As the Trump administration seeks to reclassify tens of thousands of civil service jobs into political appointments, Ford School professors Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan note assert that “politicization of public services generally worsens...
The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan will establish the Martha Darling and Gilbert Omenn Research Fund for Early Childhood Education with a generous $500,000 commitment from Martha A. Darling and Gilbert S. Omenn....
On May 8, about 25 community members gathered at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library to hear firsthand how guaranteed income is supporting local entrepreneurs and gig workers. The event spotlighted Guaranteed Income to Grow – Ann Arbor (GIG A2),...
If you ask Vincent Pinti (MPP/JD '27) why he entered the dual degree master’s of public policy and law program at the University of Michigan, he’ll tell you that he didn’t have a...
Sociologist Jessica Gillooly (PhD ’20) has used her deep knowledge of call taking and dispatching, along with some compelling new theoretical ideas, to become one of the leading experts on this issue. Her expertise is helping inform and shape the...
As vice president of regional initiatives for the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership, Tayrn MacFarlane (MBA/MPP ’08) unites local officials, business leaders, educational institutions, and community organizations from northern Indiana and...
When Emma Renzi Wise (BA ’19) got hooked on learning about environmental policy at the Ford School, she never imagined working for the New York City Department of Sanitation. But nearly six years after leaving Ann Arbor, Wise is the community...
In his last public event as U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg visited the Ford School for a conversation on investments in infrastructure. Below is an excerpt from an interview with S&H....
Cavaillé: A large and growing number of voters have found in political figures like Trump, Meloni, Orban, and Le Pen a home to express their grievances over the state of the economy, their own socioeconomic status, and immigration...
Moynihan: "State capacity” is hard to define and measure, and is perhaps seen as boring, but capacity is the hidden glue that holds public policy together, or, when debased, causes public policy to fall apart. If you care about the quality of...
The economics of tariffs is surprisingly simple: they are a tax, which raises the price that buyers pay and that competing sellers inside the country can...
Dean Watkins-Hayes, at the Congressional Breakfast in DC, with Michigan in Washington undergraduates Ajay Morelli, Malinda Brunk, Rachel Ellisen, and Isaac Davis, and Riecker Fellow Hope Wang (MPP...
Professor Elisabeth Gerber is the inaugural faculty director of the Ford School’s Online Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program, which will launch in January 2026. Read what she has to say about the new...
Nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. lack access to reliable transportation, making it one of the country's most common forms of material hardship, say University of Michigan...
In the first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump has unleashed a whirlwind of policy shifts that have sent ripples across the globe. The responses to his administration's actions have ranged from applause to skepticism.Ford School...
Franshelly Martinez Ortiz, a doctoral candidate in political science and public policy at the Ford School, recently wrote a blog post, "In Michigan, conspiracy thinking can be rooted in real historic harm" for U-M's Center for Political Studies...
Christina Weiland, co-director of the Education Policy Initiative and professor at the Ford School, delivered her inaugural lecture as the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy. Weiland, who is also a professor at the Marsal Family School...
"Whether by purchasing equipment, hiring contractors or training early career researchers, universities are a source of everyday economic and social benefits to communities in every congressional district in the country," said Jason Owen-Smith, from...
Through an executive order, President Trump intends to reclassify hundreds of thousands of federal civil servants' job titles as "schedule policy/career" positions. Don Moynihan from the Ford School told Reuters,"By deeming anyone involved in...
Seeking insight on climate and energy policy, Thumbwind interviewed Dr. Jennifer Haverkamp, from the Ford School, to ask about recent support for clean energy initiatives. “This isn’t just about climate anymore,” said Dr. Haverkamp. She added that...
“I genuinely have never been this concerned about the ability of that agency [Social Security Administration] to function,” said Pamela Herd, professor at the Ford School, in an interview cited by FactCheck.org. “Yes, I think people are right to be...
Paula Lantz highlights an “overt disconnect” between the creation of President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission and his administration's concurrent actions that reduce federal funding for public health...
In an opinion piece for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Professor Jason Owen-Smith warns that NIH's new indirect-cost rate policy could harm research progress by undermining essential infrastructure....
Jason Owen-Smith, Ford School professor (by courtesy) and director of Institute for Research on Innovation and Science, in a piece for The Chronicle of Higher Education, explained the illogic of cutting indirect-cost (IDC) rates. Owen-Smith wrote,...
Don Moynihan, Ford School professor, said “Money is a an aggressive growing tumor at the heart of American democracy. The 2023 Wisconsin state supreme court race cost $56 million, a national record at the time. The 2025 version blasted that out of...
Empowered bureaucrats can make decisions that will lead to better and more efficient service for citizens, according to Dan Honig, author of “Mission Driven Bureaucrats: Empowering People To Help Government Do Better.” In a Policy Talk at the Ford...
