Dear friends,
The campus is buzzing with excitement at the start of a new academic year. I’m thrilled to be welcoming (and welcoming back) an extraordinary group of students and faculty.
We had a very successful year for faculty recruiting, and I am so excited to welcome our new scholars and teachers. Our new and newly promoted faculty are experts in childhood education, health and aging, better government, and criminal justice policy. They include distinguished policymakers in residence, including two former mayors of major American cities, a former U.S. Ambassador, and a county health director. Please read more about them all here.
I’m also delighted to extend a warm welcome to our new students. Our incoming cohort includes seven doctoral students—three economists, two political scientists, and two sociologists. Two of them are Global Fordies, one from Singapore and one from China. They're joined by 98 MPP and three MPA students, including PPIA alumni, a Fulbright student, a Rangel Fellowship recipient, U.S. military members, and a scholar from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. Nearly one-third of our new graduate students are international. Additionally, we’re excited to welcome 85 juniors starting the BA majors program and 28 new BA minors.
This year, we’ve introduced a significant new resource for our students—the Policy Analysis Learning Lab (affectionately known as “the PAL”). Complementing our outstanding Writing Center and Leadership Initiative, the PAL will be a learning support space to give students the skills to use policy analysis for the public good.
Our campus is a hive of activity this election season, with many in our community deeply committed to civic engagement—registering voters, working on campaigns, and volunteering their time. Jenna Bednar, LSA Dean Rosario Ceballo, and I have the privilege of co-leading the University of Michigan's Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment, & Global Engagement.
Inspired by U-M’s Vision 2034, we are centering our efforts around the question: "How do we inspire engagement in our democratic future?" We’ve set out to build on Michigan’s commitment to democratic values by fostering dialogue across differences; meet the moment by seeking to understand our current global, national, and local political context; educate the next generation of leaders about the value and promise of global and civic engagement; and invest in cutting-edge research, pedagogy, and engagement opportunities to bolster our commitment to democracy.
The theme year is a cross-campus initiative, but much of the work intersects with what we do at the Ford School. Our events calendar this semester is teeming with opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue about voting, civic engagement, and democracy—many of which you are invited to join. Here are just a few highlights:
- September 9: Immigration on the Ballot hosted by our Center for Racial Justice. A conversation on the landscape and implications of immigration policy between experts in the fields of sociology, public health, and political science.
- September 13: Homecoming Reunion. Events will include an exhibition of political cartoons from Ford’s era; a superstar panel discussion on the Nixon pardon; an all-community celebration in the Becky and the plaza; and a happy hour for current and alumni members of Students of Color in Public Policy (SCPP), Out in Public, and other student orgs.
- September 19: Election 2024 and U.S. climate policy, a Ford School-Brookings partnership.
- October 9: Governors John Kasich and Steve Bullock tackle policy questions from our faculty and students.
- And lots more! Details coming soon on a partnership with Trotter House on a series of election events, panels on political engagement within Arab-American and LatinX communities, and a special voting-related taping of Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness’ podcast, “Getting Curious!”
There is so much to look forward to this semester. I invite you to be part of the excitement this fall: attend our Reunion events during Homecoming, join our events, and support our students!
Warmly,
Celeste Watkins-Hayes
Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Director, Center for Racial Justice
Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy
University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor
Professor of Sociology
Research and Community Impact Fellow, Anti-Racism Collaborative
