Tamar Mitts and Robert Axelrod participated in a trilateral workshop on the roots and trajectories of violent extremism. Mitts spoke about the radicalization of Islamic State supporters on social media; Axelrod about the strengths and weaknesses of...
Voter turnout is abysmally poor," says Joe Schwarz, a Ford School lecturer and former U.S. Congressional representative (R-MI-7). "In general elections, you're lucky to get 50 to 60 percent of eligible voters—that just shows an embarrassing level of...
Overall, the fiscal health of Michigan's local governments appears to have improved slightly since last year, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers.
Across the state, 35 percent of the local government leaders surveyed...
The Ford School has a long history of emphasizing engaged learning. Many of the big-ticket experiences, like the Integrated Policy Exercise (IPE), Applied Policy Seminar (APS) now called Strategic Public Policy Consulting (SPPC), International...
Over a quarter of local officials from Michigan jurisdictions that provide shared water infrastructure believe funding levels are not sufficient to maintain those systems, according to the latest Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), "Local...
Findings from the most recent Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), published by the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), reveal broad concern by local leaders and administrators over property tax appeals.
The survey...
Michigan Radio’s Cynthia Canty interviews Tom Ivacko (MPP ’93), CLOSUP program administrator, for the segment “Declining fiscal health “an early warning sign” for local governments, report says.”
The program focuses on CLOSUP's latest Michigan...
Last week, Brian Jacob, Susan Dynarski and two colleagues from Michigan State released a new paper, "Are expectations alone enough? Estimating the effect of a mandatory college-prep curriculum in Michigan." The paper examines the effect of the 2006...
A majority of Americans (54 percent) want their state to submit an implementation plan to comply with the Clean Power Plan, according to CLOSUP’s latest survey. Another 22 percent would prefer their state not submit a plan and instead allow the...
ANN ARBOR—Health care benefits for retirees of Michigan's local governmental units are presenting significant fiscal challenges, and more than half of local officials surveyed indicate they are concerned they won't be able to fulfill their...
ANN ARBOR—About two-thirds of local governments in Michigan rate the levels of fiscal stress as relatively low in their jurisdictions today, while just 7 percent rate the stress as high.
While the latter percentage is low, the figure represents...
CLOSUP, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, is ready to bring real-world data to the classroom in a big way.
Through a recently awarded Quick Wins/Discovery grant, part of the University of Michigan's Third Century Initiative,...
ANN ARBOR—For the first time since 2012, fewer than half of Michigan's local leaders believe the state is headed in the right direction—chief culprits include road funding fumbles, state tax policies and general dysfunction in Lansing, according to...
That old trope about states serving as "laboratories of democracy" has become much more real for me this summer. I am working as a research intern in the energy program at the National Conference of State Legislatures—a national, bipartisan NGO that...
A recent CLOSUP report presenting the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on the state of roads was cited by the Associated Press, Detroit Free Press, and other media outlets.
Most of the media coverage focused on the fact that while 79...
2015 is shaping up to be a decisive year for U.S. energy and climate policy, according to a recent Christian Science Monitor article, “What are Republicans going to do about climate change.” While the 2016 presidential election is still nearly two...
For the first time in six years, more Michigan communities report that they are better able to meet their fiscal needs this year than those who say they are less able to do...
A July 21 report released by Barry Rabe, director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), and collaborators at the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, "Public Views on a Carbon Tax Depend on the Proposed Use of...
Ford School Professor Barry Rabe was cited in Howard Gleckman's June 2 Forbes article "Could EPA's New Greenhouse Gas Rule Open the Door to a New State-based Gas Tax?" "The proposed EPA rules, which Brookings senior fellow Barry Rabe describes as...
The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) hosted the four declared candidates in Ann Arbor's mayoral race on Wednesday, April 16. The forum focused on the future of public transportation and prospects for economic development of Ann...
Barry Rabe on the future of CLOSUP
A six-inch bobblehead of Ron Swanson, director of a fictitious Midwestern parks department in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, dominates the meeting table in Barry Rabe's office. The bobblehead is something...
RTA Board representative Elisabeth R. Gerber sees the possibilities transit can offer for Southeast Michigan-and for the region's hardest hit city
Getting from Detroit to Ann Arbor is a trip in more ways than one. The two cities are 43 miles...
Over the past year, significant new research and post-doctoral training grants added to the already active slate of education policy initiatives underway at the Ford School.
In May, Susan M. Dynarski and Brian A. Jacob received a $250,000 grant...
Sales tax holidays for certain goods lead to significantly higher sales on the goods, but also substantially reduce tax collection revenue.
The findings appear in a new report by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, which is in the...
The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy published a new research brief called “Economic Revitalization through College Scholarships: The Kalamazoo Promise and Similar Programs.” This brief provides an overview of programs developed to spur...
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Professor Brian Jacob will be presented the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize in November for his contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management.Jacob, the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of...
Brian Jacob, director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, and researchers from the University of Maryland investigated the correlation between gun shows and gun-related deaths. Their research showed no evidence that gun shows lead to...
Joan and Sanford Weill Hall
Annenberg Auditorium (1120)
The Honorable Lori Lightfoot, 56th mayor of Chicago, reflects on her background and preparation for public service, the challenges she faced as mayor, and lessons about leading in crises, in conversation with Ford School Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes.
Watch live from this page
University of Michigan Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium
Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium
(Room 1120)
The Ford School will welcome Montgomery, AL, Mayor Steven Reed to Weill Hall for an event on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Women make up over 50% of the state’s population, but just 16% of Michigan’s local chief administrative officers. The Michigan Municipal League’s 16/50 Project is transforming this leadership gap – getting more women seated in the municipal top spot in Michigan communities.
