Center for Racial Justice | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Departments and Research Centers

Center for Racial Justice

The Center for Racial Justice is an innovative and cross-disciplinary hub in which social/racial justice changemakers, scholars, and students work collaboratively to develop new tools and strategies in the pursuit of racial justice.

Content type
Showing 1 - 30 of 224 results
Staff

Dom Adams-Santos

Managing Director, Center for Racial Justice
Dr. Adams-Santos is a qualitative researcher who centers questions of sexuality, intimacy, and belonging in the digital era; in particular, how individuals navigate the racial, gender, and sexual politics of digital and urban landscapes in their search for intimacy and community.
Headshot of Dominique Adams-Santos
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…
Headshot of Mara Ostfeld
Research faculty

Bianca Wilson

Visiting Fellow, Center for Racial Justice
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.
Headshot of Paula Lantz
Staff

Katrina Hamann

DEI Marketing and Communications Specialist
Katrina (they/she) brings experience in community organizing and a dedication to developing accessible communication strategies to advance the Ford School's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts.
Headshot of Katrina Hamann
News

Center for Racial Justice welcomes 2024-25 visiting fellows

Sep 26, 2024
The Ford School’s Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes Amanda Alexander, Charlene Carruthers, and Bianca D.M. Wilson as Visiting Fellows for the 2024-25 academic year.The Visiting Fellows Program, a signature initiative of the Center for...
Amanda Alexander, Charlene Carruthers, Bianca Wilson
News

Ford School panel examines immigration on the ballot

Sep 17, 2024
The Ford School’s fall event series kicked off with more than 115 people in attendance for Immigration on the Ballot, a panel discussion about the policy landscape and implications for the upcoming election, hosted by the Center for Racial...
mara ostfeld, angela garcía, kristina fullerton rico, william lopez
News

Hassan awarded U-M anti-racism grant

Sep 10, 2024
Ford School assistant professor Yousif Hassan has been chosen for a University of Michigan research grant for his work that explores how AI innovations and data can center social justice and address racial and economic inequalities in African...
Headshot of Yousif Hassan
State & Hill

Spotlights, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024
A prescription for equityAs the first city-wide experiment of its kind, Rx Kids provides cash payments for new parents—and new promise for eradicating early childhood poverty. Flint's high child poverty rates came into focus nearly 10 years ago when...
Photo of Gretchen Whitmer and Rx Kids co-directors Luke Shaefer; Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, and others in front of RxKids banner
State & Hill

It’s all about equity

Apr 24, 2024
The Biden administration wants electric vehicles (EVs) to comprise fifty percent of new vehicle sales in just six years. This has required massive investment in our charging infrastructure. And charging is not the only issue raised by the...
Liz Gerber interviewing Dr. Missy Stults
News

Highlights from the Dean's Symposium

Apr 21, 2024
Two days of panels, chats, and keynotes focused on examining and seeking solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face in Michigan, in the United States, and across the globe. More than 400 students, faculty, staff, and friends attended in...
Keynote photo
Publication

Injuries of inequality and the promise of safety nets

Mar 7, 2024
What would a comprehensive strategy for reproductive rights and access look like, borrowing from the lessons from the fight against HIV? This is the question that Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy at the Ford School...
Headshots of Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Dom Adams-Santos
News

IHP continues with university engagement efforts

Mar 6, 2024
The University of Michigan’s Inclusive History Project is continuing its efforts to engage members of the university community by developing a tri-campus student advisory committee and creating a research and engagement fund.The project is U-M’s...
Earl Lewis delivers remarks at a U-M History Department event
News

Flint high school students glimpse college life with 23Express

Jan 16, 2024
Michael Williams describes himself as a “closeted nerd.” Growing up in Flint, Michigan, he felt like he had to disguise his love of learning in order to blend in with his peers. “It wasn’t ‘cool’ to like school,” he explains. “You could be smart,...
23Express students visit University of Michigan football stadium
State & Hill

Our new dean, Celeste Watkins-Hayes

Dec 12, 2023
State & Hill sat down with the Ford School’s new dean to reflect on her scholarship, her mentors, and Gerald Ford   State & Hill: Tell us about your intellectual journey to leading the Ford School. Celeste Watkins-Hayes: What you see in my...
Dean Watkins-Hayes and ASPIRE students gathering on the balcony overlooking the Great Hall
State & Hill

The Rules of Attention: A poem by Airea D. Matthews (MPA ’07)

Dec 10, 2023
Philadelphia Poet Laureate and educator Airea D. Matthews (MPA ’07) returned to the Ford School this fall to discuss her memoir-in-verse with writing instructor Molly Spencer at an event hosted by the Center for Racial Justice. The following day,...
Airea D. Matthews performing her poetry at an event in Weill Hall
State & Hill

Spotlights, fall 2023

Dec 10, 2023
What’s on the barbie? Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson were on the guest list as the White House hosted a State Dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October. Skills match More than fifty...
Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers White House picture
News

Meet our new faculty: Kristina Fullerton Rico

Sep 22, 2023
Kristina Fullerton Rico joins the Ford School as a Predoctoral Fellow at the Center for Racial Justice. Her work focuses on the social and emotional impacts of U.S. immigration policies that lead unauthorized immigrants and their families to endure...
Kristina Fullerton Rico portrait