William G. Axinn is the interim director of the Ford School’s International Policy Center. He recently published “Early-life risk factors for depression among young adults in the United States general population: Attributable risks and gender differences” in the Journal of Affective Disorders and “Intergenerational associations of maternal depression with daughters’ family formation” in the Journal of Marriage and Family.
As part of his committee role with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, John Ayanian co-authored “Ending Unequal Treatment: Strategies to Achieve Equitable Health Care and Optimal Health for All.” He also published “Leading Health-Related Concerns of Older Adults Before the 2024 Election” in JAMA based on data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging housed at U-M’s Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation.
For Fair Enough? Support for Redistribution in the Age of Inequality, Charlotte Cavaillé was awarded Best Book from the American Political Science Association’s European Politics & Society Section and Best Book from the Class & Inequality Section. It also earned an honorable mention for the Gregory Luebbert Best Book Award by the APSA Comparative Politics Section.
Sarah Cohodes co-authored “Diverse Paths to College Success: The Impact of Massachusetts’ Urban and Nonurban Charter Schools on College Trajectories,” a working paper published by The National Bureau of Economic Research.
Yousif Hassan was chosen for U-M’s Anti-Racism Research & Community Impact Faculty Fellowship. He was also awarded a U-M anti-racism grant for his work that explores how AI innovations and data can address racial and economic inequalities in African societies.
Morela Hernandez and Catherine Summers published “Effective Leaders Articulate Values—and Live by Them” in the MIT Sloan Management Review. Summers also co-wrote “Managers Can Support Employees in Working-Class Contexts by Promoting Growth Mindsets” in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Brian Jacob wrote “Rewiring the classroom: How the COVID-19 pandemic transformed K–12 education,” published by Brookings.
Amanda Kowalski is co-leading a five-year, $2 million grant awarded through U-M’s Meet the Moment Initiative entitled, “Shaping Real World Policies to Tackle Persistent Health Inequities using Randomized Early Access to COVID-19 Vaccinations through Michigan Medicine.”
Paula Lantz published “Direct Democracy and Population Health: Making Health Policy Through State Ballot Initiatives” in Health Affairs and “Conducting Research in the New Abortion Care Policy Landscape” in JAMA Network Open.
Stephanie Leiser published “Digital Data Standards: Support Greater Transparency & Opportunity in Municipal Bond Markets” in the Journal of Government Financial Management. She also presented this paper at the 13th Annual Brookings Municipal Finance Conference in July.
Yusuf Neggers shared his work to improve the administration of payments for the Indian government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, also known as MGNREGA(S), on the Centre for Economic Policy Research podcast.
Natasha Pilkauskas presented on the role of family in care at the Brookings Institution conference, “The Care Economy: Connections, Challenges, and Opportunities.” Pilkauskas and Katherine Michelmore published “The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Housing Affordability and the Living Arrangements of Families with Low Incomes” in Demography. Together, they received funding for a new project, “The Effect of Subsidized Meals on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Medicaid Direct Certification,” from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Partnership.
Barry Rabe was named a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center and has been collaborating with colleagues in Wilson’s Canada Institute, Environmental Change and Security Program, and Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition. His essay, “Methane Emissions: Can the United States and China Find Common Ground?,” was published by the Wilson Center.
Kaitlin Raimi was elected as a fellow at the American Psychological Association for her outstanding contributions to the field. She published “Exploring public perceptions of carbon capture and utilization in the U.S.” in Sustainable Production and Consumption.
The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America, co-authored by Luke Schaefer, won the 2023 Richard A. Lester Book Award at Princeton University.
Molly Spencer won the New Measure Poetry Prize for her recently published third poetry collection, Invitatory.
Megan Stewart was honored with the American Political Science Association’s Conflict Processes Section Best Book Award for Governing for Revolution: Social Transformation in Civil War.
Mo Torres published “Separate from Class? Toward a Theory of Race as Resource Signal” in Social Problems.
Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Dom Adams-Santos co-authored the paper, “Discourses of Distrust: How Lack of Trust in the U.S. Health-Care System Shaped COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy,” which was published in the Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.
Welcome and Congratulations
Pamela Herd has joined the Ford School as the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy. Herd’s research examines the intersecting issues of inequality, health, aging, and policy.
Don Moynihan has joined the Ford School and has been appointed the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, effective January 2025. Moynihan studies the administrative burdens people face in their interactions with government institutions.
Herd and Moynihan were recently awarded a three-year, $2.3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their Better Government Lab, which aims to reduce administrative burdens in the social safety net.
The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management recognized Katherine Michelmore with the 2024 David N. Kershaw Award and Prize for her contributions as a leading scholar in the areas of the social safety net, education policy, and labor economics.
Kevin Stange was promoted to professor of public policy, with tenure, and professor of education. His research broadly encompasses empirical labor and public economics, with a focus on education.
Christina Weiland was promoted to full professor of public policy and professor of education, with tenure, and was appointed the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy. She is a leading scholar of early childhood education policy.
In Memoriam
Helene McCarren, the longtime and much loved assistant director of the Institute of Public Policy Studies (1973– 1997), passed away on June 15, 2024. She loved helping people and had a profound impact on the lives of both professors and students.
More in State & Hill
Below, find the full, formatted fall 2024 edition of State & Hill. Click here to return to the fall 2024 S&H homepage.