Leadership | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Policy Topics

Leadership

Learn more about the Ford School Leadership Initiative

Showing 1 - 30 of 1155 results
Core faculty

Morela Hernandez

Ligia Ramirez de Reynolds Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; Faculty Director, Leadership Initiative
Hernandez is an internationally recognized scholar with deep expertise in applying behavioral science insights to design and improve organizational systems and decision-making practices. She is widely published in top-tier academic journals and popular media outlets, and serves on several editorial boards. At Michigan, Hernandez teaches courses on leadership and serves as faculty director of the Ford School's Leadership Initiative.
Core faculty

Jeffrey D. Morenoff

Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement, Professor of Public Policy and Sociology
Morenoff's research interests include neighborhood environments, inequality, crime and criminal justice, the social determinants of health, racial/ethnic/immigrant disparities in health and antisocial behavior, and methods for analyzing multilevel and spatial data.
Core faculty

Don Moynihan

J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy
Donald Moynihan is the Ford School's J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy. Previously he served as Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy Chair of Public Policy and the director of the La Follette School at the U...
Core faculty

Susan D. Page

Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Professor from Practice at University of Michigan Law School. Director; Weiser Diplomacy Center.
Page applies her vast foreign policy experience to the Weiser Diplomacy Center. She has served the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, and non-governmental organizations in senior roles for decades, across East, Central, and Southern Africa, and in Haiti and Nepal. Page was the first U.S. ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan and served as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti.
Core faculty

Megan Tompkins-Stange

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Tompkins-Stange is a scholar of education policy and philanthropy, focusing on the influence of private foundations on the politics of K-12 school reform.
Emeritus faculty

Paula M. Lantz

James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy; Director, BA Programs
A social demographer, Lantz studies the role of public policy in improving population health and reducing social disparities in health. She is currently engaged in research regarding innovative financing approaches for supportive housing among Medicaid beneficiaries, and also on how COVID-19 is exacerbating existing social and health inequalities in the U.S.

Extracurricular programming

The Leadership Initiative hosts workshops, immersive experiences and talks designed to equip Ford School students with the competencies needed to lead self, others, organizations and communities. Each program or event supports the development of a le...

Leadership development

Tools to impact and influence othersYou have the capacity to lead—to make a positive impact on our organizations, communities, and the people around us.  We know that leadership doesn't "just happen." Leadership is a behavioral process, and learning ...

Service to Service

National Service to Service InitiativeVeterans and military families seeking careers in public service now have greater access to graduate education and career development support through Service to Service, a national initiative led by the Volcker A...

Ford School votes

Vote early or on election day In our community dedicated to the public good, we believe that participating in democracy is an irreplaceable way to strengthen it. We welcome everyone in our community into that work, and we strongly encourage all el...

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...

Leadership Initiative

The Ford School's Leadership Initiative develops and offers a growing suite of graduate and undergraduate student leadership courses, coaching, and extracurricular programs that build on and complement the school's excellent, rigorous curriculum. Led...

Leadership coaching

All Ford School master's students have the opportunity to work with a certified executive leadership coach—a growth activity that is typically reserved for senior leaders and executives much further along in their careers. For Master of Public Policy...
State & Hill

Samuel Bagenstos: Can scholarship shape democracy?

May 7, 2026
From arguing cases for the Justice Department to investigating why expanded social benefits were rolled back, Samuel Bagenstos explores the intersection of law, policy, and public service
State & Hill

Danziger's third act

May 7, 2026
After decades as a renowned poverty scholar at U-M and president of the Russell Sage Foundation, Sheldon Danziger, ​the Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, began his ‘third act’ last fall, taking the helm as p...
State & Hill

Letter from Dean Watkins-Hayes, spring 2026

May 7, 2026
This year, State & Hill has unfolded a bit differently—literally and figuratively! 
While our fall issue adopted a compact, fold-out design to highlight impact, 
our spring magazine returns to our full format, offering the space to dive deeper into t...
State & Hill

STPP: STEM-ming the gap

May 7, 2026
The Science, Technology and Public Policy Programs' post-graduate fellowship connects technical experts with Michigan lawmakers to provide access to research and analysis for rapidly evolving topics such as AI regulation, biotech, and energy developm...
State & Hill

Shaefer’s new role in Detroit

May 7, 2026
In January, Luke Shaefer was appointed chief executive of Health, Human Services & Poverty Solutions for the City of Detroit. His data-driven vision targets systemic change.
Policy Matters

How do we reduce firearm injuries?

Apr 14, 2026
Lior Cooper (BA ‘26) and Isaac Davis (BA ‘26) recount their experience at a peer-led dinner with Dr. Cynthia Ewell-Foster and how candid conversation has changed how they think about firearm policy.
State & Hill

25 years of CLOSUP

Apr 11, 2026
When the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission faced a tidal wave of public input—more than 30,000 comments—the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) and Ford School students stepped in. Their analysis helped the commiss...
In the Media

Moynihan: Trump's foreign policy is "smash and grab, see what works"

Mar 16, 2026 The New York Times
Don Moynihan cites Trump’s "almost childish impetuousness": A through line of Trump’s actions is that they are impulsive, with little consideration of the constraints or consequences. We clearly see this with Iran, where the president has shown littl...