Several media outlets, including CBS Detroit and ABC, tapped Javed Ali to share his expertise on developments in the Middle East as well as comment on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Ford School International Policy Center Director Bill Axinn was recently appointed the Ronald and Deborah Freedman Director of the International Hub at the Institute for Social Research.
Samuel Bagenstos published the fourth edition of Disability Rights Law: Cases and Materials. His expert declaration in Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. OMB played a foundational role in requiring the Office of Management and Budget to publicize its spending decisions. He was also elected to the National Council of the American Association of University Professors.
In October, Jenna Bednar presented her research on federalism and depolarization at the inaugural National Federalism Summit, which convened legislators from 15 states.
Ambassador Kamissa Camara was among 85 subject matter experts convened at the NATO Strategic Direction-South Hub Conference on "Terrorism: A common asymmetric threat" in Naples, Italy. She also joined 25 prominent African leaders invited to speak at the launch of the Executive Education program at the new African School of Governance in Kigali, Rwanda, and delivered the inaugural keynote lecture at the prestigious Sciences Po's Reims campus in France.
Sarah Cohodes delivered keynote addresses at the International Workshop on Applied Economics of Education in Catanzaro, Italy, and the Workshop on Education Economics and Policy in Oslo, Norway.
Elizabeth Gerber is co-PI on a project titled "Data-Driven Analytics for Scaling Up Community Carshare: Bringing Affordable, Reliable, and Clean Carshare to More People," which received a $700,000 National Science Foundation CIVIC Innovation Challenge grant to develop a framework for private-public partnerships that will advance community carsharing.
Building on his long-term research on technology and decolonialization, Yousif Hassan traveled to Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa to examine the politics of AI and international development in Africa. This research informs part of Hassan's current book project, which aims to elevate African voices that have historically been sidelined in technological development.
Devin Judge-Lord published a working paper on congressional oversight of the executive branch in the American Journal of Political Science. As a supplement, he posted a new dataset on Harvard Dataverse, cataloging more than half a million instances of congressional oversight to support future research.
Paula Lantz published two opinion pieces in Milbank Quarterly: "Death by a Thousand Federal Cuts: Trump Administration Actions Will Not Make America Healthy Again" and "The Impact of Restrictive State Abortion Laws: State of the Research Evidence in 2025." Lantz delivered the keynote address at the Pacific Coast Obstetrical and Gynecological Society annual meeting in October.
Stephanie Leiser was named director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP).
Kathy Michelmore co-authored a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of the pandemic-era temporary tax credit expansions for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Yusuf Neggers received a $250,000 grant from J-PAL's Innovation in Government Initiative to develop user-centered digital applications that streamline social protections in rural India as well as an $85,000 grant from Open Road Impact to improve last-mile access to information on social program protections in India.
Ambassador Susan Page received the Ralph Bunche Humanitarian Award from the United Nations Association, honoring her lifelong commitment to diplomacy. She also served as keynote speaker at Greater Detroit's United Nations Day celebration.
Shobita Parthasarathy will serve as an "Expert Voices" columnist for Science magazine for the next two years, contributing essays on the intersections of science, technology policy, and social equity. She published her inaugural column, "Beware the Drive to Scale Technology," in September. Parthasarathy was also appointed to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication.
Natasha Pilkauskas was named associate faculty director for research and engagement at Poverty Solutions. She also co-authored "How does transportation insecurity compare and relate to other forms of material hardship in the U.S.?" with Poverty Solutions colleagues in Social Indicators Research, urging researchers to include transportation insecurity variables when measuring economic distress.
Poverty expert Luke Shaefer coauthored a report for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on economic and social mobility. He provided analysis on SNAP benefits to a range of media outlets.
Fabiana Silva published "Frame Backfire: The Trouble with Civil Rights Appeals in the Contemporary United States" in the American Sociological Review, demonstrating that framing contemporary social problems as civil rights issues may reduce public support for policy action.
Alexander Ralph published a short story, "The Submariner Signs Off," in the literary journal AGNI.
Molly Spencer published a series of poems in the September issue of Public School Poetry, an online poetry and craft journal.
Catherine Summers published "The Green Hush: A Foundational Model of Brownwashing and the Impacts of Greenwashing" in Organization Studies.
A team led by Christina Weiland, co-director of the Education Policy Initiative, was selected for the University of Michigan Bold Challenges Accelerate Initiative to research approaches to improve access to early interventions for children with disabilities.
Alton Worthington is part of an interdisciplinary team that received a Boost grant from the U-M Bold Challenges Initiative to evaluate the U.S. commercial shipping fleet and shipbuilding industry.
Dean Yang published "Brain drain or brain gain? Effects of high-skilled international emigration on origin countries" in Science, providing new evidence that high-skilled migration can increase education levels and significantly impact well-being and prosperity in migrants' home countries.
Congratulations
Joshua Hausman received the Journal of Economic History's Arthur H. Cole Prize for best article for his research on how the Ford Model T contributed to the United States' rapid adoption of the automobile in the early 20th century.
John Leahy was named director of research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, effective January 2026. He will serve as a primary advisor to President Austan Goolsbee and sit on the bank's executive committee.
Charles Shipan, J. Ira and Nicki Harris Professor of Social Sciences, received the American Political Science Association Public Policy Section's 2025 Excellence in Mentoring Award.
Celeste Watkins-Hayes was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration as a member of its 2025 class of Academy Fellows.
Kathryn Dominguez was recognized as a Distinguished University Professor by U-M. She selected the title Marina von Neumann Whitman Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Public Policy to honor her pioneering colleague and friend.
Sheldon Danziger was elected president of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. In his new role, he aims to elevate the visibility of social science research.
In memoriam
Ambassador Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice, passed away in May at the age of 87. He led a remarkable career in diplomacy and academia and was a beloved member of the Ford School community.
Related fall 2025 State & Hill stories
Class notes, fall 2025 
Weiland’s policy-driven research brings proven results to classrooms across the U.S. ← Read all stories in the fall 2025 edition State & Hill