Jenna Bednar | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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Jenna Bednar

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Jenna Bednar

Professor of Political Science and Public Policy
Bednar's research combines positive political theory and systems theory to analyze how institutions remain effective in complex environments. She has contributed to the scholarly inquiry of the design of federalism; theoretical and experimental work on cultural evolution and institutional performance; and applied realms such as campaign contributions, transboundary water systems, and environmental sustainability.
State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2026

May 7, 2026
Ford School experts are publishing research, sharing their knowledge, and getting recognized.
State & Hill

Spotlights, spring 2026

May 7, 2026
Over spring break, annual policy study trips took undergrads to Brussels for the BA Global Engagement Seminar (above) and graduate students to Colombia for the International Policy in Practice seminar (below).
State & Hill

Faculty news, fall 2025

Dec 8, 2025
Ford School experts are publishing research, sharing their knowledge, and getting recognized.
News

U-M’s U.S. at 250 program launches grant initiative

Oct 23, 2025
July 4, 2026, will mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. democracy. To mark this milestone, the Initiative for Democracy and Civic Engagement, the William L. Clements Library, and the Arts Initiative have joined forces to create U-M’s U.S. at 250 progra...
News

Year of Democracy creates blueprint for campus engagement

Aug 27, 2025
The University of Michigan is wrapping the Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment, and Global Engagement, a campuswide initiative to strengthen democratic practices and encourage active civic participation. But its work isn’t slowing.
In the Media

Bednar: Musk's third party unlikely to rival established parties

Jul 7, 2025 The Times of India
Jenna Bednar, a political scientist at the University of Michigan, echoed these concerns in an interview with The TimesofIndia.com: "“In the United States' electoral system, third parties face nearly insurmountable organizational, institutional, and ...
State & Hill

Lessons from the Big Ten Democracy Summit

May 7, 2025
In an effort to spark democratic engagement on college campuses, the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy co-hosted the Big Ten Democracy Summit in February. More than 150 stud...
News

Faculty-led democracy projects receive presidential awards

Apr 18, 2025
Five faculty-led research projects from across the University of Michigan have received Presidential Awards for Understanding Democracy to enhance understanding of democracy’s operation and promise. The awards are part of the universitywide Year of D...
News

Bridge Builders honored for democracy research

Apr 16, 2025
A group of Ford School graduate students were recognized for their research on furthering constructive dialogue as part of the Year of Democracy's three-day symposium to investigate the relationship between information and democracy.
News

Bipartisan panel advocates for civic discourse and humility

Mar 23, 2025
“Civility is the bedrock of our free and democratic society,” Tonya Schuitmaker, a former Republican member of the Michigan Senate, told the recent panel on Promoting Civic Discourse - Democratic and Republican politicians on bridging the political d...
In the Media

Bednar says Michigan politics reflect national trends

Feb 18, 2025 Michigan Advance
Michigan Advance has observed ways in which political trends and ideologies of Michiganders are representative of the broader national population. “It’s not just that we’re a swing state, but we’re kind of a microcosm of the country and our politics ...
State & Hill

Reactions: 2024 elections

Dec 17, 2024
In the days following the 2024 elections, we sought insights from Ford School faculty members: How did we arrive at this point? And where do we go from here? Jenna Bednar, professor of political science and public policy: “The election raised the sig...
News

The Self-Defense of American Democracy - Bednar

Nov 5, 2024
Ford School professor Jenna Bednar coauthored a commentary in Foreign Affairs with Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar about the guardrails and protections against "tyranny from the top" inherent in American elections because of our federal system.  Bednar wr...
In the Media

Bednar on the impacts of swing states in the 2024 presidential election

Oct 28, 2024 Associated Press
Ford School's Jenna Bednar spoke with The Associated Press on the influence Michigan has as a swing state in the upcoming elections. Bednar claimed, "We are truly a 50/50 state and it's 50/50 in terms of Democrats and Republicans but then even within...
News

Using the arts and 'awe' to guide public policy

Oct 18, 2024
In a new pairing between the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy and U-M Museum of Art, students are learning how to develop human-centered experiences to guide public policy. This approach takes a step back from a traditional emphasi...
News

The Student Vote

Oct 9, 2024
The UMich Votes coalition is aiming to increase voter registration and turnout among students on campus University of Michigan students are continually breaking voter registration and turnout records. Some 78 percent of U-M students on the Ann Arbor ...
News

Jonathan Van Ness Gets Curious About Voting

Oct 8, 2024
In 2004, Jonathan Van Ness was too young to vote, and “too busy watching the Golden Girls and missing class” to learn much about the presidential election. Now, they are engaging, and came to the University of Michigan to lead a conversation on the i...