Ford School Public Events

Students, family, and friends are invited to meet the faculty and staff of the Ford School and tour the classrooms, public spaces, and suites of Weill Hall, which opened its doors in 2006!

Presenting Rip Rapson, President & CEO of the Kresge Foundation

Free and Open to the Public

Mark Funkhouser, Director, Governing Institute, Former Mayor of Kansas City, MO

Sponsored by:
University of Michigan Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP)
University of Michigan Nonprofit and Public Management Center

The Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) will discuss findings from the Michigan Public Policy Survey, which asked leaders from 1,329 of Michigan's local governments to report on the future of public services in their jurisdictions in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

During the conference, students will discuss coordinating Canada-U.S. Arctic Sea policy through four lenses: natural resource extraction, international trade, environment and security.

Dr. Henry Pollack, Professor Emeritus of Geophysics at the University of Michigan, and Tom Clynes, contributing editor at Popular Science, will deliver the keynote speech for the Fourth Annual U.S.-Canada Policy Conference, hosted by the Domestic Policy Corps and the International Policy Students Association. The 2013 conference, entitled "Planning for 2050: North American Policy for the Future of the Arctic," will focus on U.S. and Canadian Arctic policy, including issues related to the environment, national security, energy, and commerce. The keynote address will be followed by a panel discussion with faculty from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Conference participation is by application only, however the keynote address is open to the public.

Special screening of State of Emergency, a new documentary play inspired by Michigan's controversial Emergency Manager Law. On Saturday, February 23 at 7:00 pm, we will live-stream the performance (taking place in Flint) in Rackham's 4th floor amphitheatre. Viewers can tweet questions and comments for the post-show dialogue.

Free and Open to the Public

Frank J. Thompson, Professor, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University-Newark. Author of Medicaid Politics: Federalism, Policy Durability, and Health Reform

With Commentary provided by:
Scott L.Greer, Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy at the Univeristy of Michigan School of Public Health, and Senior Research Fellow at LSE Health, London School of Economics

Recently, the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) asked local officials to look toward the future and evaluate the status of Michigan's current system for funding local governments. Please join us for an engaging and informative discussion as Dr. Debra Horner and CLOSUP Administrator Tom Ivacko present the views of Michigan's local government leaders and their perspectives on the future.

Join us for an interactive panel discussion featuring Rick Lord, President and CEO of Associated Industries of Massachusetts; Michael Widmer, President of Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation; Thomas Buchmueller, Waldo O. Hildebrand Professor of Risk Management and Insurance, U-M Ross School of Business; and Helen Levy, Research Associate Professor, U-M Ford School of Public Policy

Many American cities, especially those in the Northeast and Midwest, have lost jobs and population for decades. Nevertheless, most city leaders pursue growth whether through tax incentives or stadiums and casinos, and most neighborhood activists envision redeveloped and rebuilt communities. But do alternatives exist? The City after Abandonment tackles that issue by addressing three questions. What do cities become after abandonment? What institutions and policies make a difference in what such cities become? What should these cities become? The panelists will discuss the book's findings and what these suggest about the future for better, though smaller, cities.

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies will host a screening of the documentary titled Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward, and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game, followed by a panel discussion featuring former Senator Buzz Thomas (grandson of Willis Ward) and Steve Ford (son of President Gerald R. Ford) on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 in conjunction with the Martin Luther King Day events.