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

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State & Hill

Sherry Suttles (MPP ’71): An original IPPSter rides on

Dec 12, 2023
Sherry Suttles (MPP ’71) made history as the first Black woman city manager in the United States. That was a goal Suttles had set for herself soon after graduating in the first class of Master of Public Policy degrees awarded by U-M’s Institute...
Sherry Suttles with her son and his classmates
Publication

Thacher studies history to inform today's police reform

Oct 27, 2023
Although some may view reducing the harms of policing as a contemporary issue, David Thacher encourages modern reformers to consider the past in the Journal of Criminal Justice. Using original archival research, Thacher examined the use of summons...
davidThacher-newsFeature-1090x681.jpg
News

Meet our new faculty: Mo Torres

Aug 25, 2023
Mo Torres returns to the Ford School (he graduated with his MPP in 2015) as one of six University of Michigan Society of Fellows for a three-year appointment. He will work closely with the Center for Racial Justice. Torres is a historical...
Mo Torres
News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life 

Aug 2, 2023
What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society?  How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe?  These were...
Group of PPIA students posing in front of Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy courtyard
News

Michigan Heritage Project examines "Professor Ford"

May 18, 2023
The Michigan Heritage Project has examined the legacy of President Gerald Ford's stint as a professor at the University of Michigan.   The full article can be read here. (Additional articles about the Ford legacy can be seen on the Ford School...
gerald ford teaching
State & Hill

Faculty Findings, spring 2023

May 3, 2023
A fractured superpower  States have driven important federal policy changes around voting, civil and reproductive rights, environmental protections, and more. What happens when states take it upon themselves to experiment with energy, trade, and...
Headshots of Jenna Bednar and Joy Rohde
News

We must change hearts to achieve equality - Alemu

Mar 19, 2023
What is the best way to combat racism -- change policies or change hearts? That is the question Matthew Alemu (MPP '09, PhD) contends with in an essay for Bridge Detroit.  "Racism resides where society and policy have yet to tackle it directly,...
Matt Alemu
News

Remembering former Ford School Dean Rebecca Blank

Mar 3, 2023
President Emerita Mary Sue Coleman and Provost Emeritus Paul N. Courant share their Michigan memories of Rebecca M. Blank, dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy from 1999 to 2007. Blank also served in multiple federal roles and was...
Photo of then-dean Becky Blank and former President Gerald R. Ford, taken on the occasion of the naming of the Ford School
In the Media

Schwarz discusses Michigan GOP convention confusion

Mar 31, 2022 Michigan Advance
Ahead of the Michigan Republican Party’s endorsement convention this month, Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock has endorsed several candidates, an unusual move. Joe Schwarz, lecturer and former Michigan state senator, weighed in on the...
Joe Schwarz
News

Ford School experts weigh in on Russian invasion of Ukraine

Feb 25, 2022
As the Russian military surrounded and began its assault on Ukraine, Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice, and Javed Ali, associate professor of practice, lent their expertise to numerous media outlets to break down the...
Weill Hall entrance with "Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy" etched into the glass
In the Media

Ali discusses history of domestic terrorism

Feb 22, 2022 PolitiFact
Looking back at the history of domestic terrorism in the U.S., Javed Ali, associate professor of practice, provided insight into the January 6 insurrection. "(In the past century,) there was just as much activity on the far-left spectrum as there...
Headshot of Javed Ali at Weill Hall's 4th floor Whitman Lounge, speaking to someone off camera
News

What's next in a post-pandemic economy? - Stevenson

Aug 3, 2021
As the economy and world attempts to return to normal with the help of the COVID-19 vaccine, a new normal -- from social norms to remote work -- is emerging. Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics, recently spoke with Project...
Betsey Stevenson
In the Media

Stevenson tackles history of tax cuts

Jun 28, 2021 Rear Vision
The ongoing American debate about tax cuts for the rich has been raging since the 1980's. Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics, explained where the idea of supply-side, or "trickle-down" economics originated. "This was an...
Betsey Stevenson
News

Ford School welcomes 2021 PPIA fellows

Jun 25, 2021
On June 14, the Ford School welcomed its 40th cohort to its Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI)— a program designed to build diversity in public service. Formerly called the Sloan or Woodrow Wilson...
Weill Hall north entrance
In the Media

Rabe evaluates Biden's climate policy

Jun 15, 2021 The Christian Science Monitor
While President Biden has shown a lot of initiative for climate policy in the first months of his term, many scholars say something is missing: a carbon tax. Barry Rabe, the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, provided an...
Barry Rabe
In the Media

Watkins-Hayes relates current pandemic to HIV epidemic

Jun 9, 2021 Michigan Radio
Celeste Watkins-Hayes, the Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, relates what she has researched and written about the  HIV epidemic to the current COVID-19 pandemic in an interview on Michigan Radio, marking the 40th anniversary of...
Celeste Watkins-Hayes

Smart from the Start: Closing Early Opportunity Gaps with Strategic Early Learning Investments

Apr 9, 2025, 4:00-5:30 pm EDT
Walter and Leonore Annenberg Auditorium (Room 1120) Joan and Sanford Weill Hall
The Ford School's Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy, Christina Weiland, will deliver her Koh lecture reflecting on her work on early childhood interventions and public policies on children’s development, especially on children from families with low incomes.
Headshot of Christina Weiland
Policy Talks @ the Ford School

"Empowering Bureaucrats to do Better"

Mar 31, 2025, 4:00-5:30 pm EDT
Joan and Sanford Weill Hall Annenberg Auditorium
Dan Honig discusses his book, Mission Driven Bureaucrats:  "Imagine a world where government workers are not just faceless cogs in a vast bureaucratic machine but passionate individuals dedicated to making a real difference." 
dan-honig

Branford Marsalis - A life of art and engagement

Feb 20, 2025, 4:00-5:15 pm EST
Joan and Sanford Weill Hall Annenberg Auditorium
Grammy-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis will take time from his performance schedule to share his insights into the relationship between art, culture, and public policy. 
branford-marsalis