Pamela Herd is the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy and faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research Population Studies Center. Her research focuses on inequality and how it intersects with health, aging, and policy. She is als...
Pam Herd and Donald Moynihan have been recognized with the 2026 Riccucci-O'Leary Award for the best article on diversity in public management, conferred by the Public Management Research Association (PRMA).
After decades as a renowned poverty scholar at U-M and president of the Russell Sage Foundation, Sheldon Danziger, the Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, began his ‘third act’ last fall, taking the helm as p...
Administrative barriers are burdening the already disadvantaged Americans seeking life-saving benefits and aid, Ford School professor Pam Herd asserted in her Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy lecture.
New research from Pamela Herd, the Ford School's Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy, shows no negative relationship between community water fluoridation (CWF) and adolescent or adult cognitive function.
Ford School professor Pamela Herd comments on the current status of the MAHA movement after Trump signed an executive order promoting the production of glyphosate, a chemical that has long been one of the main targets of the MAHA movement
A recent evaluation led by University of Michigan professors Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan found that reducing administrative burdens by automating Medicaid renewals helps eligible beneficiaries remain in the program and increases Medicaid coverage fo...
Ford School Professor Pamela Herd addressed barriers to families accessing health benefits at a recent conference. Herd, the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy, was speaking a forum organized by the Tax Policy Center, a collaboration betwe...
EXPERTS ADVISORY University of Michigan experts are available to discuss the impact of a potential halt in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding due to the federal government shutdown. A directive from the U.S. Department of Agriculture h...
In August, Arnold Ventures awarded the Better Government Lab (BGL) an $800,000 grant to fund the completion of five studies that assess the causal effects of social policies meant to improve economic mobility in the United States. The project will be...
"It’s almost certainly going to be a huge problem. There’s already some evidence that people who know about these new work requirements don't realize it will apply to them, anecdotal evidence. 'Well, I'm not on Medicaid. I'm on BadgerCare or [HUSKY H...
That problem — becoming just successful enough to suddenly lose Medicaid — is common. It's called a benefit cliff, said Pamela Herd, who researches government aid at the University of Michigan. "It just doesn't make any sense that someone gets a doll...
The "Big Beautiful Bill" passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump will cause low-income Americans to lose health coverage and government food assistance, mostly because of new administrative burdens put in place. Ford School ...
As the U.S. Senate debates the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, University of Michigan experts are available to discuss elements of the proposed spending plan that stand to leave a mark on health, health care and public health.
Jasdeep Kler (MPP ‘26) has won the Ford School’s Ali Family Memorial Writing Prize for his work, “Michigan’s Re-entry Healthcare Waiver is a Start, Now it Needs Real Reform.” The student writing prize recognizes written work that researches, analyzes...
The U.S. House narrowly passed a bill early Thursday that would slash taxes and cut Medicaid, a health care program that provides comprehensive health care services to low income adults and children. It now heads to the Senate. While major changes ma...
As the Trump administration seeks to reclassify tens of thousands of civil service jobs into political appointments, Ford School professors Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan note assert that “politicization of public services generally worsens public-s...
If you ask Vincent Pinti (MPP/JD '27) why he entered the dual degree master’s of public policy and law program at the University of Michigan, he’ll tell you that he didn’t have a choice.
Dean Watkins-Hayes, at the Congressional Breakfast in DC, with Michigan in Washington undergraduates Ajay Morelli, Malinda Brunk, Rachel Ellisen, and Isaac Davis, and Riecker Fellow Hope Wang (MPP ’25).
In the first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump has unleashed a whirlwind of policy shifts that have sent ripples across the globe. The responses to his administration's actions have ranged from applause to skepticism. Ford School fa...
“I genuinely have never been this concerned about the ability of that agency [Social Security Administration] to function,” said Pamela Herd, professor at the Ford School, in an interview cited by FactCheck.org. “Yes, I think people are right to be w...
Eviction affects about 1 in 6 households in Michigan each year. Only 2% of tenants are represented by an attorney, placing the burden of understanding court processes and asserting legal rights on individual tenants. To brainstorm ways of tackling th...
Ford School professor Pamela Herd explained how Trump's agenda of using AI and making cuts to federal staff will damage Social Security. She said, “We’re talking about an agency that manages one-fifth of the federal budget—AI alone won’t cut it.” By ...
In a recent article from TIME Magazine, the Ford School's Pamela Herd was quoted as an expert on public policy as the network searched for an explanation on delayed Social Security benefits. Herd stated, "People are waiting for hours to get through o...
With Trump's plan to increase efficiency and cut government programs, Social Security is under fire. The Christian Science Monitor cited the Ford School's Pamela Herd as she argued “Social Security is a clear promise to Americans that if they pay int...
Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan, faculty at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and co-founders of the Better Government Lab, address this issue in a new article published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. They offer a compr...
Pam Herd, Ford School professor, talked about the Trump administration's strategies to cut the government work force, saying "It's the move fast and break things approach, without really thinking through the implications of a range of different choic...
A University of Michigan professor offers insights on the Trump administration’s plans to cut the Social Security Administration workforce. Pamela Herd is the Carol Kakalec Kohn professor of social policy at the Ford School of Public Policy and a fac...
Unspent money held in flexible spending accounts has cost Americans over 4 billion out of paychecks. The Ford School's Pam Herd shared her story with Money, which is a shared experience for many working families across the country. “If you guess way ...
