State & Hill spring 2021

Planned giving: A lasting legacy We asked Ford School alumni and donors why they included the Ford School in their estate planning, what they hope their gifts will do, and how it reflects their values. Here's what they told us. Ann Branston...

Elected and newly appointed alumni on public leadership We asked four seasoned pros what they’ve learned about leadership, overcoming governing challenges, and what public servants can do to succeed in a contentious political landscape. State...

By David Pratt Paula Lantz completes remarkable term as associate dean Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Curricular overhaul and creation of a new master’s program. A leadership initiative. Helping students, faculty, and staff through a...

Ford School economist Betsey Stevenson, a leading voice on the COVID-19 “she-cession,” discusses her work and her academic passion. State & Hill: What inspired you to study and spend so much of your career focusing on women in the labor...

By David Pratt New gift will support PPIA and the Conversations Across Differences initiative Tom Tuft (LSA ‘69), discovered Ann Arbor when he came from Pennsylvania to visit his sister in Detroit. “I thought Michigan would be a special...

Alan Miller (MPP/JD ‘74) coauthored a new book, Cut Super Climate Pollutants Now!, with Durwood Zaelke and Stephen O. Andersen (April 2021, Changemakers Books). Maureen Donohue Krauss (MPP ’85) was recently named president/CEO of the Detroit...

This spring, the Ford School finishes the implementation of our 5-year strategic plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), launched in 2016 in concert with a University-wide set of coordinated DEI plans. This summer we will develop strategic...

Javed Ali has appeared recently in outlets such as 60 Minutes, ABC News, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, NPR’s Morning Edition, and the Los Angeles Times. He’ll become an associate professor of practice at the Ford School this...

Working remotely has its perks At Comerica Park, Detroit News photographer Robin Buckson spotted sociologist and Detroit historian Ren Farley keeping score as the Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals. “I teach the course on Detroit so I have to...

By Rebecca Cohen (MPP '09)Americans’ trust in government institutions to “do the right thing” has steadily eroded since the late 1960s,1 correlated for many analysts with events such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, the ’70s oil embargo, and President...

By Daniel Rivkin Checking in on the federal civilian workforce "Big government” has been a target for some conservative politicians for decades. That complaint shifted in tenor and action when the Trump administration took office. The federal...

With new leading-edge research and faces at the school, the Ford School builds depth in two key policy areas. Energy and the environment Economics, political science, psychology, and community engagement are at the roots of the Ford School’s...

By Maggie Barnard (MPP ‘21) When Ambassador Melvyn Levitsky joined the Ford School faculty in 2006, it was a homecoming. After graduating from Michigan in 1960, Levitsky spent 35 years overseas as a U.S. diplomat, serving as ambassador to...

Dear community,  After a chaotic 2020 election cycle, policymakers are getting down to the difficult business of leading, making decisions, and implementing policy. With a commitment to the public good, members of our community are taking part in...