Ford School faculty are experts in poverty and inequality, trade and economic development, health policy, energy policy, and more. In the past year they have been recognized for their outstanding scholarship, excellent teaching, and policy engagement. Below are just some of the awards that our top-notch faculty have accumulated in 2021. See more at: www.fordschool.umich.edu/faculty-awards.
John Ayanian received the Distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Mentor Award from the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR) for his dedication and contributions to the scientific research careers of their students, fellows, and trainees.
The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University selected Jenna Bednar as a 2021-22 fellow. The program brings together deep thinkers from diverse disciplines and communities to advance understanding of the full range of human beliefs, behaviors, interactions, and institutions.
Liz Gerber joined the Center for Academic Innovation (CAI) Faculty Innovator in Residence. She began to work with CAI experts and with faculty partners committed to innovating education through learning innovation and design, educational technology, and educational data and research.
The American Political Science Association (APSA) Political Organizations and Parties Section selected Rick Hall for its Samuel J. Eldersveld Career Achievement Award, which recognizes a scholar whose lifetime professional work has made an outstanding contribution to the field. Hall also received the APSA Excellence in Mentoring Award.
Morela Hernandez was shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award, one of eight people highlighted from around the world for their work around leadership.
The University of Michigan honored Brian Jacob with the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award for his empirically rigorous and policy-relevant research and for being the first to apply new causal inference tools from economics to education to pinpoint drivers of educational outcomes and student success. Jacob was also recognized by Education Week in their RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings—the top 200 university-based scholars who shape education practice and policy.
John Leahy was elected as one of 51 new fellows to the Econometric Society, an international society for the advancement of economic theory and its relationship to statistics and mathematics. Leahy was nominated by his peers, and is only one of three fellows ever elected from the University of Michigan.
Shobita Parthasarathy received U-M's Faculty Recognition Award for her work at the intersection of equity, ethical, environmental and health dimensions of technology.
IPUMS selected Natasha Pilkauskas’ research on "Historical Trends in Children Living in Multigenerational Households in the United States: 1870–2018" as the 2020 winner of their Research Award.
The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) awarded Barry Rabe the 2021 NASPAA/ASPA Distinguished Research Award for his influence on governmental policy for the environment. His co-authored book, Trump, the Administrative Presidency, and Federalism also won the Louis Brownlow Award from the National Academy of Public Administration.
Molly Spencer was named an Institute for the Humanities Summer Faculty Fellow.
The Heinz Family Foundation honored William (Bill) Bynum, Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence at the Ford School, as one of six recipients of the 26th Heinz Awards. This prestigious award recognizes his "outstanding contributions of those who are changing our world for the better."
Celeste Watkins-Hayes’ book, Remaking a Life: How Women Living with HIV/AIDS Confront Inequality received the Distinguished Scholarly Book Award from the American Sociological Association, which recognizes the single best sociology book published in the three preceding calendar years.
In addition, this year the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) recognized the Ford School’s innovative international programming. Specifically, Innovation Award for Professional Development Programming, which "celebrates new or innovative programming that helped graduate students develop professionally in the fields of international affairs within the last year.”
Read about the full list of recent faculty awards.