Greetings from the Dean - Feed February 2018

February 6, 2018

Dear friends:

I’m delighted to introduce another newsletter packed with highlights. Get caught up on news from our highly-engaged faculty--including Professor Sue Dynarski’s testimony before the U.S.Senate on student financial aid and a key Obama appointee, Broderick Johnson (JD ‘83), joining our faculty as a Towsley Policymaker in Residence.

Students are making news as well. BA Nadine Jawad is one of just 32 U.S. students who were selected to spend the next years at Oxford University via the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Closer to home, six graduate students have been awarded University of Michigan Dow Fellowships; they’ll join an outstanding, interdisciplinary team of students and faculty committed to solving complex sustainability challenges.

This edition of ‘the feed’ features a sneak peek, too, at our upcoming line-up of fascinating speakers, including Ana Navarro, Penny Pritzker, and Kumi Naidoo.

And we announced with great pride that philanthropist, innovator, and entrepreneur David Bohnett will deliver our 2018 keynote commencement address. Read more about Mr. Bohnett here.

Finally, DC-area alumni: I look forward to seeing many of you later this week, when we come together for our annual DC student-alumni networking event. I’ll be joined by Alumni Board Chair Keith Fudge (MPP ‘09) for a conversation about my vision and goals for this great school. If you’re in DC this week, I do hope you’ll join us. Please RSVP here.

Best regards,



Michael S. Barr
Joan and Sanford Weill Dean, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Frank Murphy Collegiate Professor of Public Policy
Roy and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law
University of Michigan