On May 21, the Regents of the University of Michigan approved promotions for Catherine Hausman, Katherine Michelmore, and Natasha Pilkauskas. All three were promoted to professor of public policy, with tenure, at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
"Dr. Hausman, Dr. Michelmore, and Dr. Pilkauskas are exceptional scholars, teachers, and mentors whose work reflects the very best of the Ford School," said Celeste Watkins-Hayes, the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the Ford School of Public Policy. "Catie's influential research is shaping policy conversations on energy markets, climate, and environmental justice. Kathy's pathbreaking scholarship deepens our understanding of poverty, tax policy, and educational opportunity. Natasha's innovative work has transformed how scholars and policymakers understand family structure, economic hardship, and the social safety net. These promotions are richly deserved."
Economist Catherine Hausman advances understanding of how energy market design and regulation affect welfare, equity, and environmental outcomes. Her work examines pressing issues in the clean energy transition, including electricity transmission, ancillary service markets, air pollution, and the distributional impacts of energy costs. Her scholarship has been published in leading journals, including the American Economic Review, The RAND Journal of Economics, the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. A sought-after nonpartisan expert, she regularly briefs government agencies and other policy organizations, and her work has informed legislation and regulatory rulemaking.
At the Ford School, Hausman has taught core statistics, energy and climate policy, government regulation, and the PhD policy research seminar. She redesigned the statistics curriculum to make it more relevant and accessible for policy students. She also helped launch the Ford School's new online MPA program and led the creation of an environment, energy, and policy concentration for master's students.
Since joining the Ford School in 2021, Katherine Michelmore has established herself as one of the foremost researchers studying tax policy, social welfare programs, education policy, and child and family well-being. Her scholarship has shaped academic and policy conversations around the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, financial aid, and free school meals. Her research on the HAIL Scholarship, a University of Michigan initiative that increased college access for low-income students, has informed policy design in Michigan and beyond.
Michelmore has published widely in top journals, including Fiscal Studies, the Journal of Population Economics, American Economic Review: Insights, the American Economic Review, Demography, and the Journal of Labor Economics, and has been cited thousands of times. The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management awarded her the 2024 David N. Kershaw Prize, and earlier this year, she was inducted into the National Academy of Social Insurance. At the Ford School, Michelmore teaches Social Welfare Policy and Program Evaluation.
As a scholar of family demography and social welfare policy, Natasha Pilkauskas has substantially advanced understanding of how family structure, economic hardship, and safety net policies affect low-income families.
Her recent and significant publications include work in Demography, the Journal of Population Economics, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and the Journal of Labor Economics. Her scholarship on multigenerational households, EITC exposure, housing, living arrangements, and child and family well-being has made important contributions to both academic literature and policy design. She regularly translates her findings for the general public in the media, including the New York Times and Vox.
Pilkauskas is an exceptional educator and mentor, teaching writing-intensive seminars on poverty and inequality, large introductory classes, and core program evaluation courses. In 2023, she was selected as the Ford School commencement speaker. She recently assumed a leadership role at Poverty Solutions. In 2025, she was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance, underscoring her growing influence in the field.
