The Charge to the Class will be delivered by Dan Glickman, President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Glickman served as President Clinton's Secretary of Agriculture for six years and before that, as a member of the House of Representatives for 18 years (D-KS). During his years in the House, he worked on issues of agricultural, aviation, and technology policy and chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Juan R.I. Cole, Professor of Middle East and South Asian History, University of Michigan. Professor Cole has written extensively about modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. Since the 2002 launch of his weblog, 'Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion,' Cole has become a prominent media commentator and has published political writings in The Guardian, the San Jose Mercury News, Salon.com, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Nation.

Reception Immediately following at the Alumni Center Eligibility to participate at Ford School Commencement Students who will have graduated before or during the Summer or Fall 2005 terms, or Spring or Winter 2006 terms, or in April of 2007 are welcome to walk at the April 29th Ford School Commencement and the All-University Spring Commencement on Saturday, April 29, at 9:30 am in the University of Michigan Stadium. Students receiving a MPA or MPP during the Winter 2006 term also are invited to the University Graduate Exercises (Rackham), Friday, April 28, at 1:00 pm at Hill Auditor

Lieutenant General David Petraeus, Commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth. General Petraeus served in Iraq as the first commander of the Multinational Security Transition Command – Iraq from June 2004 to September 2005, during which he was responsible for helping organize, train, and equip Iraq 's security forces. He previously commanded the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A symposium designed to explore the latest thinking from microfinance practitioners and academics on improving microfinance programs. Jonathan Morduch, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University presented the keynote address. The conference focused on designing microfinance to address education and health goals and addressing behavioral issues in microfinance. This symposium was funded through the generosity of the Hudak family. James B.

Aaron David Miller is currently a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC, where he is writing a book about America and the Arab-Israeli conflict.Between 2003 and 2006 he served as president of Seeds of Peace, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance coexistence and reconciliation. For the previous two decades, he served at the Department of State as an advisor to six Secretaries of State, where he helped formulate U.S.

It is clear that Michigan is in the midst of serious structural economic trouble, perhaps the worst since the Great Depression. Northwest Airlines and Delphi Corp. are already in Chapter 11. There are rumors and real concern about the stability of General Motors, Ford and much of the auto parts industry. There is a real possibility of descent into receivership for both the City of Detroit and the Detroit school system.

Sheldon H. Danziger, Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Research Professor, Population Studies Center at the Institute for Social Research, discusses why poverty persists in the U.S. and what policy reforms can reduce the incidence of poverty. Danziger, who is also co-director of the National Poverty Center and director of the Research and Training Program on Poverty and Public Policy, is nationally recognized for his research on the causes and consequences of poverty.

Prior to his position at the EBRD, President Lemierre was Head of the French Private Office of the Minister of Economy and Finance and Director of France's Treasury. This Citigroup lecture was presented in conjunction with the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the International Policy Center.

Ronna Cook, Associate Director of the Human Services Research Group, Westat, Inc. and Maris Vinovskis, A. M. and H. P. Bentley Professor of History and Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan, moderated by Edward Gramlich, Interim Provost, University of Michigan; Richard A. Musgrave Professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. The program is sponsored by National Poverty Center and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.