Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy

The Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy is a Ford School hub that will catalyze interdisciplinary research and policy impact to promote social equity and inclusion. The collaborative consists of three pillars: Kohn Professors, Kohn Scholars, and policy impact.

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$18M

A set of gifts totaling $18M for the Kohn Collaborative

5

The collaborative funds 5 professorships in social policy

#1

The Ford School ranks #1 in social policy USNWR

Kohn Professors

Top row (L-R): Hermann and Amalie Kohn, Karl and Martha Kohn; Bottom row (L-R): Arlene Susan Kohn, Harold Kohn, and Carol Kohn — The Kohn Collaborative includes five endowed professorships named for Hermann and Amalie Kohn, Karl and Martha Kohn, Arlene Susan Kohn, Harold Kohn, and Carol Kohn

The heart of the collaborative: a cohort of preeminent scholars who together will tackle structural inequalities and improve lives—while training the next generation of leaders in social policy.

Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professorship in Social Policy and Social Justice, promoting scholarly and applied research focused on social justice
Karl and Martha Kohn Professorship of Social Policy, promoting social equity through U.S. education policy, with a potential focus on childhood development
Arlene Susan Kohn Professorship of Social Policy, addressing the rights of disabled people in the United States
Harold Kohn Professorship, supporting applied research in U.S. economic policy that advances social equity and inclusion
Carol Kakalec Kohn Professorship, advancing social equity with a focus on the field of health disparities

Pamela Herd

Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Herd is the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy and faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research Population Studies Center. Her research focuses on inequality and how it intersects with health, aging, and policy

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Christina Weiland

Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Dr. Weiland is a Professor at the Marsal Family School of Education and the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the Ford School of Public Policy. Her research focuses on the effects of early childhood interventions and public policies on children’s development, especially on children from families with low incomes. She is particularly interested in the active ingredients that drive children’s gains in successful, at-scale public preschool programs.

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H. Luke Shaefer

Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy

Shaefer serves concurrently as the Ford School's associate dean for academic affairs and as the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions. Shaefer’s research on poverty and social welfare policy in the United States has been published in top peer-reviewed academic journals in the fields of public policy, social work, public health, health services research, and history.

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Samuel R. Bagenstos

Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Bagenstos specializes in constitutional and civil rights litigation, with interests in labor and employment, disability rights, and housing. He currently serves as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is on leave from the university.

View Bagenstos' profile

Kohn Scholars

The Kohn Collaborative supports two Kohn Scholars as part of the Ford School’s partnership to support Rackham Master’s Awards.

Paulina Trujillo

2024 Kohn Scholar

Born and raised in the sunshine state of Florida, Paulina Trujillo received her Bachelor's degree at the University of Florida (UF) in political science and gender, sexuality, and women’s studies. As a legislative intern in the Florida Senate, Trujillo counteracted the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and a 15-week abortion ban. Later, as a Congressional intern, she constructed memos on the expansion of VA insurance to cover reproductive services, the Keeps Girls in School Act, and changing NDA laws to lessen sexual harassment. As the political director of the UF Planned Parenthood chapter, she organized for Florida's 2024 Amendment 4, a pro-abortion ballot initiative. Trujillo spearheaded "The Brown Bag Project <3", providing discreet access to free contraceptives for 100+ students.

Brooke Tran (MPP '25)

2023 Kohn Scholar

Informed by her experiences as a first-generation student from a low-income, refugee/immigrant community in southern California, Tran’s undergraduate research investigated cultural capital and educational persistence and tracking. Prior to starting graduate school, Tran served as a racial equity council member for NewSchools Venture Fund and interned with her home State Senate district in California (CA-36). Tran aims to pursue a career in social policy in the areas of education equity, urban and regional planning, or anti-poverty programs.

Lizett Aguilar (MPP '24)

2022 Kohn Scholar

Lizett Aguilar is the 2022 Kohn Scholar. Aguilar was born and raised in Southern California’s Central Valley. She received her bachelor’s degree in history with minors in Chicana/o studies and labor and workplace studies from the University of California - Los Angeles. After graduating, she worked as a paralegal at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. In this role, Aguilar assisted tenants facing housing issues and evictions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kohn policy impact

The collaborative will also support seed grants and the dissemination, networking, and advocacy work required to produce lasting policy impact.

Social policy impact

Ford School announces new prize for social policy impact with $1 million gift

With a $1 million gift from Hal and Carol Kohn and the Kohn Charitable Trust, the Ford School will establish the Kohn Collaborative Prize for Social...

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