Poverty and social policy | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
 
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Poverty and social policy

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Emeritus faculty

Mary E. Corcoran

Professor Emerita of Public Policy, Political Science, and Women's and Gender Studies
Mary E. Corcoran is a professor emerita of public policy, political science, and women's studies. Her research focuses on the effects of gender and race discrimination on economic status and earnings, and on professional women's career trajectories.…
Emeritus faculty

Sheldon H. Danziger

Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy
Sheldon Danziger is​ President of the Russell Sage Foundation and ​the Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at the Ford School​.​ ​He was also Director of the National Poverty Center at the Ford School.…
Emeritus faculty

James S. House

Angus Campbell Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Survey Research, Public Policy, and Sociology
James S. House is the Angus Campbell Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Survey Research, Public Policy, and Sociology. His research has focused on the role of social and psychological factors in the etiology and course of health and…
Emeritus faculty

Robert F. Schoeni

In memoriam - Research Professor, Institute for Social Research; Professor of Economics; Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)
In memoriam—Bob passed away on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. Read more about Bob's life. Bob Schoeni is a research professor at the Institute for Social Research and professor of economics, with a courtesy appointment at the Ford School. He is also…
Faculty by courtesy

John Z. Ayanian

Alice B. Hamilton Distinguished University Professor of Medicine and Healthcare Policy; Director, Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
Dr. John Ayanian is the Alice Hamilton Distinguished University Professor of Medicine and Healthcare Policy, the Alice Hamilton Collegiate Professor of Medicine at the Medical School, and professor of health management and policy at the School of…
Faculty by courtesy

Pamela Jagger

Professor of Environment and Sustainability; Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)
Pam Jagger is a professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability, with a courtesy appointment at the Ford School. She is an applied political economist whose research focuses on the dynamics of poverty and environment interactions in…
Faculty by courtesy

Jeremy Levine

Associate Professor of Organizational Studies; associate professor of Public Policy (by courtesy); associate professor of Sociology (by courtesy)
Jeremy Levine is a political and urban sociologist generally interested in questions related to inequality and public policy, especially urban and criminal justice policy. Levine has worked with legislators and advocates in New York on ongoing…
Faculty by courtesy

Alexandra Murphy

Assistant Professor of Sociology; Faculty Affiliate, Population Studies Center; Assistant Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)
Alexandra K. Murphy is an assistant professor of sociology and a faculty affiliate of the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, with a courtesy appointment at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public…
Faculty by courtesy

Kristin Seefeldt

Associate Professor of Social Work; Associate Professor of Public Policy; Associate Faculty Director for Educational Programs
Seefeldt’s primary research interests lie in exploring how low-income individuals understand their situations, particularly around issues related to work and economic well being. Currently, she is conducting research on families’ financial coping strategies and is a Principal Investigator of a survey examining the effects of the recession and recovery policies on individuals’ well being.
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.…
Core faculty

Samuel R. Bagenstos

Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy
Bagenstos specializes in constitutional and civil rights litigation, with interests in labor and employment, disability rights, and housing. He currently serves as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is on leave from the university.
Core faculty

Michael S. Barr

Frank Murphy Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; Roy F. and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law
Barr is a governor and vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board, currently on leave from the University of Michigan. At U-M, Barr conducted research and wrote about a wide range of issues in domestic and international financial regulation, with a particular emphasis on financial services for low-income communities. He served in President Barack H. Obama's Administration as the U.S. Department of the Treasury's assistant secretary for financial institutions, and was a key architect of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Core faculty

Sarah Cohodes

Associate professor
Cohodes is a leading education policy economist who uses quantitative causal inference methods to evaluate policies and programs. She is known for her influential research on charter schools. Her research focuses on school choice, programs for high-achieving students, and settings that support access to high-quality education.
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

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

Pamela Herd

Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy
Pamela Herd is the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy and faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research Population Studies Center. Her research focuses on inequality and how it intersects with health, aging, and policy. She is…
Core faculty

Paula 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.
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

Katherine Michelmore

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Michelmore is a leading scholar and educator on the social safety net, education policy, labor economics, and economic demography. She is a recognized expert on the efficacy of the Earned Income Tax Credit and its impact on children.
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

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

Natasha Pilkauskas

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Pilkauskas is a social demographer who studies the social safety net, children's living arrangements, and economic insecurity. Pilkauskas' work considers how social policy might improve the developmental and life trajectories of children living in poverty.
Core faculty

Luke Shaefer

Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy; Director, Poverty Solutions; Professor of Social Work
Luke Shaefer serves as the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, presidential initiative at U-M that seeks to partner communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.
Core faculty

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy; Director, Center for Racial Justice; Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Sociology; Research and Community Impact Fellow, Anti-Racism Collaborative
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 articles in journals and edited volumes, and pieces in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Chicago Magazine.
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.
PhD Students

Jared Eno

Jared is interested in issues of poverty and inequality, especially the role of education in social stratification; the role of research in public policy; and quantitative methodology. After completing his MPP at University of Michigan, he worked at…

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...

Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy

The Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy is a Ford School hub that will catalyze interdisciplinary research and policy impact to promote social equity and inclusion. The collaborative consists of three pillars: Kohn Professors, Kohn Scholars, and...