Sarah Mills

State & Hill

Spotlights, fall 2021

Dec 13, 2021

Face to face After 18 months of remote learning, teaching, and work, Ford School students, faculty, and staff enjoyed gathering in person for a Fall Welcome in Weill Hall courtyard. Ice cream sandwiches, games, and warm smiles marked the start of...

Photo of Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Michael Barr pointing toward one another

News

Mills selected for Department of Energy grant to study utility-scale solar

Dec 18, 2020

Sarah Mills, senior project manager at the Center on Local, State, and Urban Policy, has been selected for a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. Mills, along with School for Environment and Sustainability...

News

U-M survey: More than half of Michigan's local governments have developed energy plans

Oct 7, 2020 Michigan News

More than half of local government officials in Michigan see improving energy efficiency for local businesses or residents as relevant to their jurisdiction's government, according to a survey by the Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban...

News

U-M survey finds strong interest among Michigan communities in sustainability and energy collaborations

Sep 30, 2020

Few local governments in Michigan report collaborating with another community on energy and sustainability issues, but nearly half expressed interest in teaming up with others to pursue opportunities, according to survey results released today by...

State & Hill

Tracking the issues

May 22, 2020

Before COVID-19 began to consume our daily news coverage, we asked nine Ford School faculty what policy topics 2020 political candidates should be talking about. Javed Ali, Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence: There is a lot more we can...

News

Farmers harvesting the benefits of wind energy

Mar 5, 2020

With U.S. farm bankruptcy rates rising, farmers have been turning to the wind energy to make ends meet. Sarah Mills, senior project manager at the Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) was featured in a USA Today article...

State & Hill

CLOSUP’s Michigan Public Policy Survey turns 10

Nov 14, 2019

It’s been a tumultuous decade in Michigan: three governors, a cratered economy and its recovery, the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, a public health disaster in Flint, and more. Through it all, the Michigan Public Policy Survey...

News

Leiser and Mills contribute to resources for new Michigan Lead and Copper Rule

Jun 27, 2019

The Flint Water Crisis prompted the state of Michigan to adopt a new Lead and Copper Rule (LCR)—the guidelines that water utilities must follow to ensure the public’s health is protected. The most proactive LCR in the country, the University of...

News

Sarah Mills work featured on This is Michigan

Apr 19, 2019

With bias and misinformation swirling around the consequences of wind turbine installation, local government officials are hard-pressed to find reliable information for themselves and their communities. Certainly there are tangible...

State & Hill

Stephanie Leiser and Sarah Mills on perception versus reality in local government budgets

Apr 10, 2019

Local government officials’ assessments of their own fiscal health is often at odds with—and worse than—what their financial statements indicate, according to work done by Stephanie Leiser and Sarah Mills. The researchers note that this could be...

News

Mills weighs in on UP wind energy project

Apr 8, 2019

In Michigan's Upper Peninsula a proposal to construct 49 wind turbines across 28,000 acres of the Huron Mountains is the subject of criticism from the local communities. To get perspective in her April 4, 2019 story on Interlochen Public Radio, Kaye...

News

Sarah Mills' key to the success of wind energy projects gets media attention

Feb 11, 2019

As the drive to develop renewable energy projects escalates, attention shifts towards harnessing wind energy as a reliable energy source. Despite the benefits wind energy provides—mainly jobs—advocates for wind energy must continue to combat...

News

Barry Rabe and Sarah Mills of the Ford School part of team that receives 2019 Catalyst Grant

Jan 25, 2019

Barry Rabe and Sarah Mills of the Ford School constitute the policy arm of the new multidisciplinary project for advancing new sustainability-focused policies that promote renewable energy proposals. Along with Tony Reames of the School for...

News

Sarah Mills' latest article signals a crucial relationship between homeowner attitudes and the fate of wind energy projects in Michigan

Jan 25, 2019

In her latest journal article, published in Land Use Policy, Sarah Mills of the Ford School elaborates on public attitudes pertaining to wind energy development projects before and after the completion of the project. In “Exploring landowners’...

News

Researcher shows red states embrace wind energy for the sake of bottom line

Oct 25, 2018

While renewable energy through wind mills is often seen as a coastal undertaking, Sarah Mills, senior project manager at the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), details how research reveals that red states are pursuing...

Wheels Keep Turning: Researcher Sarah Mills continues to educate on wind turbine impact in MI

Oct 18, 2018

“The goal is to share the pros and cons of wind energy so communities can make their own decisions based on facts,” explained Sarah Mills, a senior project manager and researcher at the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy...

State & Hill

Catch up on Ford School faculty news in the Spring 2018 edition of State & Hill magazine

May 21, 2018

Michael Barr and Joe Valenti (Center for American Progress) penned a Fortune op-ed: “How the CFPB fight is a sign of the next financial crisis.” Barr also wrote an op-ed in American Banker: “Dear Congress: Reg relief bill is a giveaway for large...

Mills: When is wind energy technology sustainable within rural communities?

Feb 27, 2018

The 2018 book The Handbook of Sustainability and Social Science Research includes a piece by Sarah Mills entitled: "Wind energy and rural community sustainability." Abstract Because it is a carbon-free source of electricity, wind energy is...

News

Rabe & Mills: "State energy policy in the Trump era: Insights from public opinion"

Feb 5, 2018

An article by Barry Rabe and Sarah Mills, "State energy policy in the Trump Era: Insights from public opinion," was published in the December 2017 edition of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. Abstract In light of President...

Sarah Mills: "Wind development in Pennsylvania: A reflection on state policy"

Feb 5, 2018

An article by Sarah Mills, "Wind development in Pennsylvania: a reflection on state policy," was published in Commonwealth: A Journal of Pennsylvania Politics and Policy (Volume 19, Number 1 [2017]). AbstractWhile other states have continued to add...

State & Hill

Catch up on Ford School faculty news in the Fall 2017 edition of State & Hill magazine

Dec 29, 2017

Tamar Mitts and Robert Axelrod participated in a trilateral workshop on the roots and trajectories of violent extremism. Mitts spoke about the radicalization of Islamic State supporters on social media; Axelrod about the strengths and weaknesses of...

Mills provides power of information, nears end of Michigan wind energy tour

Nov 16, 2017

Sarah Mills is working to dispel rumors and inform rural Michiganders of the pros and cons of wind farm energy.Mills, a post-doctoral fellow at the Ford School’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), received an $80,000 grant from the...

News

Michigan News release: Americans support hotly debated 'net energy metering' policies

Sep 6, 2017

Approximately three out of every four Americans—76 percent—support hotly debated net energy metering policies, which allow residents with wind turbines and solar panels to sell excess energy back to the grid at retail rates. That’s according to a...

Rabe and Mills for Brookings, "Americans want states to pick up federal climate slack"

Jun 21, 2017

In “Americans want states to pick up federal climate policy slack,” published by the Brookings Institution’s Fixgov blog, Barry Rabe, Sarah Mills, and Christopher Borick share new data from the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE),...

Michigan News release: In climate policy, Americans want states to pick up federal slack

Jun 9, 2017

A majority of Americans across the political spectrum believe states are responsible for addressing climate change in the absence of federal policy, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers.The National Surveys on Energy and...

State & Hill

Sarah Mills

Spotlights, fall 2021

Mills selected for Department of Energy grant to study utility-scale solar

U-M survey: More than half of Michigan's local governments have developed energy plans

U-M survey finds strong interest among Michigan communities in sustainability and energy collaborations

Tracking the issues

Farmers harvesting the benefits of wind energy

CLOSUP’s Michigan Public Policy Survey turns 10

Leiser and Mills contribute to resources for new Michigan Lead and Copper Rule

Sarah Mills work featured on This is Michigan

Stephanie Leiser and Sarah Mills on perception versus reality in local government budgets

Mills weighs in on UP wind energy project

Sarah Mills' key to the success of wind energy projects gets media attention

Barry Rabe and Sarah Mills of the Ford School part of team that receives 2019 Catalyst Grant

Sarah Mills' latest article signals a crucial relationship between homeowner attitudes and the fate of wind energy projects in Michigan

Researcher shows red states embrace wind energy for the sake of bottom line

Wheels Keep Turning: Researcher Sarah Mills continues to educate on wind turbine impact in MI

Catch up on Ford School faculty news in the Spring 2018 edition of State & Hill magazine

Mills: When is wind energy technology sustainable within rural communities?

Rabe & Mills: "State energy policy in the Trump era: Insights from public opinion"

Sarah Mills: "Wind development in Pennsylvania: A reflection on state policy"

Catch up on Ford School faculty news in the Fall 2017 edition of State & Hill magazine

Mills provides power of information, nears end of Michigan wind energy tour

Michigan News release: Americans support hotly debated 'net energy metering' policies

Rabe and Mills for Brookings, "Americans want states to pick up federal climate slack"

Michigan News release: In climate policy, Americans want states to pick up federal slack

Catch up on Ford School faculty news in the spring 2017 edition of State & Hill magazine

Mills surveys Michigan farmers, finds wind turbines have positive impact on landowners

Mills and Gore: “Public and local government leader opinions on environmental federalism”

There’s been a shift in thought on climate change, Mills tells CSM, Michigan Radio, more

Latest Michigan Public Policy Survey report focuses on emergency medical services