Departments and Research Centers

Education Policy Initiative

The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) is a program within the Ford School that brings together nationally-recognized education policy scholars focused on the generation and dissemination of policy-relevant education research.

Showing 1 - 30 of 651 results
Faculty by courtesy

Christina Weiland

Co-director, Education Policy Initiative; Associate Professor of Education
Christina Weiland is an associate professor at the University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education and Ford School of Public Policy (by courtesy), where she is affiliated with the Educational Studies department, the Combined Program in…
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

Brian A. Jacob

Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy; Professor of Public Policy, Economics, and Education
Jacob is co-director of the Youth Policy Lab. His primary fields of interest are labor economics, program evaluation, and the economics of education. Jacob's current research focuses on urban school reform, with a particular emphasis on standards and accountability initiatives.
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

Kevin Stange

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Stange's research lies broadly in empirical labor and public economics, with a focus on education and health care. His prior research includes studies of college enrollment and persistence, the effect of resources and peers on community college students, the importance of amenities in college choice, and the effects of different pricing structures on major choice and student credit load.
Core faculty

Megan Tompkins-Stange

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Tompkins-Stange is a scholar of education policy and philanthropy, focusing on the influence of private foundations on the politics of K-12 school reform.
Staff

Stacey Rzeszut

Administrative Coordinator
Stacey Rzeszut is the administrative coordinator for EPI and provides fiscal, operational and administrative support to the EPI team and predoctoral candidates. Outside of work, Stacey enjoys traveling with her…
Staff

Thomas Staines

Research Area Specialist, Education Policy Initiative
Tom Staines is a data analyst with the Education Policy Initiative. He joined EPI after obtaining his MPP at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of…
Staff

Anne Taylor

Data Analyst, Education Policy Initiative
Annie Taylor is a data analyst with the Education Policy Initiative. Her work at EPI focuses on early childhood projects, including designing and implementing research agendas for universal preschool programs in the Boston area. She joined EPI after…
Staff

Qia Yang

Data Programmer, Education Policy Initiative
Qia Yang is a data programmer for the Education Policy Initiative at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. His primary work is to maintain the Michigan Education Data Center, import data from the State of Michigan and…
News

Jacob and Stange: Getting free college right

Feb 9, 2024
Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed making the first two years of community college free in Michigan in her 2024 State of the State AddressIn an opinion published in Bridge Michigan, Brian Jacob and Kevin Strange applaud Governor Whitmer for her...
News

Data mining at USED: Updating old systems to inform new policy

Jan 30, 2024
Kevin Stange approached PhD student Nathan Sotherland in the summer of 2022 with an offer to join him in a unique assignment in the U.S. Department of Education (USED). As a part of the first cohort of economists to join the Office of Under...
News

Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All

Jan 30, 2024
Nikki Hamp (MPA ‘23) had several professional lives before arriving at the Ford School. An MD, she is a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician, and until recently has been the medical director of  the Arbor Autism Clinic in Ypsilanti...
News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024
The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following:  Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...
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...
News

CIERS seminar leads to on-the-ground financial aid research 

Oct 2, 2023
“We have great data in Iowa, and we are always interested in working with graduate students to probe it and see what we can learn.” That was an invitation from Meghan Oster (PhD ‘21), who was already working at Iowa College Aid, the state’s...
News

Dr. Stange Goes to Washington

Sep 13, 2023
The Ford School is proud of its record of welcoming policymakers-in-residence. This past year, Ford School professor Kevin Stange played a different role – academic-in-residence. He had a one-year assignment working in the U.S. Department of...
News

Ford School welcomes Sarah Cohodes as associate professor

Aug 16, 2023
Leading education policy economist Sarah Cohodes joins the Ford School as an associate professor with tenure. Cohodes uses quantitative causal inference methods to evaluate educational policies and programs. Her research focuses on school choice,...
News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life 

Aug 2, 2023
What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society?  How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe?  These were...