Tools to impact and influence others
“Leadership doesn’t come by title. You don’t have to be the head of an organization to have an impact.
Morela Hernandez, Ligia Ramirez de Reynolds Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and faculty director...
The Leadership Initiative hosts workshops and partners with units across campus on a variety of programs that take place outside of the classroom. Students gain insights from faculty, alumni, and each other, and have space to practice communicating...
All Ford School master's students have the opportunity to work with a certified executive leadership coach—a growth activity that is typically reserved for senior leaders and executives much further along in their careers.
For Master of Public...
The Ford School's Leadership Initiative develops and offers a growing suite of graduate and undergraduate student leadership courses, coaching, and extracurricular programs that build on and complement the school's excellent, rigorous curriculum....
This spring, the Ford School’s Leadership Initiative tapped into in-house talent to host a series of communication workshops. Former reporter and current MPA student Caroline Sweeney (MPA ‘23) led a workshop series to help her colleagues better...
Two Ford School students—Flor Azul Lorenzo (MPP ‘24) and Alejandro Villafuerte (MPA/MSW ‘23)—braved a chilly spring break in northern Michigan to build leadership skills at M-LEAD’s LeaderShape Institute. The scenic, community-driven Camp Michigania...
Many high-achieving employees describe feelings of self-doubt and not being intellectually capable to do their jobs. These feelings can be classified as “imposter syndrome” and it is a persistent issue among career women. A KPMG survey of 750 female...
Passing the baton
A June gathering with faculty and staff celebrating Michael Barr’s first term as dean—and this photo with then-associate dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes—took on new meaning a couple of weeks later when the U.S. Senate confirmed Barr...
In 2021, after an initial pilot test, the Ford School became the first policy school to offer all Master of Public Policy students the opportunity to work with a certified executive leadership coach during their required summer internship. In...
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...
The longer decisions take, the more discomfort they cause us. But in a new article in the MIT Sloan Management Review, Ford School professor Morela Hernandez argues that the more we sit in that discomfort or ambivalence, the better.
“Being...
The Ford School and Jennifer Niggemeier, associate director of the school’s Leadership Initiative, were awarded third prize in the Voinovich Public Innovation Challenge at the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA)...
This fall, the Ford School’s Leadership Initiative is launching a new program for graduate students to learn about different pathways to leadership from Ford School faculty in an intimate, informal setting.
Professor Morela Hernandez, director...
Morela Hernandez, Ligia Ramirez de Reynolds Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and Faculty Director of the Leadership Initiative, has been named to the editorial advisory board of the MIT Sloan Management Review. The review's mission is to "seek...
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...
At the 2022 Mackinac Policy Conference, Morela Hernandez, Ligia Ramirez de Reynolds Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and faculty director of the Ford School’s Leadership Initiative, addressed the polarization that seems to be permeating every...
What does U.S. gymnast Simone Biles’s decision to withdraw from the Olympics, J.C. Penny hiring Ellen DeGeneres, and recent vaccine mandates by some organizations have in common? The general public largely either lauded or chastised these decisions,...
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,...
On September 23, the University of Michigan Board of Regents approved the appointment of Ford School professor Morela Hernandez as the newly established Ligia Ramirez de Reynolds Collegiate Professor of Public Policy for a five-year renewable term....
Ford School Dean Michael S. Barr and Professor Morela Hernandez, faculty director of the Leadership Initiative, reflected on the attributes and importance of good leadership as an essential asset for public policy practitioners during a summer...
What role can those who study management play to address systems of inequality? How should the professional community consider the ways in which organizations are designed or evolve to advantage some groups over others?
University of Michigan...
Ford School professor Morela Hernandez has been shortlisted for the Thinkers50 (T50) Distinguished Achievement Awards, one of eight people highlighted from around the world for their work around leadership. Hernandez is the faculty director of the...
With a $750,000 grant from the Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation, the Ford School will grow its innovative Leadership Initiative.
Launched as a pilot in the 2019-2020 academic year, the Ford School’s Leadership Initiative offers...
Earlier today, the University of Michigan Regents approved the appointment of Morela Hernandez as professor of public policy with tenure at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, effective August 31, 2021. She will also hold a collegiate chair...
By Rebecca Cohen (MPP ‘09)
There are more than 3 trillion Google search results for “leadership.” Articles about the “7 leadership mistakes you’re probably making” and “Why You Can’t Teach Leadership” and “11 leadership characteristics”...
With a generous gift from the Meijer Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy will expand programming that helps students develop leadership skills needed for outstanding public service.
“Hank Meijer and the Meijer Foundation are...
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.
Students of Color in Public Policy (SCPP) is proud to host Dr. Morela Hernandez to guide students through a conversation and interactive exercise on leadership for women of color in public policy. This conversation will focus on negotiating salary and leveraging your network for career advancement.
Coach John Beilein, in conversation with professor Paula Lantz, on the importance of teams and leadership: how we can building teams, what makes for an effective team, dealing with conflict within a team, and more.
