Dear friends,
We’ve reached the end of another academic year. At the beginning of May, we honored and celebrated our 186 graduates with great pride at the beautiful Hill Auditorium. Our video of the Commencement Ceremony is posted here. If you missed the speeches or could just use some inspiration, watch them again! Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist gave a speech that was so warm, authentic, and smart. And Professor Natasha Pilkauskas, Ramiro Garcia (MPP ‘24), and Zeinab Alhashemi (BA ‘24) did wonderfully as our elected speakers.
Activists, institution-builders, advocates, leaders, and problem-solvers alike: our 2024 graduates are already making an impact on our communities. I’d like to highlight some of their work:
- Juan Sandoval (MPP ‘24) researched and wrote a guide for the nonprofit Detroit Future City on the challenges of transferring homes across generations.
- Noah Attal (MPP/MSI ‘25), Julia Blok (MPP ‘ 24), Allison Hanley (MPP ‘24), Maureen Hilton (MPP ‘24), and Kenan Kabbani (MPP ‘24) launched a research project on a Michigan criminal justice reform bill called the Second Chance Sentencing Act. Ultimately, the students were asked to testify in March at a committee hearing in the Michigan House of Representatives.
- Rose Reilly (BA ’24) served as the president of Turn Up Turnout (TUT), a student-led, nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing voter registration and turnout for college students. She plans to continue her work to make voting more accessible to all eligible voters.
- Anna Verduin Pomper (MPP '24) was recognized by the Spectrum Center with the Excellence in Student Leadership Award, for work that has made a lasting and significant change in the LGBTQ community at the University of Michigan.
- Javi Piñeiro (MPP/JD ’24) was one of two students who comprised the U-M delegation for the U7+ Alliance, a coalition of universities in G7 countries and beyond that provided educational insight to G7 leadership, at the annual Next Milan Forum last month.
- Neil Nakkash (BA '24) received U-M’s MLK Spirit Award for his work with the Iraqi American Union student organization. Working with the Trotter Multicultural Center, he led a team in examining the importance of building empathy and understanding when helping resolve issues of racial and other inequities in different cultural communities.
We can’t wait to see what good all of our graduates will do in the future!
We have an eventful summer ahead at the Ford School. This week we welcome our Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute and ASPIRE students—28 talented rising juniors and seniors who come to Ann Arbor from across the country to learn about public policy and applied social science research.
I hope to see you at one of our Worldwide Ford School Spirit Day events on July 11 and at our reunion on September 13-14. My best wishes to you for a restful and productive summer.
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