Politics | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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Politics

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Emeritus faculty

Edie N. Goldenberg

Professor Emerita of Public Policy and Political Science
Goldenberg is a close observer of the electoral process. Her research interests include voting turnout of college students, and in 2017 she founded a Michigan group called Turn Up Turnout (TUT). She served as dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts from 1989-98 and is the founding director of the Michigan in Washington Program.
Emeritus faculty

Susan E. Waltz

Professor Emerita of Public Policy
Waltz specializes in human rights and international affairs, with a focus on arms transfer policy and regional expertise on North Africa. She also maintains the website Human Rights Advocacy and the History of International Human Rights Standards, hosted by U-M. For some 15 years she was involved in international efforts to promote an international Arms Trade Treaty and has more recently focused on U.S. firearms export regulations.
Visiting faculty

Abdul El-Sayed

Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence
Dr. El-Sayed is a public servant, Michigan politician, former public health professor, and a medical doctor. He served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department and Health Officer for the city from 2015 to 2017, before running for governor of Michigan.
Research faculty

Mara Ostfeld

Research Associate Professor, Public Policy, Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy and Faculty Associate, Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research
Dr. Mara Cecilia Ostfeld is the research director at the Center for Racial Justice, and an associate research professor in the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. In addition, Mara is a faculty lead at the Detroit Metro Area…
Faculty by courtesy

Kenneth Lowande

Associate Professor of Political Science; Associate Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)
Kenneth Lowande studies American political institutions and policymaking.
Faculty by courtesy

Charles R. Shipan

J. Ira and Nicki Harris Professor of Social Sciences
Shipan teaches and conducts research on political institutions and public policy. Current projects focus on the president's ability to change policy, whether elections can cause politicians to avoid passing good policies, and the effect of bipartisanship on public policy. His most recent book is Why Bad Policies Spread (and Good Ones Don’t).
Faculty by courtesy

Marianne Udow-Phillips

Lecturer in Public Policy
Udow-Phillips provides strategic consulting and mentorship to advance social justice, improve population health and strengthen the effectiveness of health, public health and mental health systems.
Adjunct faculty

Jonathan Cohn

Lecturer in Public Policy
Jonathan Cohn is a lecturer in public policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the senior national correspondent for HuffPost. At HuffPost, Cohn writes about politics and policy with a focus on social welfare.…
Adjunct faculty

John Hieftje

Lecturer in Public Policy
John Hieftje, Ann Arbor’s longest serving mayor (2000-14), is a lecturer at the Ford School. In 2001 he initiated a long-term drive for greater efficiency that prepared the city for the Great Recession. Hieftje championed the successful Greenbelt…
Adjunct faculty

Gerald J. Hills

Teaching Professor in Public Policy
To email Rusty, please use the following email address: [email protected] Rusty Hills is a lecturer in public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He has served in senior leadership roles in the…
Adjunct faculty

John J. Schwarz

Lecturer in Public Policy
John J.H. "Joe" Schwarz is a lecturer at the Ford School. He received his undergraduate degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1959, and his medical degree from Wayne State University in 1964. Dr. Schwarz served his residency in…
Core faculty

Elisabeth R. Gerber

Jack L. Walker, Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Policy
Gerber’s research focuses on regionalism and intergovernmental cooperation, sustainable development, urban climate adaptation, transportation policy, community and economic development, local fiscal capacity, and local political accountability.
Core faculty

Richard L. Hall

Professor of Public Policy and Political Science
Hall’s research interests focus on American national politics. He has studied participation and representation in Congress, campaign finance reform, congressional oversight, issue advertising, health politics, and health policy. He is currently writing a book on interest group lobbying and the role of political money in Congressional policy making.
Core faculty

Jonathan K. Hanson

MPP/MPA Program Director; Lecturer in Statistics for Public Policy
Hanson is a specialist in comparative political economy and political development. He examines the ways that political institutions affect economic performance and development. In his recent projects, he has explored how to measure state capacity, the roles of democracy and state capacity for improving human development, and why authoritarian regimes vary significantly in economic and social outcomes. A former congressional aide, he has been active in political campaigns.
Core faculty

Yazier Henry

Teaching Professor in Public Policy
Henry has written and published on the political economy of social voice, memory, trauma, identity, peace processes, Truth Commissions, international transitional justice and international humanitarian law. His research and writing projects focus on how structural and administrative violence come to be institutionalized during post-colonial transitions. His current work is on the discourse of human rights, structural violence and the politics of official voice.
Core faculty

Ann Chih Lin

Associate Professor of Public Policy; Director, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies
Lin, a political scientist, studies how people experience policy implementation. Her current work examines racial and ethnic difference in the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic; bias reduction against Muslims; national security scapegoating of immigrant groups; conservatism among immigrants; and subnational labor migration policy.
Core faculty

Yusuf Neggers

Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Neggers's research examines questions at the intersection of development economics and political economy, with a focus on state capacity and the delivery of public services. He has studied the effects of caste and ethnicity on election processes in India.
Core faculty

Barry Rabe

J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy
Rabe examines the political feasibility and durability of environmental and energy policy, with a particular emphasis on efforts to address climate change in the U.S. and other federal systems. His most recent books examine the politics of carbon pricing and the limitations of unilateral executive branch policy actions. Current research explores the politics of intensive but short-lived greenhouse gases, such as methane and HFCs. Recent policy engagement includes work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
Core faculty

Kaitlin T. Raimi

Associate Professor of Public Policy; Faculty Associate in Psychology; Faculty Associate in Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research
Raimi is a social psychologist focused on climate change beliefs and policy support. She studies how people compare themselves to others, how adopting one pro-environmental behavior affects later action, and how communication affects understanding and support for climate policy and technology.
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…
Core faculty

Justin Wolfers

Professor of Public Policy and Economics (on sabbatical leave)
Wolfers is an economist with broad policy-related interests and experience. He is also affiliated with the NBER, Brookings and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a contributing columnist for the New York Times and host of the “Think Like An Economist” podcast. He is a popular teacher and author of a leading economics textbook.
Staff

Cindy A. Bank

Associate Director of Policymaker Engagement, Office of Public Affairs
Prior to coming to the Ford School, Cindy spent more than 22 years in the University of Michigan's Washington DC office where she served as a liaison for the University with Congress, the Administration and national higher education associations on…
PhD Students

Jared Cory

Jared Cory is a joint PhD student in Public Policy and Political Science. His research interests include policy implementation, organizational behavior, and policy diffusion.  He is also interested in studying criminal policies’ effects on local…

Faculty expertise

Poverty and inequality. Trade and economic development. Health and human security. Energy and the environment.  Alongside their critical work as teachers and mentors, Ford School faculty members are nationally and internationally recognized experts...

Ford50

Fifty years ago, 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 proud to...

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...