Education Policy Initiative | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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 680 results
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

Professor of Public Policy; PhD Program Director
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.
Core faculty

Christina Weiland

Co-director, Education Policy Initiative; Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy; Professor of Education
Christina Weiland is Professor at the Marsal Family School of Education and the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, where she is affiliated with the Educational Studies…
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

Cohodes' research "helped define" education in 2024

Dec 22, 2024
Research conducted by the Ford School's Sarah Cohodes has been cited for "defining education in 2024." The 74 network, a non-profit education news service, highlighted Cohodes' research among 11 other studies as some of the "biggest discoveries from...
News

Sarah Cohodes testifies before New Jersey Senate

Dec 17, 2024
On December 16, 2024, Ford School Associate Professor Sarah Cohodes testified before the New Jersey Senate Higher Education Committee. She was called on to speak at a public hearing to assist lawmakers in evaluating the status of charter schools...
State & Hill

Greater than its sum: an update on the Kohn Collaborative

Dec 17, 2024
Six years ago, Harold and Carol Kohn approached the Ford School with a vision. Their goal was to help build a vibrant research community dedicated to promoting social equity and inclusion. Today, the Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy is poised to...
In the Media

Cohodes on disparate school of choice system in Michigan

Nov 22, 2024 Bridge Michigan
In Michigan, 1 in 4 K-12 students attend either a charter school or a school of choice district. Nearly all of Michigan's 532 public school districts participate in school choice. The Trump administration is shown to be an advocate for school of...
News

Micah Baum wins the 2024 Peter Eckstein Prize

Jul 10, 2024
Ford School PhD candidate Micah Baum is the 2024 winner of the Peter Eckstein Prize for Interdisciplinary Research, a competitive student award that celebrates the value of interdisciplinary research in public policy.Baums’s research paper,...
Publication

Higher education responds to changing labor markets

Jul 8, 2024
Do universities respond to the changing needs of industry by offering curriculums that provide students skills they need on the job? That’s the central question of a multi-year research project headed up by Kevin Stange, co-director of the...
News

Stange and Weiland promoted to full professors

May 16, 2024
On May 16, the Regents of the University of Michigan approved promotions for Kevin Stange and Christina Weiland. Stange was promoted to professor of public policy, with tenure, and professor of education. Weiland was promoted to professor of...