alumni stories

Christina Cross (PhD ‘19) says in NYT op-ed that resource accessibility is the root cause of educational disparities

Dec 13, 2019

In an attempt to prevent educational disparities attributed to the effects of single-parent households, millions of federal and state dollars are poured into marriage promotion initiatives. But in a December 9 New York Times op-ed, sociologist...

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Majoring in making a difference: Marking 10 years since our first BAs graduated

Nov 8, 2019

That first cohort of 58 graduates has been out in the world for a decade now. The degree has led them to a diverse array of careers–on Capitol Hill, in classrooms, at hospitals, at nonprofits, and at law firms. In 2009, the first group of...

BA class of 2009 group photo in front of Rackham

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The Last Word: Goldberg and Swedish make the case for alumni giving

Oct 15, 2019

The Ford School recently announced a new way for alumni and others to give back: the Ford School Fund for Student Support. As we aim for more alumni donors over the next year—with gifts of any size—State & Hill caught up with Naomi Goldberg (MPP...

News

Paul Weech (MPP ’81) to receive 2019 Neil Staebler Distinguished Service Award

Oct 1, 2019

The Ford School Alumni Board is pleased to announce Paul Weech (MPP ‘81) as the recipient of the 2019 Neil Staebler Distinguished Service Award. Weech currently serves as senior principal at Affordable Housing Institute and principal at...

News

Seefeldt joins Poverty Solutions as new associate faculty director

Aug 20, 2019

In some ways, Kristin Seefeldt’s (MPP '96, PhD '10) career will come full circle this fall as she takes on a new role as associate director for educational programs at the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions. Seefeldt served as assistant...

News

Remaking Detroit’s Riverfront as a place for everyone is ‘dream job’ for alum Mark Wallace

Jun 12, 2019

Looking out over the Detroit River from Mark Wallace’s (MPP '04) 17th floor Renaissance Center office can be a little overwhelming. As you take in the scene from high above all that blue water stretched out on all sides, it’s easy to be awed. The...

News

MPA alum part of winning team to reimagine Detroit’s Arts and Cultural District

Jun 12, 2019

Cézanne Charles (MPA ’15) joined forces with three U-M faculty members as part of a team to develop a new plan that will unite 12 cultural and educational institutions in Midtown Detroit. Charles is the co-director of rootoftwo, a hybrid design...

Two MPP alumni named 2019 Victory Empowerment Fellows

May 31, 2019

On May 23, 2019, Victory Institute announced this year’s Victory Empowerment Fellows, naming two Ford School alumni, Brenda Duverce (MPP ‘16) and Preston Parish (MPP ‘18). Victory Empowerment is a national organization that strives to promote openly...

Joshua Rivera testifies before U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee

May 3, 2019

On May 1, 2019, Joshua Rivera (MPP ’17), a researcher with U-M’s Poverty Solutions, testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. The hearing, titled “Examining Discrimination in the...

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Catch up on classmates with "Class Notes" from the Winter 2019 edition of State & Hill

Apr 12, 2019

Alan Miller (MPP/JD ’74) spent February at the Rockefeller Bellagio Center in Italy, a wonderful experience with eleven other residents from all over the world. He is writing a memoir about his experiences working on protecting the ozone layer and...

Ford School alum Ryan Etzcorn talks about his Fulbright experience

Feb 21, 2019

For the 14th straight year, the University of Michigan tops the list of public university recipients of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. Awarded according to the applicants academic merit and leadership potential, the scholarships fund the...

William G. Rich says U.S. sanctions on Iran should have banks investing in cybersecurity

Nov 7, 2018

With the imminent threat of re-imposing sanctions on Iran, Ford School alumnus William G. Rich (MPP '09) says U.S. banks should buckle down on security—cybersecurity, that is. In his October 25, 2018, op-ed for Bloomberg, Rich details the danger...

Steve Tobocman makes an economic—and heartfelt—case for immigration

Oct 19, 2018

Ford school alum and former Michigan Representative Steve Tobocman (MPP/JD ’97) penned an opinion piece for Bridge titled “Would my grandfather be allowed into the U.S. today, would yours?,” going into his personal and professional reasons to reject...

MPP alum named Health Policy Research Scholar

Oct 15, 2018

Demar Lewis (MPP ’16), a member of the Ford School’s Alumni Board, was named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar (HPRS). This prestigious program supports second-year doctoral students across disciplines who have an...

Ford School Alum Patrick Anderson reflects on his experience as 9/11 survivor

Oct 3, 2018

On the morning of September 11, 2001 Patrick Anderson (MPP '83) fled Ground Zero as the second plane flew “directly over his head” prior to striking the South Tower, eventually finding comfort in the arms of a stranger – Emily Maroney, a local New...

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Catch up on classmates with "Class Notes" from the Spring 2018 edition of State & Hill

May 21, 2018

Ari and Rachel Parritz Robert F. Goeckel (MPP ’74) is the author of Soviet Religious Policy in Estonia and Latvia: Playing Harmony in the Singing Revolution, Indiana University Press, 2018. He is professor of political...

Judith Arnold (MPP ‘83) honored for lifetime dedication to universal healthcare

Feb 23, 2018

On an oddly mild winter day in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Judith Arnold (MPP ‘83) stood beside the podium at the front of Paula Lantz’s Ford School course on social disparities in health. There, the school presented Arnold with the Neil Staebler Award for...

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Catch up with your classmates with "Class Notes" from the fall 2017 edition of State & Hill

Dec 27, 2017

Frank R. Spence (MPA '60) was recently elected president of the Astoria, OR Port Commission. Frank received the 2004 Neil Staebler Award for Distinguished Public Service and has served on the U-M and Ford School Alumni Boards. Alan Miller (MPP...

Kary Moss and Mark Wallace (MPP ’04) named Detroit News Michiganians of the Year

Sep 21, 2017

This month, The Detroit News honors Kary L. Moss, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan and a visiting lecturer at the Ford School, and Ford School alum Mark Wallace (MPP ’04), executive director of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, as...

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Catch up on classmates with "Class Notes" from the Spring 2017 edition of State & Hill

May 23, 2017

BART EDES (MPP '87) is excited to report that he now oversees knowledge management at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In this role, he guides ADB's efforts "to transform the way in which we create, collect, store, access, share, and apply what we...

News

Seefeldt on Making Sen$e: Fix social safety net—don’t shame those who need it

Feb 6, 2017

Kristin Seefeldt’s (MPP '96, PhD '10) recent op-ed, featured in Making Sen$e on February 2, highlights the need to “fix the social safety need, not shame those who need it.” Seefeldt notes that “the [social] safety net is perpetually under...

Alumni field report, Komal Aggarwal (MPP ’13) @ Energy Future Holdings

Dec 21, 2016

Komal Aggarwal (MPP ’13) offers this alumni field report from her position as lead analyst at Energy Future Holdings in Dallas, Texas.As lead risk management analyst for Energy Future Holdings—a Dallas-based privately held energy company—I analyze...

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Hacking for global health: Tackling wicked problems, like avian influenza, with creativity

Dec 17, 2016

Chiang Mai wasn't Annie Maxwell's (MPP '02) first introduction to the EpiHack. As president of the Skoll Global Threats Fund, which pioneered the "epidemiology hackathon" in 2013, Maxwell had heard a good deal about them. They were multi-day events...

Seefeldt pens op-ed for Newsweek: “Meet the real ‘left behind’ voters: Black women”

Dec 13, 2016

Kristin Seefeldt's (MPP '96, PhD '10) December 9 op-ed, published by Newsweek, describes "the real ‘left behind’ voters: black women.” After the 2016 election, Seefeldt says, common wisdom among pundits was that Donald Trump won because of the...

News

Kristin Seefeldt interviewed by Lakeshore Public Media's “Regionally Speaking”

Dec 7, 2016

Kristin Seefeldt (MPP '96, PhD '10) recently spoke with Lakeshore Public Media’s "Regionally Speaking" for a podcast about research from her forthcoming book, “Abandoned Families: Social Isolation in the twenty-first century.” Seefeldt’s research...

Ruth Browne (MPP/MPH '83) to serve as CEO of Ronald McDonald House New York

Aug 18, 2016

The Ford School congratulates alum and 2015 Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence Dr. Ruth C. Browne (MPP/MPH '83) on her new job.In an August 16, 2016 press release, Browne was announced as president and chief executive officer of the Ronald...

New book, "Abandoned families: Social isolation in the 21st century," by K. Seefeldt

Aug 5, 2016

Kristin Seefeldt’s new book, Abandoned families: Social isolation in the 21st century, is set to release on December 25, 2016. Published by the Russell Sage Foundation, the book is described as “a timely, on-the-ground assessment of hardship in...

News

Inaugural Detroit Data Fellow will assist Motor City police with real-time data analysis

Jul 11, 2016

University of Michigan alum Reid Wilson was selected as the first Detroit Data Fellow and will spend the next two years analyzing Detroit Police Department data to help understand crime patterns in real time. Wilson, who earned a master's...

Rachel Potter wins APSA award for best doctoral dissertation in American government

Jun 1, 2016

The American Political Science Association has recognized Rachel A. Potter (PhD ‘14) with the E. E. Schattschneider award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of American government. Her dissertation, “Writing the rules of the game: The...

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IPAers, IPPSters, and Fordies: Catch up with fellow alums via spring 2016 "Class Notes"

May 4, 2016

Peter F. Lydens (MPA ’58) provides pro bono management consulting services to the city of Mount Airy, NC. He was Mount Airy’s first city manager (1961–63), and retired there in 2007. Frank Spence (MPA ’60) was appointed planning commissioner for...

Photo of Andrew Bracken and Jimmy Schneidewind