Welcome HoMe celebration

An exciting slate of activities is planned for all Fordies, SPPers, and IPPSters.

Below, find details on the weekend's schedule, registration, Michigan v. Maryland football tickets, and an online Spirit Store, along with special activities for our ‘20 and ‘21 graduates, who we're very much looking forward to celebrating.

Schedule

Friday, September 23

• 3:30 p.m.: Check-in for ‘20 and ‘21 graduates (Great Hall)
• 4:00-5:00 p.m.: A Policy Talks event with Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Paula Lantz (Annenberg Auditorium)
  Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes, founding director of the Center for Racial Justice, and Professor Paula Lantz discuss the devastating structural inequities exposed by the COVID pandemic—and why all policymakers must now be equipped with a toolkit for navigating pandemics. There will be special seating reserved for our ‘20 and ‘21 graduates.
• 5:00-6:00 p.m.: Reception (Courtyard, weather permitting; otherwise, Great Hall)
  Following the Policy Talks event, enjoy refreshments while reconnecting and networking with your fellow Fordies as well as Ford School faculty, staff, and students.
• 6:30 p.m.: ‘20 and ‘21 Happy Hours (see detail below)

Register by September 15.

Saturday, September 24

Cheer on the Wolverines as they take on the University of Maryland Terrapins! Tickets in the Ford School section at the Big House will be available for purchase through August 26. Tickets cost $80 each plus a $10 service fee per order. The ticket limit is 2. Tickets will be sent via mobile delivery approximately three weeks prior to the game. 

To purchase tickets:

1. Visit mgoblue.com/go/promo. 
2. Enter promo code FORDWELCOMEHOME.

Special for the ‘20 and ‘21 graduates

• Check-in at Weill Hall at 3:30 p.m. to pick up your commemorative ‘20 and ‘21 Welcome HoMe swag. 
• Attend the Policy Talks lecture in a seating area designated for the ‘20 and ‘21 graduates in the Annenberg Auditorium. 
• Get together with your colleagues and friends to eat, drink and reminisce with each other at a local Ann Arbor establishment. 
  • BA '20 and '21 happy hour hosted by Carly Ryan and Julia Cohn @ Dominick’s, 6:30 p.m.
  • MPP/MPA '20 and ‘21 happy hour hosted by Guy Packard, MPP '20 @ Circ Bar, 6:30 p.m.

Online Spirit Store

Our special online Spirit Store closed at midnight on September 5, 2022. Orders for in-person pickup from Weill Hall will be available during Homecoming weekend. Customers who opted for home delivery will receive their items by mail in late September.

Need MORE swag? Shop at MDen all year round.

Faculty Expert

Paula Lantz

James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy; Director, BA Programs

A social demographer, Lantz studies the role of public policy in improving population health and reducing social disparities in health. She is currently engaged in research regarding innovative financing approaches for supportive housing among Medicaid beneficiaries, and also on how COVID-19 is exacerbating existing social and health inequalities in the U.S.

Faculty Expert

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean 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

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 articles in journals and edited volumes, and pieces in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Chicago Magazine.

• Homecoming
• Celeste Watkins-Hayes
• Paula Lantz
• alumni
• alumni events
• BA alumni
• MPP alumni
• PhD alumni
• MPA alumni