Announcing the Ford School Fall Events Schedule

Ford School fall events will look at the state of U.S. democracy, international crises, and the Abundance debate.

The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup of events for the autumn 2025, engaging with our students, faculty, staff, and the broader community on the crucial policy issues of our times.

All events take place at Weill Hall, 725 South State St., unless otherwise noted. Live and on-demand streaming will be available for all events.

The State of U.S. Democracy

Journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher, the Ford School’s Towsley Policymaker in Residence for the fall, will interview former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for her “On with Kara Swisher” podcast, on the topic of The State of U.S. Democracy. (September 17, 4:30-6:00pm, 915 East Washington St. Rackham Auditorium )

Whither the Center-Right? will be the topic for American Enterprise Institute President Robert Doar, in conversation with Ford School Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes.  What is the place of the center-right in the American conservative movement amid the current populist moment? (September 25, 4:30-6:00pm, Betty Ford classroom)

The Ford School is co-sponsoring the Annual Wege Lecture on Sustainability featuring former Energy Secretary and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. (September 30, 5:30-7:00pm, Rackham Auditorium)

In his Arlene Susan Kohn Professorship lecture, "Disability and the Return of Eugenics and the Poor Law", Ford School Professor Sam Bagenstos will address recent events that are threatening support for disabled people, moving away from an era that treated them as people who need support to be fully integrated into the community. (November 10, 4:30-6:00pm, Betty Ford classroom)

International affairs

The Ford School and the  International Policy Center are co-sponsoring “Putin's Eternal War”, a look at the dichotomies of Vladimir Putin’s approach to the war in Ukraine. Jill Dougherty, author of My Russia: What I Saw Inside the Kremlin, and former CNN Moscow bureau chief, examines the questions: Putin seems to think war is working for him. Is it? (September 9, 5:30-7:00pm, Weiser Hall, 500 Church St, Room 1010)  

The annual Weiser Diplomacy Center Ambassadors Forum this year asks “Europe and America: Where are we and where are we going?,” exploring the shifting dynamics of U.S. relationships with Europe, NATO, and Russia in a changing global order. (September 15, 4:00-5:30pm, Betty Ford classroom). WDC is also co-sponsoring “Countering Gender Apartheid with International Law”. This conference will focus on strategies for codifying and applying the emerging international legal concept of gender apartheid. (September 18, 9:00am-1:00pm, Jeffries Hall, 701 South State St., Room 1225)

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has uncovered massive international money-laundering and corruption through release of the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, and China Targets. Executive Director Gerard Ryle will address Systems of Secrecy: Journalism, Power, and the Policy Gaps that Enable Corruption, in conversation with Susan D. Page. (October 20, 11:45am-12:45pm, Betty Ford classroom)

The annual Vandenberg Lecture will be delivered by former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, who will speak about Cascading Crises and the Prospects for Peace. (October 23, 4:30-6:00pm, Annenberg Auditorium)

The Abundance debate

For the first time, the Ford School has undertaken a school-wide read: Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Students, faculty, and staff all have been given copies and encouraged to think about its themes. The authors argue that the greatest constraints facing the U.S. are not a lack of ideas or resources. They critique a political culture defined by scarcity thinking, regulatory overcomplexity, and incrementalism. Several events will address the overall theme as well as some of the core issues, including energy, infrastructure, and housing. 

As a part of the University-wide Climate Week, a Ford School panel will discuss Development and decarbonization: Competing energy futures, with energy policy consultant Rob Gramlich, the Ford School’s Catherine Hausman and Kaitlin Raimi, and Law School Professor Alexandra Klass. (September 29, 11:45am-12:45pm, Betty Ford classroom)

Ted Gayer, President of the Niskanen Center, in conversation with Justin Wolfers, will take a broader look at the theme .Abundance and the Future of American Institutions;  (October 28, 4:30-6:00pm, Betty Ford classroom) 

Why does the United States have such a housing crisis when we know how to build housing? School of Public Health Associate Professor Roshanak Mehdipanah (TBC), Law School Professor Noah Kazis, and Darienne Driver Hudson, President and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan will address Aspects of the Housing Crisis through the lens of Abundance (November 19, 11:45am-12:45pm, Betty Ford classroom) 

Poverty Solutions is again hosting its weekly Real-World Perspectives on Poverty Solutions. Check the website for their informative line-up. 

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. We hope you will join us this semester. Please visit our events listing for up-to-date information on all of these events and how you can register to attend. You can stay up to date on our events by joining our mailing list and following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Faculty Expert

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy; Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Sociology

Watkins-Hayes is an internationally recognized scholar and expert widely credited for her research at the intersection of inequality, public policy, and human service institutions, with a special focus on HIV/AIDS; poverty; and race, class, and gender studies. Dr. Watkins-Hayes has published three books, numerous journal and edited volume articles, and pieces in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Chicago Magazine.

Faculty Expert

Catherine Hausman

Professor of Public Policy

Hausman is an environmental and energy economist, and some of her recent areas of research include electricity markets and climate change; inequality in pollution exposure; and the natural gas sector's role in methane leaks. She is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research.

Faculty Expert

Kaitlin T. Raimi

Associate Professor of Public Policy; Faculty Associate in Psychology; Faculty Associate in Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research

Raimi is a social psychologist focused on climate change beliefs and policy support. She studies how people compare themselves to others, how adopting one pro-environmental behavior affects later action, and how communication affects understanding and support for climate policy and technology.

Faculty Expert

Susan D. Page

Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Professor from Practice at University of Michigan Law School. Director; Weiser Diplomacy Center.

Page applies her vast foreign policy experience to the Weiser Diplomacy Center. She has served the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, and non-governmental organizations in senior roles for decades, across East, Central, and Southern Africa, and in Haiti and Nepal. Page was the first U.S. ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan and served as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti.

Faculty Expert

Justin Wolfers

Professor of Public Policy and Economics

Wolfers is an economist with broad policy-related interests and experience. He is also affiliated with the NBER, Brookings and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a contributing columnist for the New York Times and host of the “Think Like An Economist” podcast. He is a popular teacher and author of a leading economics textbook.

Faculty Expert

Samuel R. Bagenstos

Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Bagenstos specializes in constitutional and civil rights litigation, with interests in labor and employment, disability rights, and housing. He currently serves as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is on leave from the university.