Past events

Join us for an intimate conversation between two leading voices for rural prosperity as they share experiences visiting rural communities across the country, and highlight inspiring stories from within the state of Michigan.

Join this virtual mayors panel via livestream or in person at the Watch Party hosted at the University of Michigan's Taubman College.  This annual event brings together mayors from cities across the states of the Big Ten in a conversation around timely topics of national importance that manifest at the municipal level.

Check out the GovFin 2023 Conference in Washington DC on Empowering Governments, Modernizing Reporting on November 9, 2023. https://xbrl.us/events/govfin23/

CLOSUP invites you to join our research partners, XBRL/US in their upcoming free webinar on Government Reporting and the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA): Florida, Michigan, Utah.  Our CLOSUP and Ford School colleague, Stephanie Leiser will be presenting.   REGISTER NOW at: https://xbrl.us/events/230918/  

The Ford School’s Michigan Public Budgeting and Finance Planning class invites Ford students to join them for a conversation with guest speaker Janani Ramachandran Yates, Deputy Budget Director of the City of Detroit (and Ford School alum).

Michigan's new approach to redistricting by an independent citizens commission has now come full circle, from signature gathering for the statewide ballot initiative in 2018, to strong statewide support in that fall's election, creation of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, their work drawing new districts with extraordinary input from Michigan citizens, and now the new districts being used for the first time in the 2022 elections.  Join us for a final webinar in our redistricting series, to look back at this consequential change in state policy and to review how this new approach played out this fall, including its impacts on races and election outcomes, and how it compares to experiences in other states.   

This webinar will analyze and evaluate Michigan’s new redistricting approach and new maps, and compare to approaches of other states. Will Michigan's new model inspire reform in other states?

The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission will be meeting on U-M’s campus during the 45-day period for public comment before they vote to adopt final district maps in Michigan.

Michigan will hold elections on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, and the Ford School strongly encourages all eligible voters to make their voices heard.

Michigan’s redistricting process will affect Michigan policy and politics for the next decade. We will address the process that the MICRC is using to draw district maps for the U.S. Congress and both houses of the Michigan Legislature.

Public meetings of the Michigan Citizens Independent Redistricting Commissioners with agenda to include racially polarized voting analysis, Voting Rights Act analysis, and map drawing for State Senate districts for Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties.  

The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commissioners will meet virtually to answer questions about redistricting in Michigan.

Learn how to participate in the process of drawing the new district maps in Michigan, the role of "communities of interest", and how to engage with the new Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission in the redistricting process.

Women represent just 15% of Michigan's local chief administrative officers. Although women continue to be underrepresented as municipal managers, there is a growing contingent of dedicated women serving their communities and challenging the status quo in local government.

Free and open to the public – this is a virtual webinar on Zoom - please register! Student researchers will share their research on the similarities and differences across the urban/rural continuum with respect to: the state of civic discourse; public participation in decision-making; citizen engagement; internet connectivity and access to information; and privatization of local government services.  

Students of PUBPOL 456/756 invite the public to join them for a debate featuring prospective candidates for the city council in Ann Arbor. 

Students of PUBPOL 456/756 invite the public to join them for a debate featuring prospective candidates for the city council in Ann Arbor. 

Join Karl Hausker, Senior Fellow at World Resources Institute Energy and Climate Program as he discusses climate challenges and solutions of getting to net-zero emissions.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will deliver opening remarks for a panel discussion on "Communities of Interest" and the important role they will play in Michigan's new redistricting process beginning in 2020.

Meet the force of women leading communities in Michigan, engage with municipal issues, and learn more about the management profession in this interactive panel session.

The Local Voices Network is a community-driven listening network which aims to improve our understanding of one another through communication.  Kathy Cramer, one of the groups' founders, will talk about how it works and what 's coming out of  the chapters in Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, and Alabama.  

We'll be celebrating this fall! Save the date and join us for the Ford School Reunion!

Join Domestic Policy Corps (DPC) and the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) for a panel discussion with a generation of Michigan governor transition leaders from 1991 to today.

Please join the Law School's Environmental Law and Policy Program as we host our first lecture of the 2019-2020 academic year- "A Conversation with Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick."This extraordinarily timely event will include discussion of regional greenhouse gas initiatives, the clean energy revolution, corporate sustainability efforts, and the impact of the 2020 election on climate change and environmental protection efforts.