Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Departments and Research Centers

Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy

The Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy advances research and policy solutions, and works with policymakers and stakeholders to promote a more inclusive, just society for all. 

Content type
Showing 1 - 24 of 24 results
Core faculty

Samuel R. Bagenstos

Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy
Bagenstos specializes in constitutional and civil rights litigation, with interests in labor and employment, disability rights, and housing. He currently serves as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is on leave from the university.
samuel-bagenstos-faculty-profile-1800x2280
Core faculty

Pamela Herd

Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy
Pamela Herd is the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy and faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research Population Studies Center. Her research focuses on inequality and how it intersects with health, aging, and policy. She is…
Pam Herd
Core faculty

Luke Shaefer

Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy; Director, Poverty Solutions; Professor of Social Work
Luke Shaefer serves as the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, presidential initiative at U-M that seeks to partner communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.
Luke Shaefer
In the Media

Withholding funding is not reasonable - Bagenstos

Feb 4, 2025 Marketplace
Professor at the Ford School and former General Counsel to the Office of Management and Budget, Samuel Bagenstos said the president "withholding certain funding — including for green energy projects and foreign aid" is not supported by "proper...
Headshot of Samuel Bagenstos
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...
Kohn faculty portraits
News

Aguilar named as Kohn Scholar

Jan 3, 2023
The Ford School recognizes Lizett Aguilar (MPP ‘24) as the 2022 Kohn Scholar. She joins 2021 Kohn Scholar Marco Ramirez (MPP ‘23). Kohn Scholars are chosen for their outstanding qualifications and commitment to public service and advancing social...
Headshot of Lizette Aguilar
State & Hill

Changing the conversation around child poverty

Dec 13, 2021
How Kohn Professor Luke Shaefer and the pandemic paved the way for an expanded Child Tax Credit By Lauren Slagter The passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in March ushered in a "euphoric" couple of weeks for Luke Shaefer, the Hermann and...
Photo of Luke Shaefer seated in Weill Hall's Great Hall
State & Hill

Letter from Dean Michael S. Barr

Dec 13, 2021
For 18 months, while the Diag was calm, Weill Hall stood mostly empty, and the Big House was quiet, our community was hard at work to address urgent societal challenges from the pandemic, racial injustice, assaults on democracy, climate change, and...
Michael S. Barr
News

Marco Ramirez named inaugural Kohn Scholar

Oct 4, 2021
Marco Ramirez (MPP ‘23) has been named as the inaugural Kohn Scholar. He was chosen for his outstanding qualifications and his promise for future leadership in the field of social policy. Ramirez believes health policy is the best vehicle to...
Marco Ramirez
State & Hill

Equal opportunity, equal talent

Dec 9, 2020
Two new professorships will address structural inequality and social policy By Rebecca Cohen (MPP ‘09)   "Talent is distributed evenly throughout our society, but opportunity most certainly is not." Harold and Carol Kohn heard...
L-R: Arlene Kohn, Karl Kohn, Martha Kohn
State & Hill

A new professorship: giving voice to the voiceless

Apr 1, 2019
  “They lost their voices, they lost control of their lives, they lost their home,” Hal Kohn says of his grandparents. “They fled from Germany to Amsterdam, but Hitler invaded the Netherlands and they were deported to Sobibór and murdered...
Ford School
News

New U-M professorship to support social justice research, action

Dec 6, 2018
By Mandira Banerjee | Originally published by Michigan News, December 6, 2018  ANN ARBOR—A $2.5 million gift by the Kohn Charitable Trust to the University of Michigan will establish a new professorship of social justice and social policy at the...

Smart from the Start: Closing Early Opportunity Gaps with Strategic Early Learning Investments

Apr 9, 2025, 4:00-5:00 pm EDT
Walter and Leonore Annenberg Auditorium (Room 1120) Joan and Sanford Weill Hall
The Ford School's Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy, Christina Weiland, will deliver her Kohn lecture reflecting on her work on early childhood interventions and public policies on children’s development, especially on children from families with low incomes.
Headshot of Christina Weiland

Kohn Collaborative celebratory t-shirt pickup

Nov 3, 2021, All Day
Weill Hall
We've ordered special Kohn Collaborative t-shirts for the entire community! Please wear yours to Weill Hall on November 3rd to show your pride in the Ford School and your commitment to the public good.
Illustration of a maize shirt with the words "Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy... Social policy for the public good"

Lessons in using evidence to fight poverty

Nov 3, 2021, 4:00-5:00 pm EDT
Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium (Room 1120)
Luke Shaefer will tell the story of case studies in the use of data and evidence to address poverty, making the case that applied research should inform real change
Luke Shaefer

Social policy for the public good: Introducing the Kohn Collaborative

Nov 2, 2021, 12:00-12:15 pm EDT
Poverty expert Luke Shaefer and renowned sociologist Celeste Watkins-Hayes in conversation, describing the Ford School's new Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy and how the inclusion of marginalized populations in research and engagement creates powerful social policy change.
Watch live from this page
Luke Shaefer and Celeste Watkins-Hayes

Kohn Scholars

About the recognitionHarold L. and Carol K. Kohn and the Kohn Charitable Trust generously fund two Ford School Rackham Master's Awards, one of the Ford School's and the University of Michigan's highest honors. They are awarded to graduate students...