Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Departments and Research Centers

Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies

The Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies supports policy-relevant research and educational programs to address the challenges, and embrace the opportunities, of diversity.

Content type
Showing 1 - 30 of 38 results
Core faculty

Susan M. Collins

Edward M. Gramlich Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; Professor of Economics
[email protected]
(734) 615-6832
Collins is on extended leave to serve as the president and CEO of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank. At U-M, she served as provost from 2020-22. At the Ford School, she is the Edward M. Gramlich Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, professor of economics, and former dean of the Ford School (2007-17). She is an international economist whose research interests center on understanding and fostering economic growth in industrial, emerging market, and developing countries.
Susan M. Collins
Core faculty

Valenta Kabo

Lecturer III
[email protected]
734-615-3884
Valenta Kabo is a lecturer at the Ford School. Her fields of interest are comparative law, law and economics, and property rights and development. She earned her PhD in political science and public policy from the University of Michigan. She also has…
Valenta Kabo

Masters students produce powerful film on race and racism

Apr 27, 2015
Sixteen Ford School masters students speak about their experiences around race and racism on camera in a new student-produced film, "Walking the Line of Blackness". The students screened the film at Weill Hall on April 23 for a crowd of more than...
Walking the Line of Blackness
Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling Health Policy Fund, Policy Talks @ the Ford School

Sexual Assault on U-M Campus: Challenges, Policy, & Prevention

Feb 16, 2017, 4:00-5:30 pm EST
Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium
This event is made possible in part through the generous support of the Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling Health Policy Fund

Failure Factories: When Education Policies Desert Our Children

Feb 1, 2017, 4:00 pm EST
Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium (Room 1120)
The Ford School is pleased to welcome 2016 Livingston Award winners Lisa Gartner, Michael LaForgia, and Nathaniel Lash for a panel discussion on "Failure Factories" - their coverage of what happend after the Pinellas County School Board abandoned integration. A 2017 Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium event.
Ford School

50 Years of Civil Rights Leadership: A U-M Symposium in honor of Rev. Jesse Jackson

Nov 16, 2016, 10:00 am-12:00 pm EST
Rackham Building
For half a century, the Rev. Jesse Jackson has courageously advanced civil rights across racial, gender, and economic boundaries in the United States and around the world. The University of Michigan is honored to have the chance to celebrate and advance the Reverend’s work this fall, at a daylong series of events that promises to be intellectually engaging as well as inspiring.

Public Policy and the Ongoing Flint Water Crisis: Community Perspectives

Oct 24, 2016, 4:00-5:30 pm EDT
Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium
There are many discussions regarding the water crisis affecting our neighbors in Flint. The Ford School is putting together this panel discussion to help the local public engage in policy-focused dialogue from the perspectives of key Flint community members. 

LIVE! RADIO BROADCAST: Redline with Bankole Thompson, 910 AM Superstation

Oct 7, 2016, 12:00-2:00 pm EDT
Great Hall, first floor of Weill Hall
Come by the Ford School's Great Hall to watch journalist Bankole Thompson host a live broadcast of his radio program. Redline with Bankole Thompson is a public affairs program that airs weekdays 12-2pm ET on 910AM Super Station-Detroit hosted by journalist and Detroit News columnist Bankole Thompson.
Ford School
University of Michigan Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium

21st Century Policing: Lessons from Cincinnati

Feb 22, 2016, 4:00-6:00 pm EST
Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium (#1120)
The Institute for Social Research, School of Social Work, and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy host this panel on police reform as part of the University of Michigan's 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium.
Ford School
Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling Health Policy Fund, Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Lecture Series, Policy Talks @ the Ford School

"Credible messengers, critical trust: Community health empowerment" with Ruth Browne (MPP/MPH '83), CEO of the Arthur Ashe Institute

Jan 28, 2015, 4:00-5:30 pm EST
Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium
Join the Ford School in welcoming back Dr. Ruth Browne, CEO of Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health and the 2015 Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence. This event is part of the University of Michigan's 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School

20 years after the Rwandan Genocide - with Paul Rusesabagina

Mar 27, 2014, 4:30-6:00 pm EDT
Rackham Graduate School, Rackham Auditorium
Free and open to the public. Join in on the discussion on social media using #fordschoolrwanda This Keynote lecture is part of the IPC commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide.
Diversity Center Community Conversation

Social identity and inclusion: Undergraduate experiences at the University of Michigan

Feb 20, 2015, 11:30 am-1:00 pm EST
1230 Weill Hall
This event is open to Ford School students, faculty, and staff, and guests of the Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies. The Diversity Center hosts Professor Sara Soderstrom and her research team for an interactive discussion on how racial and other social identifies affect student feelings of inclusion on the University of Michigan’s campus.
Ford School

American Denial

Jan 26, 2015, 5:00-7:00 pm EST
Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium
As part of the 2015 Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, the Ford School's Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies presents a screening of American Denial, followed by a discussion with producer/director Llewellyn Smith and Professor Martha S. Jones.
Ford School

Opportunities

The Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies supports empirical and programmatic approaches to understanding the role of diversity in public policy. A primary means of doing this is through our annual grant program, which awards grants to projects that contribute to academic research on diversity or enrich the broader community's engagement with issues of diversity. University of Michigan faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and students of all levels are eligible to apply for program or research grants.

About the Diversity Center

The hallmark of the Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies is the recognition that public policy initiatives must be understood within the context of growing societal diversity.  The center builds on intellectual resources from around the University as well as those already present at the Ford School to address relevant programs and interests.