Tentative Program: Presenters: Elizabeth Bruch, Scott Page, Dan Brown Discussants: Ken Kollman, Walter Mebane This mini-conference is part of the 25th Annual Summer Conference of the Society for Political Methodology. [More information.]

Speakers are Ford School MPP student Jeff S. Barnes, Former U.S. Army Captain and Ground Cavalry Troop Commander during the Iraq War; Taryn Barnes, Former U.S. Army Captain, Air Cavalry Reconnaissance Pilot and Platoon Leader during the Iraq War; P. Onni Hynninen, Former U.S. Army Captain, Troop Executive Officer, Scout Platoon Leader during the Iraq War; and Johnnie Farmer, Former Operations Sergeant Major during the Iraq War.

On November 12, 2004, alumni, friends and donors attended the ceremonial groundbreaking for the new home of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Joan and Sanford Weill Hall (see photo). Construction of the $34 million building is now officially underway – and the promise of a magnificent academic facility is literally coming to life. Over 450 guests attended the groundbreaking, including Ford school alumni from as far back as the Class of 1953, current students, President and Mrs.

2:30pm – 3:45pm. Leveling the Field: The Legacy of the 1972 Title IX Legislation. Speakers: William C. Martin, director of the U-M Department of Athletics and former president of the U.S. Olympic Committee; Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Olympic champion, professor of law, and legal advisor to the Women's Sports Foundation; Welch Suggs, author of A Place on the Team. Moderator: Edie Goldenberg, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy.

4:00pm. A Tribute to President Ford.

Alberto Trejos, the Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, will focus his presentation on the evolution of Costa Rica's decision to join the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). In addition to addressing the implications of a Costa Rica-United States free trade agreement, Dr.

David Marash has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast journalism. Most recently, he anchored news from Washington for the global news channel, Al Jazeera English and he served for 16 years as the chief international correspondent for ABC News Nightline. In the ever-expanding world of global communication, there are lots of 'new media' like internet and mobile phone links for the transmission of text, voice and pictures, and literally a world of new players guiding the still dominant 'mainstream media,' but for all that, content still matters.

Susan Waltz, professor of Public Policy, is a 2008-2009 Human Rights Fellow at University of Michigan. Waltz has been active in international human rights work for more than 25 years. Early in her career she worked as an area expert and human rights advocate to stop torture and political imprisonment in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya. She has testified before the U.S. Congress on human rights practices in North Africa, and she has testified as expert witness for North African refugees in U.S.

DC alumni enjoyed food, conversation, and baseball with other alumni and students at Nationals Park during a reception and the Nationals/L.A. Angels game.

Kerwin Kofi Charles Lectures Steans Family Professor at the Harris School, University of Chicago Scholar in Residence at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Lectures are co-sponsored by the National Poverty Center.