History of public policy | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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History of public policy

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Core faculty

Joshua Hausman

Associate Professor of Public Policy; Associate Professor of Economics (by courtesy)
Hausman’s research interests are in economic history and macroeconomics with a focus on the U.S. economy in the 1930s and the Japanese economy today. He is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Core faculty

Earl Lewis

Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor of History, Afroamerican and African Studies, and Public Policy; Director, Center for Social Solutions
Earl Lewis is the Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor of History, Afroamerican and African Studies, and Public Policy, and the founding director of the U-M Center for Social Solutions. From March 2013-2018, he served as president of The...
Core faculty

Shobita Parthasarathy

Professor of Public Policy; Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy program
Parthasarathy studies the governance of emerging science and technology and the politics of evidence and expertise in policy in comparative and international perspective. Her current research focuses on equity in innovation and innovation policy. She co-hosts The Received Wisdom podcast.
Core faculty

Joy Rohde

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Rohde is historian who specializes in the relationship between policy knowledge, technology, and American democracy. At Michigan, she is also affiliated with the Department of History, the Science, Technology, and Society Program, and the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program.
Core faculty

Megan A. Stewart

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Megan A. Stewart is an associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Her research interests focus on explaining variation in how changes to social, economic, and political hierarchies—esp...
Core faculty

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy; Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Sociology
Watkins-Hayes is an internationally recognized scholar and expert widely credited for her research at the intersection of inequality, public policy, and human service institutions, with a special focus on HIV/AIDS; poverty; and race, class, and gender studies. Dr. Watkins-Hayes has published three books, numerous journal and edited volume articles, and pieces in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Chicago Magazine.

Policymakers in residence

A diverse array of policy leaders join our faculty to teach and mentor students through the Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence, and Weiser International Policymaker in Residence programs, and more. These visiting pro...

Ford50

Fifty years ago, in 1974, at a time of great division and turbulence in the U.S., Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States. President Ford's legacy is very much alive here at the Ford School of Public Policy, and we are ...

Center for Racial Justice

Racial justice is the systematic fair treatment of people, regardless of racial background, that results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone.We seek a world in which people are able to achieve their full potential in life, regardless...
Policy Matters

Student curated programming to meet the moment

Nov 24, 2025
CRJ's Katrina Hamann recaps the the three-part "Let's Unpack That" series hosted by the Center for Racial Justice. Drawing on student feedback, the series focused on immigration policy, AI policy, and election policy.
News

Hausman examines the auto industry during the Great Depression

Nov 13, 2025
In a guest essay for Automotive News, Ford School professor Joshua Hausman writes, "But the Depression left its mark on the industry. It benefited the Big 3 at the expense of other companies. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler accounted for 74 percent...
News

Swisher Hosts Pete Buttigieg for Live Podcast Appearance

Sep 21, 2025
Kara Swisher, the award-winning journalist and current Ford School Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence, sat down for a conversation with Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to discuss “The State of U.S. Democracy,” for her On with ...
News

Announcing the Ford School Fall Events Schedule

Aug 22, 2025
Ford School fall events will look at the state of U.S. democracy, international crises, and the Abundance debate. The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup of events for the autumn 2025, engaging with our students, faculty, staff, and...
News

Bentley Historical Library examines "Ford on the Field"

Aug 1, 2025
This story was written by jay winkler for the Bentley Historical Library Among all the retired numbers in all of college athletics, Michigan football’s #48 is unique: it is the only one retired for a person who later became a U.S. president. Gerald “...
News

The Ford School mourns the loss of Richard Boucher

Jul 3, 2025
The Ford School mourns the loss of Ambassador (ret.) Richard A. Boucher, who was a frequent presence at Weill Hall Ann Arbor for many years. He died on June 27 at his home in Arlington, Va.  During his thirty-two years career in U.S. diplomacy, he se...