The University of Michigan used the 2021-2022 academic year to evaluate DEI 1.0, identifying what has worked, what can be improved, and what remains unaddressed. Findings from the evaluation year, along with input and engagement from the community,...
A five-year plan, launched in October 2016
In October 2016, the Ford School released a five-year strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion that builds on the school’s long-standing strength and commitment in this area. Developed through...
Our commitment
Our commitment to the public good is inseparable from our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We value community, integrity, respect, service, inclusion, diversity, and equity. We aspire for our work to be excellent,...
The University of Michigan is currently in an interim period between its strategic plans for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with the next plan set to launch in early fall 2023. The Ford School community did not pause, however, and is hard...
In an event on December 5, 2022, Ford School interim dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes told a group of Capitol Hill staffers and other DC professionals that a public policy education can lead to community impact.
“I'm a firm believer in the idea that...
In October 2022, students from the Ford School and members of the greater University of Michigan community gathered together to hear “Racial Justice Changemakers”—social justice leaders, artists, and advocates—share their diverse journeys into...
A new massive open online course available on Michigan Online will help STEM and policy professionals, community organizers, and students understand how injustices can become embedded in technology and associated policies. “Justice and Equity in...
Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes, DEI Officer Stephanie Sanders, and Associate DEI Officer Dominique Adams-Santos provide an update on how the Ford School is examining, learning, and connecting with our community to further Diversity, Equity, and...
The Ford School’s Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes Atinuke (Tinu) Adediran, Makeda Easter, and Julian Brave NoiseCat as inaugural Visiting Fellows for the 2022-23 academic year.
The visiting fellows program recognizes and supports the...
In corporate boardrooms, women often face backlash or negative career consequences when they are unable to display both warmth and competence — gendered societal expectations commonly referred to as the ‘double bind.’ Morela Hernandez, the Ligia...
Diversity, equity, and inclusion work continues at the Ford School
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of the Ford School. They’re inseparable from our pursuit of the public good. They’re essential to the character of the...
Updates regarding faculty, staff, and student DEI-related activity at the Ford School
Diversifying who we are
The Undergraduate Students of Color in Public Policy (SCPP) hosted an undergraduate application preparation and panel discussion....
The Ford School and its research centers will be hosting a variety of events during February, Black History Month, examining a range of topics concerning the struggles for racial equity.
The Center for Racial Justice, Weiser Diplomacy Center and...
Updates regarding faculty, staff, and student DEI-related activity at the Ford School
Diversifying who we are
The undergraduate organization, Students of Color in Public Policy (SCPP), hosted an undergraduate application preparation and...
Three Ford School undergraduates have been recognized with Central Campus Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Awards, noting their exemplification of Dr. King’s leadership and vision. The students, Janani Gandhi (BA ‘22), Ayodele Ojo (BA ‘23),...
In a lengthy interview for Essence, Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence and Hope Credit Union CEO Bill Bynum spoke about his partnership with Netflix to highlight banking discrimination in a 3-part limited series called Banking On...
By Olivia Bradish (BA ‘23)
From childhood, sociologist and new associate dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes was interested in social justice. She says she is "grounded in an upbringing where she was acutely aware of the consequences of inequality and the...
By Olivia Bradish (BA ‘23)
Armed with her BA from Rice University, Morela Hernandez entered the corporate finance world. In a setting where nobody looked like her, she pondered a question that was both practical and intellectual: as she puts it,...
Updates regarding faculty, staff, and student DEI-related activity at the Ford School
Diversifying what and how we teach
During the November faculty meeting, public policy lecturer Attia Qureshi presented on managing challenges in the...
Updates regarding faculty, staff, and student DEI-related activity at the Ford School
Diversifying who we are
Students connected one-on-one with the Ford School of Public Policy and 50 of the top public policy and international affairs...
Updates regarding faculty, staff, and student DEI-related activity at the Ford School
Diversifying who we are
This fall, the Ford School welcomed several new faculty with expertise in education and social policy, national security, and...
The University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy is launching a new Center for Racial Justice designed to expand knowledge about the complex intersections between race and public policy and create a community of leaders, scholars and students...
By David Pratt
Paula Lantz completes remarkable term as associate dean
Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Curricular overhaul and creation of a new master’s program. A leadership initiative. Helping students, faculty, and staff through a...
This spring, the Ford School finishes the implementation of our 5-year strategic plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), launched in 2016 in concert with a University-wide set of coordinated DEI plans. This summer we will develop strategic...
Updates regarding faculty, staff, and student DEI-related activity at the Ford School
Diversifying what and how we teach
The Ford School launched a new predoctoral program — in partnership with a consortium of leading policy schools — that...
In his Blevity op-ed, PhD candidate Matthew Alemu wrote about two concerns that turn Vice President Kamala Harris' election as "the first" into a curse.
"First, Harris must perform well because more is at stake....[If she performs poorly] her...
Eight new University of Michigan faculty positions have been selected for funding in the first round of hires that will be a part of the Anti-Racism Faculty Hiring Initiative.
One of those new hires will be at the Ford School, with a focus on...
Pilot pre-doctoral program prepares policy school graduates to pursue academic careers, broadening and diversifying pipeline for future faculty
The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy is launching a new pre-doctoral research program — in...
Updates regarding faculty, staff, and student DEI-related activity at the Ford School
Diversifying what and how we teach
Morela Hernandez adds leadership and diversity expertise to Ford School faculty. The University of Michigan Regents...
On February 25, Shobita Parthasarathy testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies. The hearing included four invited experts to speak about energy and climate innovation issues....
