Ambassador Thomas Miller, U.S. Ambassador Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1999-2001, Greece, 2001-2004, and President of the United Nations Association. More about Ambassador Miller. Co-sponsored by Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and the International Policy Center.

Mary Jo Bane is the Thornton Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Management and Academic Dean, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is also the Chair of the Management, Leadership, and Decision Sciences (MLD) and Leadership at the Kennedy School. Prior to that she was Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Should there be boundaries to patentable subject matter? What happens if the patents stifle innovation, rather than promoting it? How should we proceed if patents negatively influence health care, rather than enhancing it? The panel will discuss these questions by focusing on the controversy over patents on the breast and ovarian cancer (BRCA) genes, which led to a current ACLU class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Myriad Genetics.

Panelists: Peter Borish is Chairman and CEO of Computer Trading Corporation, an actively managed hedge fund which focuses on macroeconomic investing. Charles L. Evans is President, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and an expert on the effects of US monetary policy on economic activity and inflation. Matthew Shapiro is Lawrence R. Klein Collegiate Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. Allen Sinai is President of Decision Economics, Inc.

This panel discussion will present a number of different approaches to urban food retail in the city of Detroit, including: a program that touches on the conventional grocery industry; a program to develop grocery sector entrepreneurs; a new model for community grocery stores; and alternative formats/vehicles for urban residents to get fresh food. Moderator: Larissa Larsen, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, the University of Michigan Panelists: Fresh Food Access Initiative

Reception to follow. Immigration is increasingly changing the composition of the American population. From 1970 to 2003, the foreign-born share of the U.S. population increased from less than 5% to more than 12%. Though this dramatic increase has occurred disproportionately in a few regions, the effects of immigration are increasingly felt across the country. Alongside this rapid increase, debate regarding the effects of immigration has also ramped up.

About the speaker Emil Tedeschi is the founder and CEO of Atlantic Grupa, a Zagreb, Crotia-based company which has done the largest IPO of any private company in South East Europe. Mr. Tedeschi was named Manager of the Year by the Croatia Manager's Association and CEO of the year by the Croatian business paper Poslovni Vjesnik.

Robert M. Stern, Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Department of Economics of the University of Michigan, is the conference director. The co-directors are Kyoji Fukao, Professor of Economics, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, and Kozo Kiyota, Associate Professor of Economics, Yokohama National University.

The elections and campaigns class at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, taught by Rusty Hills, to host former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. All students, faculty and staff of the Ford School are invited to attend and ask questions. The session is part of an ongoing segment of the course that invites members of the political community to participate in the class. About the speaker Dennis Archer was the first African-American President of the American Bar Association.

The International Policy Center and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, jointly with International Policy Students Association (IPSA) and Emerging Markets Club (EMC), present Alan Rousso, Lead Counsellor, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Jan Svejnar, Director of the International Policy Center, Everett E. Berg Professor of Business, Professor of Economics and Public Policy Alan Rousso and Jan Svejnar presented the findings from The Annual EBRD Transition Report 2005: Business in Transition.