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.

Free and Open to the Public

Panelists:
Christopher Borick, Director, Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion
Jacquelyn Pless, Energy Policy Associate, National Conference of State Legislatures
Erich Schwartzel, Editor of Pipeline, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Moderator:
Barry Rabe, Director, Center for Local, State and Urban Policy

Bios
Reynolds Farley, after teaching at Duke, came to the University of Michigan in 1967where he has held appointments at the Population Studies Center and the Institute for Social Research. His teaching and research focused upon demographic trends in the United States with an emphasize upon racial issues. For more than a dozen years, he taught the course: The History and Future of Detroit. Along with Sheldon Danziger and Harry Holzer, he wrote Detroit Divided and maintains the website: www.Detroit1701,org.

John Gallagher is a veteran journalist and author whose latest book, 'Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City,' was named by the Huffington Post as among the best social and political books of 2010. John is a native of New York City. He joined the Detroit Free Press in 1987 to cover urban and economic redevelopment efforts in Detroit and Michigan, a post which he still holds. His other books include 'Great Architecture of Michigan' and, as co-author, 'AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture.' John and his wife, Sheu-Jane, live along Detroit's east riverfront.

Avis C. Vidal, Professor of Urban Planning at Wayne State University, analyzes alternative approaches to strengthening poor neighborhoods. She is best known for her seminal research on community development corporations (CDCs), but has also analyzed the potential of such varied approaches as the federal Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program and university-community partnerships. Her current research examines the efforts of anchor institutions and others to revitalize the Midtown neighborhood of Detroit. Prior to joining Wayne State, she served as Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute; Director of the Community Development Research Center at the New School for Social Research; Senior Analysts on the Legislative and Urban Policy Staff at HUD; and Associate Professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Free and Open to the Public

Panelists:
Eric Lupher, Director of Local Affairs, Citizens Research Council of Michigan
Sanya Carley, Assistant Professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University
Thomas P. Lyon, Professor, Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources
and Environment, University of Michigan

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

All students, family, and friends are cordially 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 just six years ago.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

From the Oakland County City Managers Association monthly meeting – findings on the EVIP program.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

Lecture by the Honorable Margaret Spellings, Former U.S. Secretary of Education (2005-2009)

The seminal education law known as No Child Left Behind put critical pressure on our schools to dramatically improve education in America. Through accountability, testing, and consequences for failure, a more targeted focus on our neediest students has translated into measurable success for them. Since the law's passage ten years ago, we've learned much, including that more progress won't be made until we, as a nation, tackle the toughest issues: the use of people, time and valuable taxpayer dollars in more strategic and effective ways. Therein, lies the rub; will adults—policymakers, educators and parents—put the needs of students before their own? You be the judge as we discuss these urgent policy matters and the political dynamics at play.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

Michigan's new "Emergency Manager" law (Public Act 4 of 2011, the Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act) has garnered national attention and ignited debate on fundamental issues of democratic governance. Among the law's most controversial aspects is the transfer of power from local elected officials to unelected Emergency Managers, providing them the ability to make sweeping changes to local government, including the power to terminate collective bargaining agreements. Proponents of the law argue that it encourages local actors to make difficult decisions themselves, negotiating local agreements in order to avoid a state take-over. In cases where that fails, proponents argue that the law provides critical alternatives to municipal bankruptcy. Opponents argue that the law is undemocratic and unconstitutional, and they have launched efforts to overturn the Act.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

We examine the theoretical and practical implications of ranking teachers according to a one dimensional value-added metric when teacher effectiveness is multi-dimensional. In particular, we consider the cases in which teachers teach multiple subjects or multiple student types. We outline the assumptions under which a standard value-added estimator correctly ranks teachers according to their social value. We demonstrate that these assumptions fail to hold empirically. This causes value-added based pairwise rankings of teachers to be often misleading, though the consequences of these ranking errors for students is small. We demonstrate that when teachers vary in ability across student types or subjects, student outcomes can be improved by matching teachers to students or subjects according to their comparative advantage. Our calibration suggests that these gains exceed those associated with firing the bottom 10 percent of teachers.

CIERS Mission:

The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using various research methodies.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

CIERS Mission:

The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using various research methodies.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

The Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, is reshaping how insurance and health care are provided in this country. This Federal law includes a critical role for states in expanding coverage and for local health systems in transforming the delivery of care. The panel will discuss health care reform from Federal, state and local perspectives.

CIERS Mission:

The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using various research methodies.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

CIERS Mission:

The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using various research methodies.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

Richard Buery is President/CEO of The Children's Aid Society. Founded in 1853, CAS serves 80,000 children at 45 locations in New York City and Westchester, and its Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program and National Center for Community Schools serve thousands more nationally.

CIERS Mission:

The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using various research methodies.

This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who share common research interests.

In 2006, with the goal of increasing student achievement, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) Board of Education passed policies related to effective teachers and school administrators. The leadership of the District put the Board's work in action and made increasing staff effectiveness the focus of their work. In the process, staff worked to establish new benchmarks in measuring effective performance.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

From the South Oakland County Mayor's Association – Oakland County results from the Spring 2011 MPPS fiscal data and Fall 2011 data on the EVIP program findings.

Michigan Local Government Benchmarking Consortium Conference – Fall 2011 Local Government Performance Management findings

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

Stephanie Jones is an assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her basic developmental research focuses on the longitudinal effects of poverty and exposure to violence on social and emotional development in early childhood and adolescence. In addition, she conducts evaluation research focusing on the developmental impact of school-based interventions targeting children's social-emotional skills and aggressive behavior, as well as their basic academic skills.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

AbstractSchool accountability systems are intended to lead schools to educate children more efficiently and raise student performance. However, accountability systems also provide incentives for educators to attempt to manipulate the system so that they look as good as possible. This presentation provides evidence on the desired and unintended consequences of school accountability. I focus on how the design of school accountability system can affect these various consequences, and offer some lessons that states can take to heart as they plan their No Child Left Behind Act waiver proposals this winter.

Abstract: The term 'undermatch' describes the problem of students failing to apply to the most selective colleges they qualify for. There is evidence that students who undermatch significantly reduce their chances of graduating. Because undermatching is substantially more prevalent among lower-income, minority, and first generation students, it raises immediate questions of fairness as well of resource waste. There is also a broader social and economic interest in getting students from these groups to take better advantage of educational opportunities, and policies to accomplish that aim need attention. However, fixing undermatch is not by itself going to make a very big dent in the nation's college completion problem -- it's just not a big enough phenomenon, and so it has to be seen as one element in a larger set of policy and operational challenges in higher education.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress.

Panelists:
Kurt Metzger
Director, Data Driven Detroit
'Demographic Changes and Opportunities in Detroit'

Kami Pothukuchi
Associate Professor, Wayne State University
'Food Systems in Detroit'

Michael Tenbusch
Vice President for Education Preparedness, United Way for Southeastern Michigan
'Education Reform in Detroit'


Moderator:
Reynolds 'Ren' Farley
Professor Emeritus of Sociology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
University of Michigan Institute for Social Research

Findings from the Spring 2011 Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS)

This is event is being rescheduled for Winter Semester 2012. Details will be posted as they are available. Please stop back for updates.

The U.S. high school graduation rate rose markedly during the first 70 years of the 20th century. This contributed to the human capital development that fueled economic growth and increases in standards of living. Since 1970, the U.S. high school graduation rate has stagnated, while those of other industrialized nations have risen. Do the patterns differ by gender, race, or ethnicity? Why should we care about these trends and patterns? Why did they occur? What is the evidence on strategies that are effective in increasing the high school graduation rate and the skills of American students? This talk addresses these questions, using evidence from several national and state data sets.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

This event begins with a guided bus tour of the City of Detroit, to provide a first hand look at areas of the city that demonstrate the wide range of neighborhood experiences, from those in stress to those already undergoing extensive revitalization. After the tour, the panel discussion will focus on the Detroit Works Project, and the role of community groups in efforts to revitalize the city.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted as a potential salve for the ailing U.S. health care system. It has quickly become a great challenge for states reacting to its provisions, and a target for legal objections likely to reach the Supreme Court. Join us as members of an expert panel share their views on logistic and legal realities of the ACA and answer your questions.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

Leadership has changed in Michigan and many other jurisdictions in the Great Lakes Basin. One immediate challenge for incoming governors and premiers will be deciding how to proceed with existing state, provincial and regional commitments in climate and energy policy. This panel will review current policy commitments and provide an overview of public opinion on climate change and public policy options. This analysis will consider survey samples from national audiences in the United States and Canada as well as more localized audiences in Michigan and Ontario.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

Over the past two decades, many urban school districts have restructured large, traditional high schools into smaller learning communities. The idea behind this movement is that small schools provide a more personalized learning environment that allows teachers to more effectively address the multi-faceted needs of disadvantaged students. Despite mixed evidence on the efficacy of such reforms in practice, Detroit and other high-poverty districts have pressed forward with the creation of smaller high schools. A recent study of small high schools in NYC shows positive results, but also raises additional questions about small schools. In this panel, speakers will discuss the new results of the NYC study as well as the ongoing efforts among the small school community in the Detroit area.

CIERS Mission:The objective of the Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS) is to engage students and faculty from across the university in conversations around education research using quantitative research methods.This seminar provides a space for doctoral students and faculty from the School of Education, Ford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Economics, Sociology, Statistics, and Political Science to discuss current research and receive feedback on works-in-progress. Discourse between these schools and departments will create a more complete community of education scholars, and will provide a networking opportunity for students enrolled in a variety of academic programs who may have similar research interests.

For-profit colleges are under fire. Critics point to students' low earnings and high debt loads as evidence that these schools do not provide a quality education. Defenders of the sector note that the schools serve a population of low-skilled, low-income students that traditional colleges ignore. Congress is now considering legislation that would bar from the federal aid programs any schools whose graduates' earnings fall below a minimum threshold. This panel promises to be a lively discussion of an important topic in public policy.

PANELISTS:
Susan Dynarski
Associate Professor of Education, School of Education; Associate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Michael Flanagan
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan Department of Education

Brian Rowan
Burke A. Hinsdale Collegiate Professor, School of Education; Research Professor, Institute for Social Research

Tyrone Winfrey
Director, U-M Office of Undergraduate Admissions - Detroit Admissions Office and Vice-President, Detroit Board of Education

Deborah Loewenberg Ball
Dean of the School of Education, will be moderating the panel discussion

This community-wide event is co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, CLOSUP, the Institute for Social Research, the Center for the Study of Complex Systems, and the School of Education.

Abstract: This paper shows that the mortgage credit boom has significantly affected urban and school racial segregation from 1995 to 2007. We develop a model of urban segregation with credit constraints that shows that easier credit can either increase or decrease segregation, depending on the race of the marginal consumer who benefits from the expansion of credit. We then use school demographics from 1995 to 2007, matched to a national comprehensive dataset of mortgage originations, to document the link between credit supply and schools' racial demographics. Effects are large and significant.

Free and open to the public.

Panelists:
John Bebow - The Center for Michigan

Lynn Jondahl - Michigan Prospect

Michael Van Beek - Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Organized by: Chuck Wilbur

Sponsored by: the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP); the Ford School of Public Policy; and the Association for Public Policy About Learning and Education (APPLE)

For more information: 734-647-4091

Matthew Springer, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education, Director of the National Center on Performance Incentives Vanderbilt University.

Free and open to the public.

Bill Ballenger - Editor and Publisher, Inside Michigan Politics

Organized by: Chuck Wilbur

Sponsored by: the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP); the Ford School of Public Policy; and the Association for Public Policy About Learning and Education (APPLE)

For more information: 734-647-4091

'Winter Heating or Clean Air? Unintended Impacts of China's Huai River Policy.' Avraham Ebenstein, Hebrew University

It is stunningly difficult to transform the way a state government carries out a major function, but that is precisely what the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI) has set out to do. The MPRI is an ambitious effort to improve public safety by reducing the likelihood that prisoners returning to communities will commit crimes. Based on two decades of national research, it focuses on identifying prisoner characteristics that predict recidivism and then addressing those risks both during and after incarceration. The initiative is transforming the Michigan Department of Corrections and the way in which it connects with communities. Widely regarded as one of the most effective reentry initiatives in the country, the MPRI is entering its seventh year of development and implementation and is operating statewide.

Free and open to the public.

Panelists:
Thomas Buchmueller, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business
John J. H. (Joe) Schwarz, Former U.S. Representative and Visiting Lecturer, University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Marianne Udow-Phillips, Director, Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation (CHRT), located at the University of Michigan

Sponsored by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Eric Hanushek is the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He has been a leader in the development of economic analysis of educational issues, and his work has frequently entered into the design of both national and international educational policy. His research includes the impacts of teacher quality, high stakes accountability, and class size reduction on achievement and the role of cognitive skills in international growth and development. His pioneering analysis measuring teacher quality through student achievement forms the basis for current research into the value-added of teachers and schools.

Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), which combines community investments with reform minded charter schools, is one of the most ambitious social experiments to alleviate poverty of our time. This presentation will discuss the first empirical test of the causal impact of HCZ on educational outcomes, with an eye toward informing the long-standing debate whether schools alone can eliminate the achievement gap or whether the issues that poor children bring to school are too much for educators alone to overcome. Both lottery and instrumental variable identification strategies led to the same story: Harlem Children's Zone is effective at increasing the achievement of the poorest minority children. Taken at face value, the effects in middle school are enough to close the black-white achievement gap in mathematics and reduce it by nearly half in English Language Arts. The effects in elementary school close the racial achievement gap in both subjects. The research demonstrates four pieces of evidence that high-quality schools or high-quality schools coupled with community investments generate the achievement gains. Community investments alone cannot explain the results.

In 2004, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm charged the Lieutenant Governor's Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth with identifying strategies to improve postsecondary attainment and completion in Michigan.

To mark the five-year anniversary of the Cherry Commission, leaders of the education and business communities in Michigan will address the past, present, and future of higher education and economic growth in Michigan.

What is the role of government in creating a sustainable and fair food system? How does the work of policy makers relate to that of agencies and non-governmental organizations? This panel discussion will explore the roles that various entities play in governing Michigan's food system. Panelists will highlight successes, touch on how they work together, discuss where and why there are gaps, and explain how governance can promote food access, environmental sustainability, and the financial viability of food production, processing, and distribution.

This panel discussion will present a number of different approaches to urban food retail in the city of Detroit, including: a program that touches on the conventional grocery industry; a program to develop grocery sector entrepreneurs; a new model for community grocery stores; and alternative formats/vehicles for urban residents to get fresh food.

The Algebra Project was founded in 1982 by a Harlem-born and Harvard-educated Civil Rights' leader, Dr. Robert P. Moses through the use of his MacArthur Fellowship award. AP's unique approach to school reform intentionally develops sustainable, student-centered models by building coalitions of stakeholders within the local communities, particularly the historically underserved population. Since 2000, they have continued to provide the context in which students, schools, parents and communities maximize local resources and take ownership of their own community building and mathematics education reform efforts, which now include high school as well as middle grade initiatives. Their current work seeks a national response to establish a fundamental right: the right of every child to a quality public school education.

Nine graduate students at University of Michigan's Taubman College in the urban planning program and two faculty advisors have explored these issues for the last eight months. They've traveled to communities across North America to highlight innovative practices in the production, processing and distribution of food. Together, these case studies illustrate the components of an alternative: a more community-based, sustainable food system. They reveal the practical steps that individuals, businesses, government and community organizations can take to help build this more sustainable alternative.

In developing countries, rising incomes, increased demand for more skilled labor, and government investments of considerable resources on building and equipping schools and paying teachers have contributed to some global convergence in enrollment rates and completed years of schooling but substantial education gaps persist, such as between rural and urban households and also between males and females, in some settings. To address these gaps, some governments have introduced school vouchers or cash transfers programs that are targeted to disadvantaged children. Some governments have aimed at raising school quality such as setting higher eligibility requirements for teachers or increasing the number of textbooks in the hands of students to attract or retain students. It has become increasingly clear that increased enrollments have not led to a commensurate improvement in knowledge and skills of students. Establishing the impact of these policies and programs requires an understanding of the incentives and constraints faced by all parties involved, the school providers, the parents and the children.

Current and former Corrections Department leaders will discuss changes in Michigan's crime and corrections policies and how they have affected the state's prison population over time.

David Deming will present his study of the implementation of an open enrollment public school choice plan in Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district (CMS) in 2002.

As a new administration takes the reins of the federal education research enterprise, the former director of federal education research, evaluation, and statistics will reflect on his experience in leading a research agency within the Bush administration that maintained its independence and integrity, and will offer his thoughts on what must be done to strengthen education research further so as to provide practitioners and policymakers with the knowledge to improve education outcomes substantially.

Panelists: John C. Austin, Director, New Economy Initiative & Vice President, Michigan Board of Education, State of Michigan.
Charles L. Ballard, Professor of Economics, Michigan State University & Director of the MSU State of the State Survey
Kim Hill, Director, Automotive Communities Program and Associate Director, Economics and Business Group, Center for Automotive Research.
Christopher Hayter, Program Director, Economic Development Program, National Governor's Association
Moderator: Paul Courant, Dean of Libraries and Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan

Hosted by the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy. Co-sponsored by the Ford School of Public Policy. [Details]

The case for a national effort to create core standards grows stronger by the day. Currently, 50 states have 50 standards, and most states are setting the bar as low as possible in order to comply with the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements of NCLB. Half the states have set fourth-grade reading benchmarks so low that they fall beneath even the most basic level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. None of the highest performing nations in the world rely on such a patchwork system to create expectations and standards, and devise assessments, for its students. The U.S. is extraordinarily unique in its view that Algebra is different in Maine then it is in Mississippi. We need a more comprehensive national policy on education standards.

This panel discussion will feature experts in the environment, energy, and economics for a discussion on how the policies of the presidential candidates will impact Michigan. They will be joined by advocates for both the Obama and McCain campaigns. Listen to the discussion, and ask your questions. Click here to read more and register to attend.

The Global Urban Symposium is a multidisciplinary forum at the University of Michigan with a focus on urban metropolises. The Symposium is hosted by the Ross School of Business and its Net Impact organization, with financial support from CLOSUP and other organizations. This day-long conference explores the role that the private, public and non-profit sectors play in addressing the challenges facing cities around the globe.

The goal of this conference is to contribute to building a community focused on education policy research that brings together researchers from different departments and schools who are studying education policy from a variety of perspectives. We hope that this conference will stimulate new discussions and collaborations, which will ultimately foster even more high quality education policy research at UM. The conference will take place on Monday, April 28th from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm in the Tribute Room in the the School of Education. The theme of this first conference 'Following Policy Inside the Black Box: Research on Instruction.' In subsequent years, we plan to focus on other aspects of education policy research.

Teacher Preparation and Student Achievement: This research project describes the recent changes in the routes into teaching in New York City. It assesses the effects of these changes on the distribution of teachers across schools and the academic achievement of students. It then looks more closely at the preparation of teachers in the district and estimates the effects of characteristics of this preparation on teachers' value-added to student achievement in their first two years of teaching. The study finds that the introduction of early-entry alternative routes in New York City dramatically changed the distribution of teachers across schools and likely improved the test performance of students in schools that had traditionally been difficult to staff . It finds that some preparation programs are more effective than others in producing teachers that add to student achievement. In particular, teachers who had the opportunity in their pre-service preparation to practice skills that are closely linked to the day-to-day work of teachers appear to be more effective in their first year of teaching.

CLOSUP's new education policy seminar series, a core component of the Education Policy Initiative, continues with a panel session entitled 'The Role of the Private Sector in K-12 Public Education.'

Community colleges today enroll over one-half of all college students nationwide or nearly 12 million students. And yet, fewer than 40% of those who start at a public two-year college earn any type of degree within six years. Even among those students who intend to complete a degree, only about one-third do so within six years. Several factors have been identified as contributing to these relatively low rates of persistence: inadequate academic preparation, high costs (both direct and indirect) and insufficient financial aid, ineffective curriculum, and lack of adequate institutional support. In 2003 MDRC launched the Opening Doors demonstration in an effort to learn more about the factors that affect community college students' enrollment and completion. In total, six community colleges in four states are participating in the demonstration and are testing the impact of curricular and instructional innovations, enhanced student services, and supplemental financial aid on student outcomes. At each site, students were randomly assigned to either a program group (that received the enhanced Opening Doors services) or a control group (that received the college's standard services). This talk will present the findings from two participating sites. In the first site -- Kingsborough Community College -- we studied the effectiveness of Learning Communities and in the second -- community colleges in New Orleans -- we studied the impact of incentive-based scholarships on student outcomes.

The goal of this conference is to provide school district leaders and EPIresearchers an opportunity to exchange ideas and to brainstorm about potential collaborations. Researchers will present case studies of academic studies that have been conducted in collaboration with school districts, with a special focus on the research process. District officials and the researchers will discuss the various district priorities and begin to build relationships that are intended to lead to future collaborative projects.

We analyze all but a few of the 47 charter schools operating in New York City in 2005-06. The schools tend to locate in disadvantaged neighborhoods and serve students who are substantially poorer than the average public school student in New York City. The schools also attract black applicants to an unusual degree, not only relative to New York City but also relative to the traditional public schools from which they draw. The vast majority of applicants are admitted in lotteries that the schools hold when oversubscribed, and the vast majority of the lotteries are balanced. By balanced, we mean that we cannot reject the hypothesis that there are no differences in the observable characteristics of lotteried-in and lotteried-out students. Using the lotteries to form an intention-to-treat variable, we instrument for actual enrollment and compute the charter schools' average treatment-on-the-treated effects on achievement. These are 0.09 standard deviations per year of treatment in math and 0.04 standard deviations per year in reading. We estimate associations (not causal relationships) between charter schools' policies and their effects on achievement. The policy with the most notable and robust association is a long school year--as long as 220 days in the charter schools.

Accountability programs, including the one implemented by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, operate under the assumption that schools are inefficient -- that is, that schools can provide higher quality education without investing additional resources. These programs seek to make schools more efficient by using incentives. The state of North Carolina currently operates two independent incentive systems for public schools. The first, introduced in 1996/97, offers salary bonuses to teachers in schools that achieve a targeted level of improvement in student test scores between one year and the next. The second, mandated by No Child Left Behind, imposes a series of negative sanctions on schools with small proportions of students who test at the 'proficient' level. Foremost among these sanctions was a provision allowing parents the right to transfer out of schools that failed to meet standards. In 2005/06, almost 40% of North Carolina public schools attained positive sanctions through one program but not the other.

Abstract: New investments in 'green' power are essential for mitigating the impacts of global climate change. While wind power is now considered both technologically mature and economically feasible, it faces bitter opposition from local communities on the grounds that wind turbines amount to visual pollution. This presentation will examine the role that visual imagery is playing in policy debates about the siting of new wind farms. Drawing examples from several contested projects in the United States, the presentation will describe conventional and alternative approaches for calculating 'viewsheds' in the process of environmental impact assessment.

It is clear that Michigan is in the midst of serious structural economic trouble, perhaps the worst since the Great Depression.

Northwest Airlines and Delphi Corp. are already in Chapter 11. There are rumors and real concern about the stability of General Motors, Ford and much of the auto parts industry. There is a real possibility of descent into receivership for both the City of Detroit and the Detroit school system. Many county and local governments around the state are facing severe fiscal difficulties.

Across Michigan, state and local officials are searching for ways to relieve the intense financial pressure on local governments. The severity of this problem has pushed leaders to look for new and innovative strategies to alleviate the financial burden on cities while still maintaining a high level of service to citizens. Municipal collaboration and resource sharing is at the forefront of this new wave of thinking. Its basic tenant is cities can save money and/or increase services by sharing costs, equipment, knowledge and manpower with other cities. 'Creating Collaborative Communities' capitalizes on the tremendous opportunity we now have to support cities looking to implement collaborative policies.

Bruce Katz is one of the most prominent commentators on cities and urban policy in America. A former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, he heads The Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program and its varied research agenda on the challenges facing America's metropolitan regions. Katz has been in the trenches of urban policy making in the executive and legislative branches of government, and his informed commentaries are frequently featured on op-ed pages across the country. He is the editor of Reflections on Regionalism (Brookings 2000) and a graduate of Yale Law School.

CLOSUP co-sponsored the 2005 version of the annual State Politics and Policy Conference, along with State Politics and Policy Quarterly and the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University. This is the annual conference for the American Political Science Association's Organized Section on State Politics and Policy. See below for information on the program and participants.

Over 35 experts from a wide variety of disciplines and organizations gathered in Ann Arbor on March 14 and 15 to begin planning efforts to address the future of regional economic development in the Great Lakes meta-region. Co-hosted by the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program and the Gerald R. Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan, the conference took a visionary approach to large scale regional economic development. Experts from academia, federal and state agencies, the Canadian government, large and small private firms, major foundations, and non-profit think tanks spent two days examining the shared cultural, historic and economic bonds that help define the Great Lakes region. This inaugural planning effort is expected to lead to an ongoing large scale research and outreach effort to help policymakers and others make informed decisions on matters of economic development as this economic giant known as the Midwest continues its transition from the post-industrial age to a new knowledge-based economy.

Michigan's economy and the effects of its current tax structure and social policy are the focus of a 2004 Colloquium Series entitled Trends and Prospects in the Michigan Economy. Scheduled to begin in March, the series will host experts from at least four in-state universities: Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and Eastern Michigan University. Each session will feature authors who have contributed to the book on state economics, Michigan at the Millennium. Chapter authors of the book are university faculty along with other experts drawn from government, educational and research organizations who were asked to write in their professional area of interest. Authors were asked to present policy relevant information for today's policymakers and community decision makers.

Michigan's economy and the effects of its current tax structure and social policy are the focus of a 2004 Colloquium Series entitled Trends and Prospects in the Michigan Economy. Beginning in March, the series hosts experts from at least four in-state universities: Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and Eastern Michigan University. Each session features authors who have contributed to the book on state economics, Michigan at the Millennium. Chapter authors of the book are university faculty along with other experts drawn from government, educational and research organizations who were asked to write in their professional area of interest. Authors were asked to present policy relevant information for today's policymakers and community decision makers.

What values and priorities motivate the design of political institutions? In this paper, we investigate committee reform in the U.S. House of Representatives to consider two questions: What drives structural change in Congress? What values and priorities decide the 'turf wars' that result when Congress assign jurisdictional control over issues to congressional committees? We draw on a new dataset to test three prominent explanations for institutional change: path dependency, mobilization of bias, and informational efficiency. Path dependency predicts that changes tend to reinforce historical patterns of behavior. Mobilization of bias perspectives posit that the main beneficiaries of change are those who have the most to gain. Finally, informational expertise predicts that institutional realignments benefit the actors who are best qualified to evaluate the merits of policy proposals. We test each of these perspectives by investigating seventeen jurisdictional changes and find strong support for the informational/expertise perspective. In the minority of cases where we did find support for the path dependency and mobilization of bias perspectives, the committee gaining the jurisdiction was also the best qualified with respect to issue expertise.

To survive inter-societal competition, each society must have certain basic institutions that offer security against internal uprising and external aggression, and that specify the underlying political-economic structure. These institutions cannot be decentralized because of free riding, economies of scale, and the need for credible commitment. It seems proper to treat such institutions as primitives at par with individual preferences. Once installed, these institutions help generate stability of two types. The first is the stability of the regime against aggression, and the second is collective rationality (transitivity) arising from the centralization of power. Letting constitutions represent systems of government with the associated basic institutions, the dominant constitutions tend to be those that support a relatively strong economy and defense. This paper argues that depending on the internal and external threats and potential for economic prosperity, a stable constitution can display varying levels of centralization including democracy. The constitution, however, is not arbitrary, as some sort of majority cycle over institutions would imply. Surviving constitutions, much like competing firms, have two key features: they have goals and they represent knowledge accumulated over centuries. The goals of the U.S. Constitution, for example, are to 'establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.' The knowledge of a constitution is contained in its constraints and procedures. Assuming that the procedures help attain the goals, there is no obvious sense in which a Condorcet winner in the absence of the basic institutions, even if it exists, should take precedence over a constitutionally determined outcome.

In collaboration with the University of Michigan Business School's Office of Tax Policy Research, CLOSUP sponsored a research conference on November 22, 2002 entitled 'Privatization: Issues of State and Local Public Infrastructure.' The conference brought together leading scholars in public policy and economics from across the U.S. to examine privatization from the perspectives of local labor markets, fiscal pressures and political choices, and to consider the effects of privatization in areas such as highways, prisons and municipal services.

The forthcoming book, 'Beyond the Digital Divide' (Georgetown University Press), redefines the issue of the digital divide in broader terms. The authors argue that the problem has been too narrowly conceived in public debate, research, and programs as primarily an issue of access. In reality, there are multiple information technology divides ­ an access divide, a skill divide, an economic opportunity divide, and a democratic divide. Access without skill is insufficient. In the age of the Internet, this includes basic literacy skills and 'information literacy,' or the ability to locate and evaluate information. Information technology access and skills merit policy attention because of their implications for economic opportunity and democratic participation, so experiences and attitudes involving technology are important to understand within these contexts as well.