News | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

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Federal funding supports critical education research at the University of Michigan

Mar 21, 2025

A new brief from the Ford School's Education Policy Initiative and Youth Policy Lab shows the impact of federally funded education research. The policy-relevant research is developed in partnership with local and state agencies, practitioners, and...

Photo of young children and their teachers in a classroom. By Yan Krukov

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Poverty Solutions report on Detroit home wealth lauded by Mayor Duggan

Mar 21, 2025

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan promoted a Poverty Solutions study which shows that Detroit homeowners’ home wealth rose by $700M in 2023. At a well-attended news conference in Detroit, Duggan highlighted that Detroit homeowner occupants gained nearly a...

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Weiland and Jacob: Lessons from Michigan for Washington’s early childhood programs

Mar 21, 2025

Research shows that high-quality preschool education has the power to positively impact a child’s growth and development, even far into adulthood. However, as costs increase and high demand creates long wait times, many children across the country...

Headshots of Brian Jacob and Christina Weiland

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Brian Jacob on thoughtful cell phone restrictions in schools

Mar 21, 2025

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s call for new cell phone restrictions in schools led Michigan legislators to reintroduce House Bill 4141. In a new opinion piece for Bridge Michigan, Ford School Professor Brian Jacob and Justin E Heinze, associate...

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Herd and Moynihan: A framework to reduce administrative burdens in the social safety net

Mar 20, 2025

Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan, faculty at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and co-founders of the Better Government Lab, address this issue in a new article published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. They offer a...

Headshots of Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan

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Top technology journalist and thinker Kara Swisher to join Ford School faculty for Fall 2025

Mar 14, 2025

Technology writer and podcaster Kara Swisher will join the Ford School for the Fall 2025 semester as a Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in...

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Ford School to host screening of Oscar nominated documentary SUGARCANE

Mar 13, 2025

The Ford School will host a special screening of Oscar-nominated documentary SUGARCANE at the Michigan Theatre on Monday, April 14, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie.SUGARCANE follows an investigation into the...

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Greetings from the Dean - The Briefing, March 2025

Mar 12, 2025

Dear friends, In a time of dynamic policy shifts, our commitment to preparing future public policy leaders remains steadfast. Last month, around 80 students traveled to our annual DC Careers Trip, engaging in valuable discussions and networking that...

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Johnson and Wang awarded 2025 Riecker Fellowship

Mar 12, 2025

Two second year master’s students, Hope Wang (MPP ‘25) and Julia Johnson (MPP ‘25), have been selected from a competitive pool of applicants for the Ford School’s prestigious 2025 Riecker Fellowship. They are spending the winter semester in...

Headshots of Julia Johnson and Hope Wang

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Lessons from the Big Ten Democracy Summit

Mar 12, 2025

In an effort to spark democratic engagement on college campuses, the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy co-hosted the Big Ten Democracy Summit in February. More than 150...

Liz Gerber at the BIG10 Democracy Summit

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Efficiency, success of Social Security threatened by planned layoffs, U-M expert says

Mar 11, 2025

A University of Michigan professor offers insights on the Trump administration’s plans to cut the Social Security Administration workforce.Pamela Herd is the Carol Kakalec Kohn professor of social policy at the Ford School of Public Policy and a...

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Lacking a playbook for dealing with economic decline, leaders of smaller cities opt for pragmatism, flexibility

Mar 10, 2025

The challenges facing big cities such as Detroit and Cleveland have been widely examined by experts over the decades, as each has dealt with the loss of population and major industries. Stephanie Leiser chronicled the situations in small- to...

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Wolfers weighs in on tariffs, uncertainty, and the stock market

Mar 9, 2025

Ford School professor and economist Justin Wolfers discussed the impacts of tariffs, uncertainty, and consumer sentiment on the US economy with several news outlets last week. Wolfers highlighted the response the stock market had to tariffs and what...

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DOGE Plan to Push AI Across the US Federal Government is Wildly Dangerous - Green

Mar 6, 2025

Ford School assistant professor (by courtesy) Ben Green, wrote an essay for Tech Policy on Elon Musk's new “AI-first strategy” for the federal government, and commented, "unleashing AI to revolutionize the federal government is a recipe for...

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Parthasarathy speaks at AAAS Annual meeting about Asilomar’s legacy

Feb 27, 2025

Shobita Parthasarathy spoke at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in a session titled, “Revisiting Asilomar Fifty Years Later: Who is in the room when we talk about AI?” While Asilomar is often praised for...

Professor Shobita Parthasarathy leads a discussion in the Betty Ford Classroom

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Hausman discusses eliminating fossil fuel subsidies

Feb 27, 2025

A bill has been proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives to eliminate or reduce many tax breaks and exemptions currently offered to fossil fuel companies, including oil, gas, and coal. The Ford School's Catherine Hausman was recently featured...

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Podcast: Hassan explores risks, responsibilities in development and implementation of AI

Feb 26, 2025

Challenges abound in the development, implementation and effects of artificial intelligence. Yet people still have the power to limit risks and even foster positive integration of AI—should they choose to shoulder that responsibility. Listen to the...

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Most Michigan law enforcement officials back some use of mental health workers, others in 911 response

Feb 26, 2025

Most of Michigan’s county sheriffs and local police chiefs support some type of alternative or hybrid approach for responding to 911 calls beyond traditional law enforcement officers.However, a majority of them believe it would be difficult to...

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The reality of DOGE's mediocre savings - Stevenson

Feb 25, 2025

The Ford School's Betsey Stevenson recently spoke with Bloomberg, highlighting the false assertions of government saving increases made by DOGE. DOGE claims it has saved the government around $55 billion in spending through a wave of federal firings...

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Rico comments on Trump policies' impact on immigrant communities

Feb 23, 2025

Center for Racial Justice Postdoctoral Fellow Kristina Fullerton Rico explores what she calls the dangerous implications of President Trump's deportation policy in an essay in The Conversation. Citing extensive social science research on U.S....

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DOGE's greatest threats to government productivity and civil service workers - Moynihan

Feb 22, 2025

The Ford School's Don Moynihan has written an article in The Atlantic examining DOGE and asserts it is a failure as an agency to promote efficiency in the government. Rather, Moynihan argues that DOGE and its actions are causing large disruptions in...

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U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin to deliver 2025 Ford School commencement address

Feb 21, 2025

The Ford School is honored to welcome U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) as the keynote speaker at the 2025 spring commencement for approximately 180 graduating BA, MPP, MPA, and PhD...

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Ford School joins Volcker Alliance to aid veterans in pursuing public service careers

Feb 21, 2025

The Ford School has been chosen as one of 12 distinguished public policy schools to participate in “Service to Service,” a national initiative that connects veterans and military families with education opportunities in public service. Spearheaded...

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‘Music is about people — it’s not about music’

Feb 21, 2025

‘Like a big gumbo pot’The way Branford Marsalis sees it, the world needs social activists and artists. Yet the Grammy-winning saxophonist said he has a hard time doing both.“Playing music is so hard — I don’t really have time for (activism),”...

An individual wearing a colorful sweater is speaking and gesturing, seated next to another person in a discussion at the Ford School of Public Policy.

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Wolfers counters Musk's claims about about Social Security beneficiaries

Feb 21, 2025

Elon Musk shared on social platform X, that almost 20 million people over age 100, with no death record, were receiving Social Security benefits. The Ford School's Justin Wolfers quickly jumped in to assert the falsehood in Musk's claims.Responding...

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Wolfers: The Department of Government Efficiency has yet to be "efficient"

Feb 20, 2025

Speaking with MSNBC discussing President Trump's first month in office, the Ford School's Justin Wolfers illustrates the shortcomings of Trump's policies and the DOGE agency. Since DOGE has promised to cut federal spending by trillions, Wolfers...

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Government suspicion, conspiratorial thinking linked to historical harm in 3 Michigan communities, U-M report finds

Feb 20, 2025

More than half of residents surveyed in three Michigan communities believe significant events occur without public knowledge—a sentiment of government suspicion closely tied to conspiratorial thinking, according to a University of Michigan policy...

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Atran on the future of Gaza, from Gazans

Feb 19, 2025

In a new article published in Foreign Affairs, Scott Atran and co-author Ángel Gómez shine a light on Gazans’ views, highlighting a complicated picture of postwar Gaza. Support for Hamas among Gazans has declined, however alternatives to the group’s...

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Musician Etienne Charles discusses culture and combatting climate change

Feb 14, 2025

Jazz musician Etienne Charles is combining his musicianship and passion about climate change and its impacts on vulnerable communities worldwide. Charles came to the Ford School January 17, 2025 and spoke with the Catherine Hausman, about the ways...

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Shaefer's Rx Kids program set to expand to the Upper Penninsula

Feb 14, 2025

Rx Kids, the nation’s first-ever citywide cash prescription program for pregnant women and babies, today announced the program’s launch into communities in the Eastern Upper Peninsula (UP). The UP expansion of Rx Kids is made possible by an...

Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room