Actionable solutions | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

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In the room where evidence-based policy happens

Our faculty are among the University of Michigan’s most accomplished, creative, and collaborative—and they’re built for action in policy arenas. 

Headshot of Christina Weiland
Christina Weiland, educational policy expert and Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Economists, political scientists, sociologists, historians, psychologists and more, putting deep knowledge to work alongside cutting-edge analytical methods. Our “professors of practice” join us with experience gained from all over the world, bringing their expertise as former ambassadors, national security professionals, and policy leaders into our classrooms.

They choose to be part of the Ford School in part because they’re catalysts for change, with the drive and the know-how to create meaningful solutions to complex problems, influence policies, and improve lives.

Woman holding baby at RxKids event
Mother and baby at an RxKids press conference in Detroit

How do we build a private-public partnership to help new mothers in Flint, Michigan give their babies a healthy start? How do we encourage more talented teens from low-income families to apply to the University of Michigan? How do we center equity in our technological innovations? 

Ford School faculty know how to do those things–and they’re getting them done.

Our faculty are engaged in the world. You’ve heard them on the news and seen them in the papers. They support and consult with local and regional leaders here in Michigan and in communities throughout the world. They serve as presidential and gubernatorial appointees, testify before Congress, and write bestselling books.

And, they do this all while teaching and mentoring the world’s future policy leaders.

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to help us attract and support the world’s most brilliant problem solvers.

 

 

 

 

Jeffrey Morenoff

Mayor Duggan sought U-M expertise to investigate if and how the 2020 Census undercounted Detroit’s population—with significant political and economic consequences. Research from demographer Jeffrey Morenoff revealed the 2020 Census indeed undercounted nearly 70% of the city’s 4,350 census blocks, providing critical evidence for multiple census challenges and a subsequent lawsuit. Morenoff continues to examine the issue and consults with city officials to improve census data reporting.
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Betsey Stevenson

Betsey Stevenson is a nationally renowned labor economist who advised President Barack Obama as a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and was an economic adviser to the Biden- Harris Transition Agency Review for the U.S. Department of Treasury. She regularly testifies before Congress.
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