history of public policy

The Ford School of Public Policy is happy to announce the Dean’s Symposium, which will take place April 11 and 12 at Weill Hall, with the theme, “Policy Innovation for Our Times.” The two days will feature keynote appearances by voting rights...

Although some may view reducing the harms of policing as a contemporary issue, David Thacher encourages modern reformers to consider the past in the Journal of Criminal Justice. Using original archival research, Thacher examined the use of summons...

Mo Torres returns to the Ford School (he graduated with his MPP in 2015) as one of six University of Michigan Society of Fellows for a three-year appointment. He will work closely with the Center for Racial Justice. Torres is a historical...

What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society?  How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe?  These were...

A fractured superpower  States have driven important federal policy changes around voting, civil and reproductive rights, environmental protections, and more. What happens when states take it upon themselves to experiment with energy, trade, and...

What is the best way to combat racism -- change policies or change hearts? That is the question Matthew Alemu (MPP '09, PhD) contends with in an essay for Bridge Detroit.  "Racism resides where society and policy have yet to tackle it directly,...

“Becky Blank put the Ford School on the map, literally. We – all of us who learn and teach and work here, and our alumni who are out there making communities better – WE are the house that Becky built.”  So began Ford School interim dean Celeste...

Ahead of the Michigan Republican Party’s endorsement convention this month, Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock has endorsed several candidates, an unusual move. Joe Schwarz, lecturer and former Michigan state senator, weighed in on the...

As the Russian military surrounded and began its assault on Ukraine, Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice, and Javed Ali, associate professor of practice, lent their expertise to numerous media outlets to break down the...

Looking back at the history of domestic terrorism in the U.S., Javed Ali, associate professor of practice, provided insight into the January 6 insurrection. "(In the past century,) there was just as much activity on the far-left spectrum as there...

Earl Lewis, Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor of History, Afroamerican and African Studies, and Public Policy, recently provided historical context for an MLive story.  “On plantations, African Americans would gather beyond a...

In a new essay published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jenna Bednar, professor of public policy and political science, compares the state of the U.S. democracy to the notions that existed when James Madison was writing the...

As the economy and world attempts to return to normal with the help of the COVID-19 vaccine, a new normal -- from social norms to remote work -- is emerging. Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics, recently spoke with Project...

The ongoing American debate about tax cuts for the rich has been raging since the 1980's. Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics, explained where the idea of supply-side, or "trickle-down" economics originated. "This was an...

On June 14, the Ford School welcomed its 40th cohort to its Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI)— a program designed to build diversity in public service. Formerly called the Sloan or Woodrow Wilson...

While President Biden has shown a lot of initiative for climate policy in the first months of his term, many scholars say something is missing: a carbon tax. Barry Rabe, the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, provided an...

Celeste Watkins-Hayes, the Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, relates what she has researched and written about the  HIV epidemic to the current COVID-19 pandemic in an interview on Michigan Radio, marking the 40th anniversary of...