Ford School community | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Community building

At the Ford School, you're part of a close-knit community where your experiences, perspectives, and ideas matter. Each year, approximately 200 new students join classmates, faculty, staff, and alumni from a broad range of backgrounds and identities.

Through shared learning, thoughtful dialogue, and meaningful engagement, you can build relationships that enrich your Ford School experience—and continue long after graduation.

Here's what I know ... you are resilient.

Barbara Kingsolver, from Demon Copperhead

 

2026-27 Community Read 

The book 'Demon Copperhead' in the Ford School reading room

Community read

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

• Students: Pick up a copy of the book on the 5th floor of Weill Hall.

• Interested in bringing the book into a course, discussion or other programming? Download the reading companion (below) with prompts and ideas for engaging with the text.
Download the reading companion

Read with us. Reflect with us. Join the conversation.

Through the story of one young person’s life, the book invites us to consider urgent questions about poverty, opportunity, resilience, and the systems that shape people’s lives and futures.

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni will engage with Demon Copperhead through classroom activities, book discussions, and policy conversations connecting the novel’s themes to public policy, professional practice, and lived experience.
Ford School Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes smiles while reading a book (Demon Copperhead) in a library armchair.

Ford School Bridge Builders

Fostering conversations across differences and promoting constructive dialogue

Ford School student Bridge Builders lead workshops, conduct research, and facilitate conversations in and beyond the classroom. Through these programs, participants practice communicating across differences, engaging constructively with conflict, and working toward policy solutions. Together, these efforts support a culture of curiosity, respect, and constructive engagement in public policy.

Learn more about Bridge Builders' programs and resources, as well as opportunities to participate.

(Left to right) Bridge Builders Leah Adams, Adiah Bailey (MBA/MPP ‘28), Adriana Werdin (BA '26), Joshua Crook, Breah Marie Willy (BA '26) and Jadden Kirchoff (MPP ‘26) with Leadership Initiative Program Manager Claire Lowande.
(Left to right) Bridge Builders Leah Adams, Adiah Bailey (MBA/MPP ‘28), Adriana Werdin (BA '26), Joshua Crook, Breah Marie Willy (BA '26) and Jadden Kirchoff (MPP ‘26) with Leadership Initiative Program Manager Claire Lowande.

 

Contact

Questions about community-building initiatives or the Ford School Community Read? Email: [email protected]