lorch beginning March 27th.

Day of Commencement

Please wear your academic attire and arrive at the Mendelssohn Theatre by 2:30pm. If you're driving to campus please allow ample time to find parking (allow at least 20 minutes). The Fletcher Street , Thayer Street and Church Street Parking Structures are the three closest structures and they are open to the public during commencement weekend.

When you arrive, please gather on the stairs on the north side of Mendelssohn Theatre. This is where you will line up alphabetically.

Theatre doors will be open for family and friends general seating at 2:30pm.

Accommodations

Accommodations in and around Ann Arbor for commencement weekend require reservations well in advance. For a list of hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts in the Ann Arbor vicinity please visit http://annarbor.org/accommodations/index.asp.

Parking

Parking is at a premium around campus and especially during commencement weekend. Please allow ample time to find parking.

Parking, without permits, is available in all university parking structures on commencement weekend. The UM parking structures on Thayer Street , Fletcher Street , Church Street and the Palmer Commons structure are closest to Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre and provide handicapped parking. For more information on university parking please visit
http://www.parking.umich.edu/maps/index.html.

Paid parking is available in a number of public lots around town as well. The public parking structures closest to the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre are the Maynard Street and the Liberty Square structures. For a map of Ann Arbor public parking structures please visit
http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/DDA/ped_map.htm.

Questions

For more information or questions regarding Commencement please contact Jill Crane (734) 615-3893.