State & Hill

From grounded to global

May 3, 2023
"One positive international experience can flip a switch, change a student's academic and professional trajectory. You never know what that experience might be," says Dan Ellis, assistant director of the International Policy Center (IPC). He and...
State & Hill

Global Fordies make the school a bigger, better place

May 3, 2023
By Daniel Rivkin Akiho Nagano (MPP '23) and Mayu Ueno (MPP '24) were speaking in a corridor at Weill Hall, sharing thoughts about past jobs, future jobs, and their families. Roaming the halls, you can hear similar conversations, in their case in...
State & Hill

The Ford School: On the map

May 3, 2023
Here are just a few of the international learning opportunities that Ford School undergraduate and graduate students have undertaken since 2020—travel courses, research projects, internships, externships, and simulations—all preparing students for...
State & Hill

Catalysts for racial justice

May 3, 2023
Three inaugural Center for Racial Justice visiting fellows—Julian Brave NoiseCat, Makeda Easter, and Atinuke (Tinu) O. Adediran—reflect on the work they've pursued during their year at the Ford School. By Lillian Chen and Rebecca Cohen (MPP...
State & Hill

Quantum leap

May 3, 2023
When City of Flint CFO Rob Widigan looks at his required annual financial reporting to the state of Michigan, he sighs. His department needs to compile the accounts, which are saved as a PDF document, and separately copy certain numbers into at...
State & Hill

Fauri (MPA '64) invests in his values

May 3, 2023
"What do you most personally want to influence?" That's what David Fauri (MPA '64), a retired professor of social work and policy at Virginia Commonwealth University, asked himself before deciding to make a generous planned gift to the Ford...
State & Hill

Chang (MPP/MSW '14) builds coalitions, better policy

May 3, 2023
Coalition-building leads to good policy-making By Daniel Rivkin In 2014, Stephanie Chang (MPP/MSW '14) was approached by her community-organizing colleague, then-State Representative, now Congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib, to run for office. Chang...
State & Hill

Betsey Stevenson: Thinking like an economist

May 3, 2023
Betsey Stevenson uses the tools of her trade to empower people and improve lives By Daniel Rivkin An early March ice storm in Michigan caused widespread power outages and disruptions for hundreds of thousands of households. Families had to...