During the Winter Term 2023, Ford School students were involved in projects with federal, state, county, city, and township governments, school districts, non-profit organizations, and commissions. They worked with the school’s numerous research...
With the guidance and support of the Ford School’s research centers, graduate and undergraduate students are creating a real-life impact in a range of areas by working with external partners. The Ford School is deeply integrated with a wide range of...
A new law that gives the state's 32 ports tools to expand and grow the maritime economy started out as a community project for a handful of University of Michigan students.
U-M students first worked with the Port of Monroe in 2012 and over the...
How does a president decide what to put into the annual State of the Union (SOTU) address? Which priorities should be first? How partisan or bipartisan can it be? How many applause lines could they seek? And would they ever admit that the state of...
In the aftermath of the first election that used newly-drawn districts in Michigan, created by an independent citizen’s commission, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy and the Program in Practical Policy Engagement hosted a Policy Talk to...
The results of the 2022 elections in Michigan were marked by a narrow Democratic sweep of all the major statewide offices and both houses of the state legislature. The election is also notable for its use of new districts that were drawn for the...
“Here's a truth that bears repeating, ‘Budgets are moral documents.'” So began the presentation of Alex Perez-Garcia (MPP, MBA ‘24) to the 5th annual Ford School Policy Pitch Competition, as she described her summer internship in the Office of...
By Rebecca Cohen (MPP '09)
An essential ingredient to developing good policy is understanding what people want and need, and how they experience their lives," says Elisabeth Gerber, Jack L. Walker, Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and...
Nick Occhipinti (MPP ‘08) describes himself as “your friendly neighborhood lobbyist” — but, his job entails so much more than that.
“When I win, nobody makes any more money, nobody gets a raise, but Michigan’s air, land and water get a little...
While still operating in a mostly-virtual, hybrid academic world, Ford School students were able to learn and serve during the Spring Term through the Program in Practical Policy Engagement (P3E) and its Practical Community Learning Projects (PCLP)....
Kalena Thomhave (MPP ‘21) and Eli Gold (MPP/MS ‘21) spent much of last year working on research relevant to their academic interests—she on access to TANF cash benefits and he on utility affordability—as would be expected of any final-year MPP...
When people are released from incarceration, referred to as ”returning citizens,” one of the barriers they often encounter is gaining access to a state-issued ID card, which then would make it easier for them to get jobs, state benefits, housing, or...
Ford School students again went beyond the classroom, even though just virtually, to engage with communities across Michigan and the U.S. The graduate and undergraduate students took part in eight projects around racial justice, economic...
The Ford School marked Black History Month by lifting up Black voices with a series of discussions about identifying inequities in society and seeking policy solutions to address them. Research centers, student groups, faculty, staff, and alumni all...
Ford School students engaged in real problem-solving in the fall 2020 semester, tackling some of the most important issues facing Michigan. The undergraduate and graduate students participated in research and analysis projects as a part of the...
Financial inclusion and inequity were focuses of the third annual pitch competition, at which 12 Ford School BA and Masters students presented about their summer internship experiences. Those experiences were online in 2020 because of the COVID-19...
Crain’s Detroit Business recently published an article that highlights a report prepared by Ford School students. The students found that stringent policies and enforcement by the CBP office in Detroit-–compared with the office in Chicago, which...
Philip Power, class of 1960, served on the University of Michigan Board of Regents from 1987 to 1999. Power, his parents, and his wife Kathy have supported the U-M Museum of Art, U-M Student Publications, the University Musical Society and the...
Faculty from the Ford School and around the University joined an expert roundtable with Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) on Wednesday. Sen. Peters called on faculty to provide insight into some of the rapidly-moving emerging technologies that intersect...
Dear friends:Greetings from beautiful springtime Ann Arbor! We’re feeling tremendous pride and excitement in our newest alumni (view videos from a beautiful Commencement Ceremony here), our growing faculty, and in our school’s momentum and bright...
A new program at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy will encourage partnerships between U-M faculty and students and people and organizations outside the university who are actively working on—and have the capacity...
A key Ford School priority is to engage more and better with external organizations and communities, leveraging Ford’s capacity and expertise, interdisciplinary approaches, and ability to assemble a network of policy-engaged university faculty....
Susan Dynarski was interviewed by Cynthia Canty of Michigan Radio’s “Stateside” program for the recent on-air segment: “Australia, England offer clues on how to fix America’s student loan mess.”
“We don’t have much of a safety net in our...
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...
Carolyn Barnes will discuss her book, “State of Empowerment: Low-income Families and the New Welfare State,” exploring how government-funded after-school programs can enhance the civic and political lives of low-income citizens.
Watch live from this page
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling Health Policy Fund
Join P3E and U-M Librarians Paul J. Barrow and Alexandra Rivera for a workshop to examine the funding landscape, investigate what funders are looking for, and survey tools and resources that organizations can leverage in this COVID-19 environment.
Join us for a discussion with Menachem Hojda, LMSW, a licensed clinical social worker at the Oakland Community Health Network, where he provides training about issues like the Michigan Mental Health Code, suicide, trauma and resilience, employment, and criminal justice to help build a more compassionate and understanding community.
