Elisabeth R. Gerber, the Jack Walker Jr. Professor of Public Policy, is one of two representatives for Washtenaw County on the newly instated Regional Transit Authority (RTA) for southeast Michigan. County Commissioner Conan Smith made her appointment, along with that of fellow representative Richard Murphy, program director of Michigan Suburbs Alliance, official in December.
Gerber's research focuses on questions of regional governance -- how decision-makers create and implement public policies that transcend formal jurisdictional boundaries. She teaches courses on state and local government, intergovernmental relations, and economic and community development policy, and has published academic and applied research papers on intergovernmental cooperation and regional transportation policy.
Gerber was the faculty organizer of the 2013 Integrated Policy Exercise (IPE), which focused on the RTA and took place over several days in early January. The IPE is an annual intensive simulation in which Ford School master's students role play stakeholders in a continually evolving policy issue.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed the Regional Transit Authority into law in December 2012.
