State & Hill fall 2023

Sociologist Jeffrey Morenoff, associate dean for research and policy engagement Focus: neighborhood environments, crime and criminal justice, the social determinants of health, racial/ethnic/immigrant inequality, and methods for analyzing...

Molly Kleinman (MSI ’07, PhD CSHPE ’18) joined the Ford School’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program in 2018 and became managing director in 2021. She received her STPP certificate in 2014 and served as Paul Courant’s special...

Dr. Robert Goeckel (MPP ’74), distinguished SUNY professor of political science and international relations, retired in January 2023 after teaching for 40 years at SUNY Geneseo. Judy Arnold (MPP ’83), Barb Birnbaum (MPP ’83), Winthrop...

Axelrod's adventures Robert Axelrod, William D. Hamilton Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, writes about the difficulties and rewards of interdisciplinary collaboration in his new autobiography, A Passion for Cooperation: Adventures...

Transmission impossible? Current research suggests that the U.S. could reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 at a relatively low cost by utilizing currently available technologies, such as electric vehicles and zero-carbon...

“Rather than a single terrorist attack, this was a complex operation that involved commando teams and rocket attacks against multiple targets. The fact that Israel appears to have lacked advance warning is surprising, given Israel’s excellence in...

Expert on inequality and political violence now directs the Ford School’s International Policy Center As an undergraduate, associate professor Megan Stewart took a class on Middle East politics and became interested in how a political movement,...

Susan D. Page and Kamissa Camara in discussion An alarming number of countries in Africa have been experiencing coups over the past few years—a total of nine coups in three years—in Sudan, Burkina Faso (twice), Chad, Guinea, Mali (twice), and...

Sherry Suttles (MPP ’71) made history as the first Black woman city manager in the United States. That was a goal Suttles had set for herself soon after graduating in the first class of Master of Public Policy degrees awarded by U-M’s Institute...

Of all of the recent headlines about U.S. government dysfunction, election denialism, and voter dissatisfaction, one in particular worries Ford School political scientist Jenna Bednar. The New York Times reported in October 2022, “Voters See...

U-M researchers play role in reimagining social safety net in Ann Arbor and beyond For the nearly three decades Kristin Seefeldt (MPP ’96, PhD ’10) has lived and worked in Ann Arbor, her professional life studying and teaching about poverty...

State & Hill sat down with the Ford School’s new dean to reflect on her scholarship, her mentors, and Gerald Ford   State & Hill: Tell us about your intellectual journey to leading the Ford School. Celeste Watkins-Hayes: What you see in my...

A place-based view of the legacy of poverty in the U.S. At first glance, there's not much in common among the spinach fields of Crystal City, Texas; the cotton mills near Greenwood, Mississippi; and the historic salt works in Manchester,...

Warm greetings from Ann Arbor, where the first snow of the year has blanketed the campus. We’re enjoying the football team’s win over Ohio State—the 1,001st victory in Michigan’s history. (Our own Gerald Ford was part of sixteen of those wins...

What’s on the barbie? Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson were on the guest list as the White House hosted a State Dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October. Skills match More than fifty...

“I believe that the NATO alliance serves [U.S.] interests because it spreads the burden of collective security across many member states and doesn’t just put the burden on the United States. I also believe firmly about the importance of U.S....

Philadelphia Poet Laureate and educator Airea D. Matthews (MPA ’07) returned to the Ford School this fall to discuss her memoir-in-verse with writing instructor Molly Spencer at an event hosted by the Center for Racial Justice. The following day,...