Joan and Sanford Weill Hall Annenberg Auditorium (1120)
Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams will address the challenges to American democracy, her work to guarantee voter access, and other civil rights battles facing the United States in 2024.
Democracy around the world is both robust -- two billion people will be able to cast a ballot in 2924 -- and fragile, as threats to the voting process, to the structures of democratic society, and to the voters themselves afflict many nations.
Watch live from this page
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Lecture Series
Join the Ford School for a conversation with Michigan Supreme Court Justice, Kyra Harris Bolden, the first Black woman to serve on the state’s highest court. Laurel Beatty Blunt - a Towsley Policymaker in Residence at the Ford School and a judge in Ohio's Tenth District Court of Appeals - will lead the conversation with Justice Bolden on her journey to the Michigan Supreme Court, and the intersection of race and the law in the past and present.
Join us for our Fall 2023 Democracy in Crisis event, a conversation with Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent, and Lynette Clemetson, Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists. Their wide-ranging discussion will cover the state of democracy and the role and responsibility of the press in a democratic society, as well as how Tapper’s experience of being an anchor and correspondent informs his craft of writing fiction.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer will visit campus for a special event alongside CNN Anchor Chris Wallace as part of an ongoing partnership between the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Wallace House Center for Journalists, and U-M Democracy & Debate. The hour-long fireside chat between Governor Whitmer and Wallace will focus on politics, public service, and the media.
University of Michigan Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium
Wallace House Presents journalist and educator Jelani Cobb, in conversation with Ford School Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes to look at the historic challenges to democracy that centered around race, the impact of the media, and how this frames and informs the current moment.
The Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes Angela Harrelson to the Ford School and the University of Michigan for the Masterclass in Activism. Angela Harrelson is the aunt of George Floyd, as well as the author of Lift Your Voice.
Join us for a conversation hosted at the Ford School by The Carter Center and the Gerald R. Ford Foundation that tackles how to buttress voter confidence in our democracy. Former Michigan U.S. Representatives Andy Levin (D-MI) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) and Amb (ret) Susan D. Page, Michigan Law and Ford School professor from practice and Carter Center trustee, will explore the bipartisan challenge of restoring faith in our democratic systems and highlight ways individuals can be part of the solution as we work together to uphold the standards of our democracy.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
Josh Rosenthal Education Fund Lecture
Dr. Nyron N. Crawford, an Assistant Professor of Political Science and a faculty fellow in the Public Policy Lab (PPL) at Temple University, presents as part of the Real World Perspectives on Poverty Solutions Series.
On October 31, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two companion cases on affirmative action: Students for Fair Admissions (S.F.F.A) v. Harvard and S.F.F.A. v. University of North Carolina. How will each side make its case? What arguments will the judges find most compelling? What questions will they ask?
Elected Prosecuting Attorney for Washtenaw County Eli Savit and Chief Assistant Prosecutor for Washtenaw County Victoria Burton-Harris present as part of the Real World Perspectives on Poverty Solutions Speaker Series.
A conversation between Jeffrey Minear, counselor to Chief Justice John Roberts, and the Hon. Jeffrey Sutton, chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, about the constitutional roles and responsibilities of the U.S. federal courts to American government and its democratic institutions.
This event brings together mayors from cities across the states of the Big Ten in a discussion about how leadership at the city level shapes our national approaches to some of the most pressing issues of the day.
At your polling location or local clerk's office, or by absentee ballot
Michigan will hold its primary election on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, and the Ford School strongly encourages all eligible voters to make their voices heard.
The U-M Center for the Education of Women+, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and the Ford School are partnering to host a panel on the potential implications of a possible Roe v. Wade overturn featuring 4 faculty experts.
At your polling location or local clerk's office, or by absentee ballot
Michigan will hold a regular election on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, and voters may have measures or candidates on their local ballots. The Ford School strongly encourages all eligible voters to make their voices heard.
Conversations Across Differences,
Policy Talks @ the Ford School
Join us for a conversation with U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell and Liz Cheney with Ford School Dean Michael S. Barr to discuss the role of public service and collaboration beyond party lines to protect democracy under threat.
Pulitzer Prize winning historian, journalist and commentator Anne Applebaum delivers the keynote lecture of the spring 2022 Democracy in Crisis series, in conversation with Dean Michael S. Barr.
Hear from Sarah Kendzior, author of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America, as part of the spring 2022 Democracy in Crisis series.
Join the Michigan Municipal League’s 16/50 Project for an interactive panel experience to meet the force of women leading communities in Michigan, engage with local government challenges, and learn more about the municipal management profession.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
Conversations Across Differences
Join us for a special conversation with Governor Jeb Bush and Ford School Dean Michael Barr to discuss the role of public service in these extraordinary times.
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Barton Gellman in conversation with Michigan Law Professor from Practice Barbara McQuade, as part of the spring 2022 Democracy in Crisis series.
This event will explore how individuals can impact public policy by being appointed to advisory boards and commissions specifically focusing on Ann Arbor as an example.
Weill Hall, Betty Ford Classroom (1110)
(Also available virtually)
Join to hear from TIME National Political Correspondent Molly Ball in conversation with longtime political writer Craig Gilbert to kick off the Spring 2022 Democracy in Crisis series.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
Conversations Across Differences
Two Parents Circle-Families Forum members—an Israeli and a Palestinian—will join us to tell their personal stories of bereavement and explain their choice to engage in dialogue instead of revenge.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Dean Barr will discuss Senator Warren's distinguished career as a public servant, perspectives on poverty and inequality in the United States, and her work to create a more just and equitable economic system.
CLOSUP Lecture Series,
Policy Talks @ the Ford School
This webinar will analyze and evaluate Michigan’s new redistricting approach and new maps, and compare to approaches of other states. Will Michigan's new model inspire reform in other states?
Dean Michael Barr of the U-M Ford School of Public Policy and Detroit Free Press Editor and Vice President Peter Bhatia provide a thoughtful analysis of the issues posed by the election and its aftermath.
