As President Santa. J. Ono was inaugurated as the 15th president of the University of Michigan on March 8, he laid out a vision for change and challenge to continue to address the world’s greatest problems. In his address to an audience of students, staff, faculty, regents, and representatives of some 50 universities, he said, “The world is searching for solutions. Let them look to Michigan.”
He noted the launch of the notion of the Peace Corps on the steps of the Michigan Union by then-Sen. John F. Kennedy. “Today, through our Ford School, we are showing that collaboration and partnership are a better solution than anger and conflict.”
“To give just one example, Luke Shaefer, the school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, had a critical role in the expansion of the Child Tax Credit in 2021, which has received support from both sides of the aisle and has been hailed as one of the most successful anti-poverty measures signed into law,” he noted.
Ono saluted the school’s international reach as well. “Thanks to its multifaceted expertise, impact, and policy reach, the Ford School remains a leader in domestic and international policy education, and a leading hub for engagement with the foreign policy community.”
