Fall 2009 State & Hill: The Ford School at 95

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The Magazine of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy University of Michigan Fa ll 2009

The Ford School at 95 From Our Corner to the Four Corners of the Globe

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from the dean

ith this first issue of State & Hill, our new school magazine, we celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Ford School and pay tribute to the efforts of so many people whose creative energies have enabled us to thrive.

The scope of our research, teaching, and policy engagement has grown over the decades, from an initial focus on city governments to an understanding that the world has become a much smaller place and that most policy issues have global dimensions.

The tools we use to explore public policy have evolved as well. During the late ’60s, IPPS was at the forefront of a movement to apply rigorous social science techniques to pressing policy issues — a revolutionary idea that has stood the test of time.

So what hasn’t changed since 1914? Certainly not our commitment to public service and cutting-edge research, our belief in the value of sending well-trained and dedicated public servants out to work on the issues that impact our communities, or our collegial environment.

In addition to looking back, this issue of our magazine also enables us to share recent accomplishments — the graduation of our first class of undergraduates, the success of our innovative PhD programs, the launch of a new research center charged with exploring issues of diversity and public policy, and the policy impacts of our faculty and research centers.

With so many strengths to build on, we look with optimism to the future. We will continue to strengthen our ties with the policy world, grow our faculty, recruit and train the brightest and most dynamic students, and internationalize our educational programs and research.

State & Hill Dean: Susan M. Collins Associate Dean: Alan V. Deardorff Director of Communications/Editor: Laura K. Lee Contributors: Megan Levad, Katie Talik, Miao Qing, Amanda Grazioli, Tom Ivacko, James F. Reisch, Geoffrey Ponte Design: Savitski Design Printer: University Lithoprinters Printed on paper made from 100% postconsumer waste using biogas energy.

But the same economic pressures challenging our state confront us as well. Like the University of Michigan, the Ford School has worked to contain costs without sacrificing the quality of our educational and research programs. As we sharpen our focus on student support, we will increasingly need to rely on your generous commitment to our current and future students.

What are our hopes for State & Hill? We seek to deepen already strong ties with our alumni, provide a window into the policy research and education we foster, and show how our alumni and friends can continue to be a part of the Ford School mission. Let us know how we’re doing – please send your comments and suggestions about State & Hill to fspp-editor@umich.edu.

We hope to see many of you in Ann Arbor for the alumni reunion festivities in September. But we’ll be celebrating our 95th anniversary all year, so please drop by if you’re around the corner. I’d like to hear your memories — the part you played in our history — along with your hopes for our future.

Let us know what you think: fspp-editor@umich.edu, or Editor, State & Hill, Ford School, University of Michigan, 735 S. State Street,

Susan M. Collins

Ann Arbor MI 48109-3091

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy

Regents of the University of Michigan Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor Laurence B. Deitch, Bingham Farms Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms Olivia P. Maynard, Goodrich Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park S. Martin Taylor, Grosse Pointe Farms Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor Mary Sue Coleman (ex officio)

The University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The University of Michigan is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race, sex, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or Vietnam-era veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the Senior Director for Institutional Equity and Title IX/Section 504 Coordinator, Office of Institutional Equity, 2072 Administrative Services Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 481091432, 734-763-0235, TTY 734-647-1388. For other University of Michigan information call 734-764-1817.

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Photo: Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

& 95 Years of Service 2 A Look Back at the Evolution of the Ford School

Prepared to Make a Difference 6 Three Grads, Three Eras

Crossing Borders 10 Applied Policy Seminar Evolves with Student Interests

A River Runs Through It 12 Alums Tackle Municipal Land-use Debate

A Philanthropist for the Future 14 A Few Moments with Ranny Riecker

Public Policy for Difficult Days 16 Research that Makes a Difference

In Addition Shot-Callers: Gubernatorial Campaign Joined by Students 8 Tight Times: Community Supports Fellowships and Internships 9 Visiting VIPs 13 First Public Policy BA Students Graduate 13 Greenhouse Governance 15 Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies 19 PhD Program Flourishes 19

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Guess who?

Recognize these two?

Send your best guesses to fspp-editor@umich.edu.

Correct responses will be entered into a drawing for a Ford School souvenir. Bonus gift for the most creative caption!

Departments Faculty News & Awards 20 Class Notes 22 The Last Word 24 Reunion Weekend, Calendar Highlights 25

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Cover St ory

95 Years of Service This year, we celebrate the Ford School’s 95th anniversary. We’re proud of the school’s contributions to public policy research and education – proud that through our program, the University of Michigan has trained so many generations of committed public servants.

Here is our story.

The University of Michigan benefits from an original In 1913, Jesse S. Reeves, chairman of the University of Michigan political science department, proposed an academic program dedicated to training future leaders in city government.

In a letter to U-M President Hutchins, Reeves wrote: “I believe that the University has a distinct opportunity, not only in offering a public service to the people of the state…but in leading the way in the training of municipal experts.”

A year later, the political science department launched a program leading to a Master of Arts in Municipal Administration — the nation’s first systematic public service training program with a municipality focus.

The program required coursework in economics, law, civil engineering, and landscape design as well as 3 months of fieldwork. It started small, with just two students enrolled in each of its first ten years. By the time Michigan Stadium opened its doors in 1927, the fledgling program set a record high of eight enrolled students.

The IPA Era Teaching was suspended temporarily by the Great Depression and, later, by the scattering of faculty and students during World War II. But the program reached a key turning point in 1945 as the end of the war brought new demand for trained public servants. In September 1945, the Regents approved a plan to establish the Institute of Public Administration (IPA), officially launched in 1946.

Core IPA courses included fiscal administration, public personnel, intergovernmental relations, and techniques for research and reporting in public administration. Michigan residents paid $65 per term to attend.

Most IPA graduates entered into public service.

Between 1949 and 1963, just over a third went to work for municipal governments, including graduates who became the city managers of Bloomington, Howell, and Jackson.

IPA-trained public service professionals were in high demand. “During the whole period since World War II, placement of our graduates has been a minor problem at most,” recalled Ferrel Heady, director of IPA from 1960 to 1967.

1940s 1930s

Photo: Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Photo: Courtesy of Larry Collins

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“Even as the number of graduates per year rises, the number of available positions grows at a fast rate,” he said at the IPA’s 50th anniversary celebration.

The IPA era saw faculty research expand into active engagement with state issues, including constitutional topics, taxes, expenditures, statelocal fiscal relations, and information disclosure.

In 1954, the faculty-led Bureau of Government published A Study Kit on Michigan Local Government, a top seller with 15,000 copies sold at 40 cents each.

Bringing social science to bear The scope and nature of the school’s mission continued to expand. In the late 1960s, Pat Crecine, a young, newly tenured associate professor, wrote an influential article for the Policy Science Journal, calling for a new, interdisciplinary way of bringing the analytic tools of contemporary social science to bear on social problems.

Crecine’s approach marked a revolutionary milestone in the development of today’s Ford School and in the broader field of public service training. Under Crecine’s leadership, the Institute of Public Policy Studies (IPPS) was established in 1968 to award a new degree, the Master of Public Policy. Similar programs sprang up at Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Berkeley, Texas, and Duke, eventually joined by dozens more around the country.

The new IPPS curriculum was designed to provide students the analytical skills to deal with challenging problems in an increasingly complex environment. First-year MPP core courses built basic knowledge in economics, the political environment, operations research, and quantitative methods. Students then applied their new skills to a summer internship and spent most of their second year developing a specialty.

Faculty research interests broadened as well.

Nearly all IPPS faculty were jointly appointed with other top-rated schools and departments at the U-M, fostering an interdisciplinary approach that enriched research and teaching.

Jack Walker, IPPS director from 1974 to 1979, studied political and administrative decision processes around the U.S. Defense Department budget and evaluated the effects of the 1967 Detroit riots. Other research projects investigated relations between market power and racial discrimination, the diffusion of innovations among American states, and theories of organizational behavior.

Ned Gramlich became the director of IPPS in 1979 and for the next two decades he, Paul Courant, Edie Goldenberg, and John Chamberlin each served one or more terms as director. The remarkably smooth transitions among them reflected IPPS’s collegial culture, as well as the leadership abilities of the directors. Courant went on to serve as Provost and recently, Dean of Libraries for the University. Goldenberg later had a very successful 9-year run as Dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. And Chamberlin became founding director of both the school’s groundbreaking undergraduate program and the U-M Center for Ethics in Public Life.

From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, IPPS saw a steady expansion and diversification of the student body. The class size was 33 in 1974, with just 7 women. By 1994, it had doubled and over half were women. The percentage of minorities more than doubled, from 10% in 1974 to 24% in 1984.

As in the past, many graduates went to work in local and state government, but increasingly, IPPS alumni found excellent matches for their skills within the federal government. IPPS engaged with the Presidential Management Internship (now called the Presidential Management Fellows)

1960s Photo: Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

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An Early Global Reach In 1949, IPA director John W. Lederle struck a deal with

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the State Department to offer public administration education to various groups of international students. The initiative started with several German visitors to Ann Arbor.

Later, the IPA sent faculty members abroad, helping the University of the Philippines establish an Institute of Public Administration in 1952 and in the 1960s, helping create the Taiwan Center for Public and Business Administration in the Republic of China.

Photo: Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

from the program’s start in 1977, affording graduates opportunities with agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget, Department of Energy, and NASA. Paul Courant led the IPPS move to the 4th floor of Lorch Hall in 1985. The program’s entire faculty and staff were under one roof for the first time since the early years, a happy circumstance despite some aesthetic quibbles (student David Baruch, quoted in the May ’86 IPPS News: “The furniture clashes with the carpeting. Hold it — the furniture clashes with the furniture.”)

The school formally began to offer international coursework in 1978, including International Economic Policy, World Politics, and International Security Affairs. By 1988, Goldenberg reported to alumni that fully 40 percent of incoming classes were interested in the international program.

Named for a president Led by the tireless efforts of Ned Gramlich and others, in 1995 IPPS became an independent school within the University of Michigan, the School of Public Policy (SPP).

Gramlich left Ann Arbor in 1997 to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. In 1999, Rebecca M. Blank, a professor at Northwestern and a Member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, took the reins, with a clear mandate to grow the program and raise its visibility as one of the country’s top policy schools.

In 1999, the U-M renamed the school to honor President Gerald R. Ford — a 1935 graduate of the University of Michigan. First proposed back in 1977 by then-director Jack Walker, the naming of the school for President Ford was an excellent fit given his Michigan ties and his lifelong commitment to public service.

“The school represents so many of the exemplary qualities by which my father aspired to live his life: professional excellence, integrity, moral purpose, and service for the greater good of humanity,” notes President Ford’s son, Mike.

“Gerald Ford loved his alma mater, the University of Michigan, and he was deeply honored and humbled to have the School of Public Policy bear his name.”

New space for new programs The school had again outgrown its space.

In 2002, the University approved its ambitious goal: construction of a new building on the corner of State and Hill, the southern gateway to central campus.

Between the naming ceremony in 2000 and December 2008, friends, donors, alumni, and foundations contributed a total of $51.4 million.

Those generous gifts and grants funded construction of the new building and continue to provide support for students, faculty research, and programming.

In 2006, the school moved into its new home, Joan and Sanford Weill Hall. The beautiful,

1980s 1970s

Photo: Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

“In eighty-one years, the mission of training people to be thoughtful and effective public servants has not changed. We continue to educate students for careers that make a difference. ”— Ned Gramlich, 1995 state-of-the-art space has enhanced the school’s role as a central venue for public policy discussion and helped attract top students and faculty.

Under Blank’s leadership, the school established two new degree programs. In 2001, it launched an innovative joint PhD program with the departments of economics, sociology, and political science. And since 2007, a new BA program allows some of the best U-M students to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy in their junior and senior years. The school also founded three vital, engaged research centers: the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy; the National Poverty Center; and the International Policy Center.

The four corners of the globe Blank stepped down in 2006 and was later appointed Undersecretary of Economic Affairs in the Commerce Department. In 2007, the University appointed international economist Susan M. Collins from Georgetown University and Brookings as dean. With her leadership, the school will enhance its international activities — continuing to expand student opportunities to study and work abroad and in the U.S. on international issues and integrating cross-national issues more fully into the curriculum and the research programs. The newly-launched center on policy in diverse societies will also have international dimensions.

1990s

“We will continue to build on strengths that have distinguished the school for decades — ” Collins notes, “a commitment to the importance of analytic and quantitative social science to improve policy, a top-notch multi-disciplinary faculty, high-quality and diverse students, the ability to leverage connections throughout the world-class University of Michigan, demonstrated success as teachers and mentors, and our community’s collegial and cohesive spirit.”

During this anniversary year, the Ford School looks back with pride at the program’s growth and impact: a 95-year history of training effective, committed policy leaders and breaking new intellectual ground. From the program’s early focus on local government, the decades brought a widened lens and increasing engagement with state, regional, national, and international policy issues.

We look forward to the next century of service, from our corner to the four corners of the globe.

2000s

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At Wo rk i n t he Wo rld

Prepared to Make a Difference A lot has changed over 95 years…the program’s name, core curriculum, size, physical location, the student body nickname (anyone else miss ‘IPPSters’?), and more. But our graduates share a commitment to public service and a belief that first-rate quantitative and political analysis can and should help solve public policy challenges. Here three alums – representing three eras from our history – reflect on their Ford School education, their careers, and their continuing connections with the school.

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Hughes

’90

McMillen

’04 siva

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peaking with Ford School alumni, one quickly learns that policy professionals in the local, national, and international realms deal with many of the same challenges— challenges for which the school helped prepare them. By gaining an understanding of the influence of the political environment and the value of quantitative analysis in policymaking, Ford School students gain the skills necessary to apply theory to real-world problems, balance stakeholder needs, and implement successful initiatives.

When Rich Hughes (MPA ’61) was in graduate school, about a third of the class was headed for careers in municipal government. Even the students who arrived in Ann Arbor from abroad tended toward an interest in local or state issues. “Several of my classmates were international students, mostly from India,” Hughes recalls, but “they all had a state or local focus.”

More recent graduates have had a wider range of faculty interests, coursework, and internship opportunities to engage with while in school.

But even those who have gone on to careers with international organizations have found common threads with earlier eras, including the importance of well-run, accountable local governments.

When Dileepan Siva (MPP ’04) traveled to India as an undergraduate studying public health, he was frequently asked, “What are the challenges in your community?” Siva notes that “While the context may have been different, the actual problems were almost identical.”

After graduating from the Ford School, Siva spent several years with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). He explained that the political consulting and poll watching he did for NDI in Zimbabwe was about connecting people to their local and provincial governments. It’s the same challenge he saw earlier in his career, when Los Angeles Unified was working on public high school reform. The underlying problem in both places was constituent access and the ability to hold state and local government accountable to deliver services.

Hughes has witnessed similar challenges.

A consultant for municipal governments, he says the core question is how to sell program analysis and establish relationships while taking into account the political environment. When Hughes worked with San Diego, deciding how many police officers were required to provide the services needed was not about the city’s crime or emergency statistics. “The numbers didn’t make a difference—it was about who supported the police more.”

IPPS-era graduate Cheryl McMillen (MPP ’90) agrees. “You absolutely have to do analysis, but when it gets down to it, it’s the political environment that moves policy.”

She should know. As the Director of Health Benefits and Income Support for the Department of Health and Human Services, McMillen is constantly negotiating the political environment.

For example, when the Secretary and the Attorney General announced plans for HHS to intensify its focus on health care fraud and abuse, many in HHS had numbers at the ready to show how effective fraud prevention measures could be implemented.

Politically, however, the department needs to find a balance between prevention and prosecution. “Arresting people gets attention, it’s an action. Prevention is hard to prove and not very sexy,” McMillen says.

Still a part of the core curriculum today, Political Environment of Policymaking was a formative MPP course for McMillen. “We read an Ibsen play, Enemy of the People,” she remembers.

In the play, a town’s doctor discovers that their water source is poisoned—but the mayor refuses to do anything. “The town’s new baths, a major source of income, are in danger of shutting down if the water pollution is acknowledged,” McMillen explains. “The play illustrates the need to find a balance between evidence and policy [creation]. That message is still very relevant.”

Siva’s current work at Synergos has taken him into new policy territory, centered on partnerships among the nonprofit, corporate, and public sectors. Siva views social enterprise as

“…when it gets down to it, it’s the political environment that moves policy.” — Cheryl McMillen

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At Wo rk i n t he Wo rld

“The Ford School attracts and educates people who believe in service and are out to make a difference.” — RICH hughes the next big thing, the “fourth sector,” and he is enthusiastic about the possibilities created by an increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility.

Corporations, with their immense reach, expertise, and ability to draw on capital, are especially well positioned to work on environmental and social issues. “In a partnership, government and business can hold each other accountable,” Siva says. “For example, the water shortage problem in the Himalayan Basin won’t be solved by the governments of China or India.

But because they rely on the business of both countries, it’s in the best interest of corporations to work on this issue.”

Though his interests have long been around addressing poverty and social injustice in developing countries through NGOs, he found that the Ford School’s emphasis on quantitative analysis and the political environment prepared him well for his current work on multi-sector partnerships.

Hughes echoes Siva’s sentiment about the lasting impact of his graduate education and adds, “The Ford School attracts and educates people who believe in service and are out to make a difference.” An Alumni Board member, he is also excited about new developments in the Ford School’s curriculum, noting that “what hasn’t changed are the values of the faculty and the inquisitiveness and motivation of the students.”

After all, while the curriculum and internship opportunities at the Ford School have expanded over time, what makes policy effective and what gets it implemented has not changed.

Emphasizing the importance of both quantitative analysis and the political environment, of public accountability at all levels, the Ford School continues to turn out lifelong learners with the skills, commitment, and curiosity to generate real policy impact.

Shot-Callers Gubernatorial campaign joined by Ford School students What are the odds of a former U.S. Army Captain and Michigan basketball’s co-captain embarking on the same statewide political campaign?

Despite their diverse backgrounds, Jeffrey S. Barnes (Simon Fellow, Bromage Intern, MPP ’09) , who served stateside and

Photo: U-M Athletic Media Relations

overseas on active duty for nine years, and C.J. Lee (MPP ’10), point guard for the Wolverines, share an interest in state and local politics. It’s no surprise that they joined Republican Rick Snyder (BA ’77, MBA ’79, JD ’82), a native Michigander and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Ardesta on his 2010 gubernatorial bid.

“I wanted to get out of my national security niche, and politics at a state and local level has always been a source of interest to me,” said Barnes, who works as Policy Director for the campaign. Lee, completing his summer internship requirement, joined the team as Rick Snyder’s personal assistant. When asked about people’s reactions on the campaign trail, Lee concedes with a smile: “People often recognize me and it sometimes throws them off because they are used to seeing me running on the court!”

Jeffrey Barnes, Rick Snyder, C.J. Lee

In Tight Times, We’re Tight Knit Ford School community supports student fellowships and internships

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ith its long history as a small, collegial program, it’s no wonder Ford School students still feel strong connections to fellow students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Even as the student body has doubled in the past decade, those connections remain strong because members of the Ford School community invest in the students. They give time, energy, knowledge, and most tangibly, philanthropic support for student fellowships and internship funding.

The need for such support is clear. Trey Williams, director of the school’s Office of Student and Academic Services, notes that “While we are extremely grateful for the support we have received, we have not been able to keep up with the increase in fellowship support offered by key competitors or the combination of increases in the cost of tuition and the flat levels of federal need-based support.”

95% of the school’s incoming graduate students are out-of-state residents, for whom the estimated two-year cost of attendance is $104,458 ($70,366 in tuition alone). And as Williams points out, need-based aid has not increased in at least five years.

Alumni, faculty, and staff have all pitched in. For the past two years, the Alumni Board has provided support to enable student internships at the Asia Foundation in Manila, Philippines, and, the

previous summer, at the Clinton Foundation. The Faculty and Senior Staff Internship allowed a student to spend the summer at Innovations for Poverty Action in Lilongwe, Malawi.

The fact that every Annual Fund dollar is committed to student support sends a unique and powerful message. Ford School alumni continue to be the largest group of donors to the Annual Fund, providing fellowships for top-notch incoming students as well as the internship support that helps students hone skills and clarify career goals.

But perhaps the most inspiring donors are the students themselves. For the past three years graduating students have provided future students with opportunities like those they themselves had. Abby Newcomer (MPP ’09), recipient of a Gramlich Fellowship, co-chaired the 2009 Master’s Class Gift Committee. “I contributed to the class gift program for two reasons,” she says. “First, I wanted to express my appreciation for the school’s supportive community. And second, I was committed to supporting internship opportunities for future students.”

This year, the school’s first BAs enthusiastically joined their graduate counterparts in making a class gift. The need is clear, and Ford School community members—even the newest members—are responding.

Support the Ford School in its 95th year

Ford School Annual Fund The Ford School is a leader in professional education, research, and public service.

Be a leader, support the Annual Fund.

To find out more about the Annual Fund and other giving opportunities, please contact the Development Office.

734-615-3892 or visit www.fordschool.umich.edu/giving

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An In t e grat e d approac h

Crossing Borders Applied Policy Seminar Evolves with Student Interests

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n the shadow of the Detroit-Windsor Ambassador Bridge, Mexicantown’s authentic restaurants and bakeries delight tourists and locals. Every year, millions of Midwesterners drive through the DetroitWindsor tunnel and head to the Caesars Windsor casino for gambling and entertainment. But the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel are more than landmarks for the two communities. They represent the busiest international border crossing in North America.

According to a recent Brookings Institution report, the Ambassador Bridge, which is privately owned and operated by the Detroit International Bridge Company, “carries more trade between the United States and Canada each year than flows between the United States and all of Europe and Japan combined.” Billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs depend on the infrastructure that connects Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

It’s a major border crossing between two powerful nations, and as a result, has important implications for many policy issues such as trade, immigration, and national security.

As the Ford School’s field of vision has expanded over time, so too have the interests of the students. Some students still envision their careers following either a domestic track or an international one, but increasingly, faculty find

that students recognize the need to explore policy issues through a more integrated lens. These factors make the Detroit-Windsor border crossings an ideal focus of study for today’s Ford School students. The border invites consideration of a wide range of both domestic and international policy issues. For example, it very naturally places issues of local economic development in a global policy perspective, and frames international security issues within a regional context.

These opportunities in part led Professor Liz Gerber to select the Detroit-Windsor border crossing as the topic for the Applied Policy Seminar she taught in the Winter 2009 term.

Gerber, herself a political scientist with expertise in domestic issues such as land use, transportation, and economic development policy, was attracted by the wide range of issues that can be viewed through the lens of the border crossing.

Gerber secured the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce as the project’s client and collaborated with Ford School alum and instructor, Steve Tobocman (MPP ’97), to develop the basic framework for the course. Given the client’s broad interests in border crossing issues, the Chamber was happy to allow the students a great deal of discretion is choosing the specific focus of the project.

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So when the class convened at the beginning of the Winter semester, students were given the initial task of defining the scope of the project and deciding which particular issues would be part of the project’s focus. The students chose a structure that would let them learn about local economic development and workforce issues, as well as a number of policy areas traditionally labeled as international, such as national security, immigration, and international trade.

When Gerber contacted the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce to discuss the proposed project scope, the clients “were initially most interested in trade and local development, they were less interested in other global issues such as security or immigration,” she notes, “but they were not resistant to the idea of broadening the focus.”

The resulting project, “U.S. Border Crossing Analysis: A Case for Detroit-Windsor,” was divided into two parts. The first phase involved data collection on all major border crossings in both the north and south of the U.S., including indicators such as trade, infrastructure, traffic volume, security measures, employment and immigration, and the characteristics of local communities. The second phase broke students

along the U.S.-Canadian border and could be replicated in Detroit.”

The opportunity to gain public sector consulting experience has made the Applied Policy Seminar a popular elective for a number of years. Past clients have included county governments, school districts, and city administrators. The complexity and methodology of each project is established collaboratively by the client, the students, and the faculty director. Students conduct research, analyze data, review best practices, meet with stakeholders, interview actors, produce briefs and reports, and present their results to clients.

Jeff S. Barnes (MPP ’09), who took this year’s course, highlights the importance of the practical, consulting dimension to him. “I did not have any consulting experience, so that’s what drove me to this class. The ability to work with local actors was a great opportunity for me, and I also learned a great deal about the Detroit metropolitan area.” The instructor’s role, Gerber explains, is to “help with the design and the management of the project, and act as an interface between the local clients and the students.”

“…more and more students want an education that integrates domestic and international policy.” — Liz Gerber into groups that worked on case studies of the five largest U.S. border crossings: DetroitWindsor, Buffalo-Niagara, San Diego-Tijuana, Laredo-Nuevo Laredo, and El Paso-Juarez.

Student Suzanne Gill (Bromage Intern, MPP ’09) explains, “The ultimate goal of this project was to highlight the unique qualities and characteristics of Detroit, as well as to make recommendations on what could be improved based on the study of other border crossing cities’ best practices.”

The students presented their findings to a diverse group of stakeholders from Detroit and Windsor. “We gave some practical recommendations based on our case studies,” Gill said.

“For instance, we studied the Buffalo-Niagara region where there is a bridge used solely by Nexus cardholders. The Nexus pass is a preauthorized custom card that makes crossborder commuting easier and reduces traffic congestion. This type of initiative is unique

Gerber has taught the Applied Policy Seminar several times, always with a domestic focus.

She thinks that the broad scope of this year’s course was a positive development, and credits the changing nature of the MPP students who come to the school. “There was definitely even more interest in international issues than I had thought,” Gerber notes, “More and more students want an education that integrates domestic and international policy.” Barnes is just such a student. He says, “I had taken many courses focused on international security and I thought that it would be an interesting opportunity to approach this issue from a local standpoint.”

When asked about the next iteration of the course, Gerber says she’s already looking for more clients like the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, clients who see the value of an integrated approach to public policy. “I hope we can continue to find opportunities to satisfy the broad range of interests our students bring with them to the Ford School, while at the same time having a positive impact on our local communities.”

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Lo c al t i e s

A River Runs Through It Ford School graduates tackle cost/benefit analysis of repairs to Ann Arbor’s Argo Dam

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nn Arborites live for summer’s long days, ripe cherries, and sunny afternoons at the Huron River.

The river is a quiet place for locals to “get out of the city” without going anywhere, and the waterway and bordering parks provide opportunities for hiking, running, cycling, kayaking, canoeing, and more.

The Argo Dam, originally built in 1820 to power flour mills and rebuilt by Detroit Edison in 1913, was decommissioned for hydropower generation decades ago but remains a key component of Ann Arbor’s recreation landscape. The 3,200 meters of rowable water created by the Argo Dam makes the Huron River the venue of choice for local rowing groups. High school and collegiate rowing teams and the Ann Arbor Rowing Club make more than 50,000 trips each year through the pond created by the dam.

But the lifespan of dams is limited, and the regular need for extensive repairs has begun to raise questions about the future of the dam. A heated municipal land use debate has ensued: should the dam be removed, returning the riverbed to a more natural state, reducing noise pollution, and enhancing public recreation opportunities—but limiting options for rowers? Or should the dam be repaired?

Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) gave the City of Ann Arbor until July 2009 to make a decision. Two Ford School graduates have been instrumental in collecting the data and performing the analysis necessary for the City’s decision.

Kasina presents his work at the 2nd Annual Gramlich Showcase

Bhavani Prathap Kasina (Wege Foundation Intern, MPP ’09) worked for seven months this year under the supervision of Matthew Naud (MPP ‘89), the city’s Environmental Coordinator. “Prathap did terrific work,” Naud said. “He provided the city with some excellent economic analysis of the monetary costs and benefits of the various options.”

If the City chooses to keep the dam, costs such as construction and maintenance must be considered, but the restoration of hydropower generators could eventually offer revenue (although not for an estimated 50 years).

Removing the dam would incur removal costs and possibly require dredging sediment, and offer no direct monetary benefits.

But the Argo Dam debate provides plenty of evidence for the importance of non-monetized costs and benefits in public decision-making, as Kasina saw first-hand during a series of public meetings about the future of the dam.

Environmental groups presented as passionate a case for removing the dam as did the rowers (many of whom consider themselves environmentalists) for saving the pond. “The issue generated considerable interest in the city and among local groups and communities,” Kasina says. “I gained a better understanding of local communities’ issues and I was able to see how political and social factors, as well as economic analyses, weigh in to the policy-making process. The cost-benefit analysis itself is just one piece of the final decision.”

As of this writing, the analysis and debate go on. Taking into consideration fervent public input (some voiced on yard signs), conflicting recommendations from the two city committees with jurisdiction, and the solutions other communities have found to similar challenges, Ann Arbor Mayor and Ford School faculty member John Hieftje and the City Council requested a nine-month extension from the DEQ to gather additional information about the city’s options for the dam.

Photo: John Baird

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First Public Policy BA Students Graduate

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Visiting VIPs

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ifty-four new graduates walked across the Rackham Auditorium stage in May 2009 and took their place in history as the inaugural class of undergraduates to receive degrees from the Ford School. The first group of BAs are outstanding students with broad-ranging interests in policy at home and abroad. They combined their accomplishments in the classroom with significant engagement with campus and community life.

Among the accomplishments of the Class of 2009: four members of Phi Beta Kappa, the winner of a Hopwood writing award, the editor-in-chief of the Michigan Daily, two varsity athletes, the leaders of a dozen student organizations, and the organizer behind the first new party in a decade to achieve a strong showing in the Michigan Student Assembly elections (who says he learned how to do this in Rusty Hills’s course on campaigns). In addition to staying busy in Ann Arbor, about 40% of the class spent a term in studyabroad or in the Michigan in Washington program.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, delivers 2009 Citigroup Foundation Lecture in January.

As the Class of 2009 moves on to the next stages of their lives, we are learning the answers to one of our most frequently asked questions: What can someone do with a BA in public policy? So far, the answers include: go to law school, pursue a graduate degree in public health or higher education, join the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps or Teach for America, teach English abroad (in one case with the support of a Fulbright), join the Air Force, be a legislative aide in Lansing or DC, and get an internship with the New York Yankees.

This extraordinary group of students set the bar high academically, personally, and professionally for the undergraduate classes that will follow them into the Ford School. We look forward to continuing to work with the Class of 2009 as alumni of the School and watching the contributions they will undoubtedly make in this new role.

Joshua Bolten, former White House Chief of Staff, speaks to a packed room of Ford School students, faculty, and staff in April in a session titled, “Running the White House: Advice I Gave My Successor.”

The BA Class of ’09

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In t e rv i e w

Ranny Riecker

A Philanthropist for the Future

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argaret Ann (Ranny) Riecker (HLLD ’05) is the Ford School’s single most generous supporter of students. Her philanthropy through the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation (where she is president), the Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation (where she is chair), and her personal giving with her late husband, John Riecker (AB ’52, JD ’54) has already funded the education of 16 public policy students, and more than 400 students campus-wide.

Ranny Riecker :

Here at the Ford School, Riecker and her family have also:

S&H : In the face of these economic challenges, what tools does Michigan have to turn things around?

» helped support the construction of Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, leading to the naming of the Margaret Dow Towsley Reading Room in honor of Ranny’s late mother; » endowed the Towsley Foundation Policymaker-in-Residence program; and » significantly advanced the Science, Technology and Public Policy program through funding for postdoctoral students.

President and Mrs. Ford with Riecker in 2000

She also chaired the School’s highlysuccessful fundraising campaign and serves on its advisory committee.

A former Republican National Committee member, Ranny Riecker is a frank advocate for a Michigan characterized by a diverse economic base, effective health care, informed policy, civility in public life and respect for the value of education. She recently shared her thoughts about current events and her reasons for supporting the Ford School.

State & Hill :

Let’s start with some big questions: What do you think about the state of our world? What are the issues that keep you up at night?

The economy keeps me up late.

I think President Obama is extremely charismatic and quite successful at promoting his policies.

But I also think his proposals leave open some important questions. I’m an advocate for electronic medical records, for example. But we haven’t even started to assess the cost of digitizing everything. Just our health care system here in Midland alone would have to pay close to $30 million to make it happen. How can we achieve this goal in a way that we can afford?

RR : Our higher education system is one of our greatest assets. It’s very hard for people in Michigan to stop thinking about everything in relation to automobiles. But the U-M and our other research universities around the state have so much talent that they can devote to incubating new industries like alternative energy and health sciences.

S&H : Where is the Ford School’s role in this process?

RR : I’ll be honest again: Michigan’s legislators and governor don’t understand the assets they have here. There are so many times when they wouldn’t need to hire outside experts because they could go to U-M or any of our other universities for more and better advice.

Of course the School is doing some very interesting things with local communities—with the bridge in Detroit, for example. It’s not an ivory tower. But it can be very hard to get people to change the way they look at universities.

S&H : You and your late husband, John, have been the School’s largest supporters of students.

What inspired you to give for student aid?

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Rabe

“WE’RE BALANCING OUR STATE BUDGET ON THE BACKS OF THE FUTURE BY CUTTING EDUCATION.” RR : The thing that really frightens me is that we’re balancing our state budget on the backs of the future by cutting education. For example, much of my support now is for science policy because we don’t raise scientists anymore. If we’re going to have a foreign policy that allows people into the U.S. on education visas and then forces them to get a green card or go home, we’re going to have to start cultivating our own talent.

S&H : If we were to look back 50 or 100 years from now, what would you want to see as your legacy?

RR : Positive change in the quality of life for citizens in the communities we’ve touched. And some civility in our public policy, in our dealings with people we disagree with…or even those we agree with.

S&H :

What are the things that make you happy or proud or excited to live in Michigan?

RR :

I love this state: the variety, the lakes…And the people. Even with all our problems, there are so many positive people. Michigan has historically been a breeding ground for entrepreneurs, people who make positive improvements. We love our history, but we don’t rest on our laurels.

 For more information about the Riecker Fellows at the Ford School, go to www.fordschool.umich.edu/alumni/rieckerfellows.

Greenhouse Governance The federal government has been grappling with the issues surrounding climate change for nearly thirty years and new scientific evidence strongly supports the idea that a viable governance strategy needs to be developed. According to a recent survey, while a majority of Americans believe the earth is warming and government should be responsible for addressing climate change, they are not willing to directly support climate change policies. Where does that leave policymakers?

A group of the nation’s leading researchers and policy-influencers gathered at a recent national conference to discuss the complex issues surrounding climate policy. The conference proceedings, edited by Barry Rabe, will appear in a forthcoming book from the Brookings Institution Press called Greenhouse Governance: Addressing Climate Change in America.

Barry Rabe is a professor at the Ford School of Public Policy, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and organizer of the 2008 National Conference on Climate Governance at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Internship offers full-circle experience Frank Szollosi (Annenberg Intern) came to the Ford School to ‘sharpen his policy chops.’ He joined the MPP class of 2010 with experience as a congressional press secretary, a political consultant, and a seven-year member of the Toledo City Council.

Szollosi’s interest in climate change, cities, and a post-Kyoto international climate agreement led him to an internship with the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Change (EGC). While with the EGC, Szollosi was able to attend a round of negotiations of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany. The UNFCCC was full-circle experience for Szollosi.

“Negotiations are all just a matter of scale,” he said. “Whether it’s a small city or the UN, you try to find common interests, agreed upon goals, and communicate with each other.”

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Pub li c Po li c y fo r Di ffi cult Days

Rules of the Game are Changing for Michigan CLOSUP to Survey Local Government Leaders

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or much of the 20th century, Michigan was an economic powerhouse fueled by a growing industrial economy. Times, of course, have changed.

Michigan’s near decade-long economic decline, worsened recently by the national recession, has hit communities throughout the state with severe problems. And now, due to falling tax revenue and state cuts to general revenue sharing, Michigan’s rising unemployment and social service needs are coupled with declining state and local government fiscal capacity.

As the demand for public services has increased, the ability to deliver them has fallen.

Complicating things further, the state is undergoing a large-scale economic transformation.

Michigan’s former industrial economy is giving way to what many hope will be a 21st century knowledge economy—so what worked in the past will not work in the future.

Whatever Michigan’s future economy looks like, it is clear that the rules of the game are rapidly changing. New strategies for economic and workforce development are required to return prosperity to the state.

The Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) has launched an innovative program of survey research to help Michigan communities deal with these critical issues.

The Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) is unique: it is the only ongoing survey research program in the country that targets every unit of general purpose local government across an entire state.

The intended respondents are the chief elected and appointed officials in every county, city, township, and village in Michigan. Twice per year, the surveys will gather factual data on local government operations, as well as opinion data on today’s most pressing policy issues.

While the 2009 surveys will focus on economic and workforce development, the ultimate goal of the MPPS is to foster improved quality of life in Michigan communities through better policymaking.

CLOSUP planned and implemented the MPPS in partnership with the Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Municipal League, and Michigan Townships Association. The launch of the MPPS and implementation of the first two survey waves will be funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

 Learn more: www.closup.umich. edu.

These Surveys Will: Provide local public officials with a better understanding of the views and priorities of their peers across the state, as well as of the programs similar communities are developing to meet today’s challenges.

Give state-level policymakers a clear and comprehensive view of the priorities and challenges of communities across Michigan, highlighting commonalities and differences across regions and community types.

Identify best practices for fiscal management and for economic and workforce development, given the economic transformation underway.

Make possible analyses of convergence and divergence in the attitudes and priorities of Michigan’s local political leaders, citizens, and business leaders on issues of fiscal policy, service provision, and economic development in their communities.

Enhance opportunities for intergovernmental/ regional cooperation and coordination.

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The Right Place at the Right Time, Unfortunately National Poverty Center surveying effects of recession and federal stimulus on Southeast Michigan workers and families

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ong affected by the loss of well-paid manufacturing jobs, workers and families in Southeast Michigan have been hit especially hard by the current economic crisis.

Michigan has among the highest rates in the nation for foreclosures, unemployment, and personal bankruptcy filings.

The federal government has poured stimulus funds into the region under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, providing direct aid to the disadvantaged and unemployed and significant additional funding to the automobile industry.

This confluence of economic suffering and the rapid influx of government funds make Southeast Michigan the right place at the right time to explore the impacts of economic and public policy changes.

Poverty researchers at the Ford School have designed an ambitious new panel survey that will help policymakers and researchers better understand the effects of the severe recession, the housing crisis, and the federal stimulus funding on workers and families in the region.

Sheldon Danziger and Kristin Seefeldt lead the research team, which also includes Ford School faculty Robert Schoeni and Sandra Danziger, as well as Institute for Social Research health economist Helen Levy and U-M sociologist Sarah Burgard.

The study will explore the influence of the recession and the collapse of stock and housing prices on the economic and The State Capital rotunda, Lansing Photo: Mike Savitski

non-economic well-being of workers and families, and will assess the extent to which social welfare programs and federal stimulus spending offset some of the negative effects of the economic crisis. It will also investigate the effects of

”It could be that we’re about to see health and emotional problems increase dramatically.”— Sheldon Danziger changes in exposure to economic hardships and in the use of social programs on health and socio-economic disparities between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites.

Danziger says, “Past research on job loss links layoffs with significant increases in health problems, in part due to increased stress. However, none of that research has been conducted under economic conditions like we have now. It could be that we’re about to see health and emotional problems increase dramatically.”

On the other hand, Seefeldt points out that many in the media report that recession adversity is bringing families together. “But stories like these are anecdotal,” she says. “We need solid evidence about how families are managing and what types of public policies work best to mitigate hardships.”

A stratified random sample of 1,000 households in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties will be surveyed. The survey instrument covers a comprehensive set of issues: demographics, employment and the labor market, income and assets (including net housing worth), material hardships, credit and debt, health and mental health, and public program use. Researchers will field the first survey wave this fall, with subsequent waves planned for 2010-2012.

The surveys that will be conducted this fall are supported by generous grants from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Ford Foundation, and the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan.

 Learn more: www.npc.umich.edu.

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Pub li c Po li c y fo r Di ffi cult Days

Opening Doors to Higher Education The Obama Administration implements Susan Dynarski’s research on financial aid

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tretched family incomes, fewer private sources of credit, and rising tuition costs—while still a key predictor of lifetime earnings, a college education has become harder than ever to afford. Ford School economist Susan Dynarski’s research has focused on ways to close the racial and socioeconomic gaps in college entry, particularly around one key factor: federal financial aid. Now Dynarski’s work is in the hands of the policymakers who can put her recommendations into practice.

The Obama Administration sees access to higher education as both an equity issue and a means of building a skilled workforce prepared for the economy’s rebound. In June, U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan announced significant changes to the form college students use to apply for federal financial aid, the muchmaligned Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The results? A shorter, simpler online application form; proposed legislation to remove more than half of the financial questions; the ability for some families to re-use financial data

Susan Dynarski accepting Golden Quill Award from NASFAA

already submitted to the IRS; and ultimately, one fewer barrier to a college education.

Secretary Duncan’s announcement was the culmination of a long process of policy engagement by Dynarski and other academic researchers. In 2006, Dynarski and her co-author, Judith Scott-Clayton, set out to conduct high-quality, nonpartisan research on the costs and benefits of the complex process of applying for federal financial aid. The researchers concluded that with very little loss of accuracy, the application process could be reduced to a simple checkbox on tax returns, indicating the desire to apply for financial aid.

Information already collected by the IRS could then be used by the Department of Education to evaluate eligibility.

Reduced complexity would also help families by enabling the Department to communicate financial aid decisions earlier in the process, when the information could more meaningfully help students make the decision to apply to college. Dynarski and ScottClayton asserted that this

set of reforms would “improve the effectiveness of the billions already committed to higher education, allowing aid to serve its intended goal: opening college doors to those with the ability but not the means to pursue higher education.”

In 2007, the Brookings-based Hamilton Project commissioned a nontechnical, policy-oriented version of the original research papers. The resulting publication, “College Aid on a Postcard,” was widely picked up by the mainstream press and specialty publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education. Dynarski testified before Congress, participated in countless conference calls with policymakers, and met with financial aid administrators from around the country. Several presidential hopefuls — Republicans as well as Democrats — incorporated the ideas into their platforms. Dynarski was invited to join the Rethinking Student Aid Study Group, sponsored by the College Board, and they included her recommendations in an influential publication last fall.

Co-chaired by Sandy Baum, a senior policy analyst for the College Board and professor of economics at Skidmore College, the Study Group assembled some of the most prominent experts on higher education finance in the country. Baum praised Dynarski’s contributions, noting that in its deliberations, “the group relied heavily on Susan’s research and her expertise, especially on the issue of simplifying the application process for student aid. The respect with which the report has been received has been significantly enhanced by Professor Dynarski’s reputation and her role.”

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Welcoming Vets Back to School The University of Michigan and the Ford School are pleased to announce a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs called the Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program.

The Yellow Ribbon Program—as it’s more commonly known—will benefit military veterans by providing funds to help students cover tuition expenses above those included in the original post 9/11 GI Bill. The program is just one element of a larger set of services the U-M provides to help veterans transition successfully from active duty to the academic community.

Learn more by contacting the Student Services office at 734-764-0453.

The Department’s FAFSA proposals fall short of the wholesale simplifications recommended by Dynarski and Scott-Clayton. But Dynarski believes that the Administration is laying the groundwork for more sweeping changes while government agencies resolve daunting implementation and technical issues. She continues to consult with House staff as the legislation enabling the initial simplifications makes its way through Congress.

For her body of work on student financial aid, Dynarski received the prestigious 2009 Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). The award was presented in August at the organization’s annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.

The NASFAA reward is gratifying, but the greater satisfaction for Dynarski was in seeing her work change public policy. “I’m in this profession because I believe that good academic research can and should influence policy.

Complexity in student aid disproportionately hurts the very groups the loans are meant to support. Our research pointed toward some clear solutions to that problem, and it’s a terrific feeling to see those solutions move toward implementation.”

Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies

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he Ford School will launch a new research center this fall, a firstof-its kind initiative designed to shed light on how public policy can most effectively navigate the opportunities and challenges posed by societies that are becoming increasingly diverse locally, nationally, and internationally.

International migration and differential rates of birth and mortality continue to drive complex changes in the composition of communities, highlighting the need to confront their diversity in terms of culture, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Academic researchers have tackled the resulting issues from a variety of perspectives, including the social sciences, education, business, and law. But with the opening of the Center for Public Policy in Diverse Societies, the Ford School will be home to the first university-based effort focused specifically on the public policy issues associated with diversity.

The new center will build on intellectual resources from around the University as well as those already present at the Ford School. The center will initially be funded by the U-M Provost’s office, the U-M’s National Center for Institutional Diversity, and the Ford School. We will be seeking funding support from foundations and donors to sustain and expand the work of the center.

Early joint PhD graduate Jordan Matsudaira, now Assistant Professor at Cornell (2005)

PhD Program Flourishes The Ford School has highly selective joint PhD programs with Economics, Political Science, and Sociology.

76 students have entered the program since it began in fall 2001.

We’ve graduated 6 joint Economics PhD students, 6 joint Sociology PhD students, and 7 joint Political Science PhD students.

Career destinations have included tenure-track positions at universities such as Princeton, Rutgers, Cornell, West Point, Claremont McKenna College, City College of New York (CUNY), Colgate University, and Penn State; research roles with think tanks such as Mathematica; and government positions with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department.

Nearly 80% of the active students have been awarded full- or multi-year competitive fellowships and many have received prestigious national awards.

10 students are expected to complete their degrees within the next year.

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Fac ult y

Faculty News & Awards Bob Axelrod is part of a project inter-

viewing senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders to improve understanding about what is really most important to each side in resolving conflict in the Middle East. Among other issues, the group explored the potential impact of a joint water project between Israel and Jordan to connect the Red Sea with the Dead Sea. The group’s leader, Lord John Alderdice of Northern Ireland, presented the results of the work directly to George Mitchell, President Obama’s special envoy for the Middle East.

Dr. Ken Pienta – co-author with Axelrod and David E. Axelrod of the 2006 National Academy of Sciences publication, “Evolution of Cooperation Among Tumor Cells” – has developed a drug inspired by their work together. The drug will soon start Phase II trials with human subjects.

Sandra Danziger has a paper forth-

coming in the Annual Review of Sociology (36), “Decline of welfare and implications for poverty.” Sandra has begun a 3-year, McGregor Foundationfunded project to evaluate the Family Success Program of Starfish Family Services in Inkster, MI. The program provides support to economically distressed families with young children.

The Rockefeller Foundation selected

Axelrod

Danziger

Goldenberg

Associate Dean Alan Deardorff gave a plenary address, “Dangers and Opportunities for Developing Countries in the Current World Trading System,” at the 12th Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis, UN-ECLAC, Santiago, Chile in June. The Ford School and the Economics Department will celebrate Alan’s 65th birthday this year with a Festschrift: a two day conference called “Comparative Advantage, Economic Growth, and the Gains from Trade and Globalization.” Paul Krugman will be the keynote speaker on Friday, October 2, 2009. Learn more and register: www. fordschool.umich.edu.

Mel Levitsky accepted an invitation to become a member of the Operating Committee of the U-M Substance Abuse Research Center (UMSARC).

John Dinardo has accepted a joint appointment at the U-M Law School as the school’s chief statistics consultant.

The Law School has asked him to assist faculty with “projects that require statistical analysis, and help those who may feel ‘statistically challenged’ to learn how to survive in an increasingly quantitative world of scholarship.”

The International Monetary Fund’s Independent Evaluation Office commis-

James J. Duderstadt received honorary degrees this spring at McGill University and Dartmouth. In addition to many other national and international leadership activities, he is the co-chair, with Jeff Sachs, of the National Science Foundation’s Roundtable on Global Sustainability.

Sheldon Danziger for a month-long

Edie Goldenberg and co-author John

scholarly residency at its Bellagio Center in Italy, where he presented a seminar, “Four Decades of Antipoverty Policies.”

With Maria Cancian, Sheldon is the editor of a new book from the Russell Sage Foundation, Changing Poverty, Changing Policies.

Cross have a new book out from MIT Press, Off-Track Profs: Nontenured Teachers in Higher Education.

Brian Jacob was chosen by his alma

mater, the University of Chicago’s Harris School, as their distinguished alumni speaker for the U of C’s 500th Convocation, to be celebrated in October.

In May 2009, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals challenging the patentability of genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility. Shobita Parthasarathy , who wrote a book comparing the development of genetic testing for breast cancer in the U.S. and Britain in 2007 (entitled Building Genetic Medicine), has been asked to file a declaration in support of the ACLU’s case.

sioned a paper from Bob Stern titled “Trade in Financial Services: Has the IMF Been Involved Constructively?”

Jan Svejnar has accepted an invitation

to join the Editorial Board of the European Economic Review. He was co-organizer of the World Bank’s Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics. The conference, titled “Lessons from East Asia and the Global Financial Crisis,” was held in Seoul, South Korea in June. Jan is co-editor of a new book from Routledge titled, Labor Markets and Economic Development.

The book is comprised of papers first presented at the Ford School’s International Policy Center in May 2007.

Katherine Terrell and co-author Michael Troilo won the IJGE/WAIB 1st Annual Emerging Scholar Award in Women’s Entrepreneurship in June for their paper “Culture, Values and Female Entrepreneurship.” Katherine has forthcoming publications in Labour Economics, Economics of Transition, and World Development. She and a team of researchers are consulting with policymakers from three Central American countries on the impact of minimum wages on poverty. The results will be presented in February 2010.

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Parthasarathy

Yang

David Thacher published “The Cognitive Foundations of Humanistic Governance,” in vol. 12, no. 2 of the International Public Management Journal. He also contributed a paper called “Community Policing Without the Police? The Limits of Order Maintenance by the Community,” to a comparative volume called Community Policing and Peacekeeping (London: Taylor and

Francis, 2009).

Maris Vinovskis published “From a

Nation at Risk to No Child Left Behind: National Education Goals and the Creation of Federal Education Policy” (New York: Teachers College Press, 2009). He was inducted as an American Education Research Fellow in 2008.

Amnesty International USA’s membership elected Susan Waltz to a 3-year term on the organization’s governing board.

Congratulations to Dean C. Yang , who was promoted this fall to Associate Professor of Public Policy, with tenure.

Two other faculty received promotions this year as well: congratulations to Sharon Maccini (Lecturer IV) and Kristin S. Seefeldt (Assistant Research

Scientist). Kristin’s book, Working after Welfare, was published this year by the W.E. Upjohn Institute.

Ciorciari

Potter

Two Political Scientists Join the Faculty John D. Ciorciari is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy. His interests include public international law, the theory and practice of international relations, and international finance. His current research projects focus primarily on Asia and examine foreign policy strategies, human rights, and the reform of international economic institutions in that region. Since 1999, he has been a legal advisor to the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which promotes historical memory and justice for the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime. He holds an AB and JD from Harvard and an M.Phil. and D.Phil. from Oxford, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Philip B. K. Potter is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy. His primary research interests are in international security, political economy, and methods.

His current research explores the relationship between interdependence and international conflict, the impact of media on foreign policy, and the role of networks in transnational terrorism.

Philip holds a BA from McGill University, a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles and has been a fellow at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Chen

High Praise for New Book Associate Professor Anthony S. Chen ’s new book, The Fifth Freedom: Jobs, Politics, and Civil Rights in the United States, 19411972 (Princeton University Press, 2009), has garnered tremendous reviews for its groundbreaking exploration and analysis of the history of affirmative action.

While the book was in press, the Social Science History Association named it the 2008 President’s Book Award winner, an award given each year to mark a meritorious first work by a scholar.

The Fifth Freedom, an expansion on Tony’s doctoral dissertation, connects the advent of affirmative action with battles over fair employment practices legislation from the 1940s to the 1970s.

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Alumn i

Class Notes Yoo Jong-Hae Yoo , MPA ’65, received the Higashikuninomiya Cultural Award from the Japanese Imperial House for Japan and Korean Cultural Exchange.

He served as a Professor of Public Administration at Yonsei University from 1971-1996 and later as President of the Korean Society for Public Administration.

Michael (Mike) Winn , MPP ’71, looks

forward to attending the 95th reunion. Mike works in DC and lives with wife, Elizabeth, in Annapolis, MD. Mike is taking the summer off to enjoy Sherwood Forest, where they live.

Scott Elliff , MPP ’78, recently

retired after a career in the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, and later in private sector business consulting. Now Scott owns and operates DuCard Vineyards (www.ducardvineyards.com) and is involved with non-profit boards, including the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Center for Nonprofit Excellence.

Sue Poppink , MPP ‘83, earned tenure

at Western Michigan University, Department of Educational Leadership in June 2008. Her research interests are in teaching practices and their relationship with federal and state policy, particularly the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act of 1965 and its reauthorizations.

David Norquist , MPP ’89, is a partner

with Kearney and Company. He worked for the federal government for 19 years in various positions, most recently as Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Homeland Security. He is married and has three children who dress themselves in maize and blue on football Saturdays despite living in Virginia.

Class of 20??

Pictured from left to right are: Charlotte, Scott, and Ross Anderson; Camille and Julienne Conger; Eve Skrocki; Daniel and Elliot Stowe; Sofia and Lucas Sossa; Winn grandchildren; Grigori Zolikoff

Daniel Polsky , MPP ’89, welcomed his second child, Issac Davis Polsky, to the family on October 11, 2008. During the 2007-2008 academic year, he served as a Senior Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, and in June 2009, was promoted to full professor of Medicine and Health Care Management at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Wharton School.

Peter Gross , MPP ’93, started Dot Org Consulting, which assists nonprofit organizations with managing constituent relationships, in November 2007. He and wife Shelly adopted their second child from China in December, a fantastic boy named Wade (4.5 yrs), brother to Clara June (6 yrs). Peter would love to hear from his fellow ’93 grads at peter@dotorgconsulting.net.

Susan McLaughlin , MPP ’93, was pro-

moted to Senior Vice President at the NY Fed last December.

Gary Brown , MPA ‘95, recently com-

pleted a 2.5 year tour with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Afghanistan and is returning to Ann Arbor in the fall to obtain an MSW, with an emphasis in individual practice and mental health.

Dylan Conger , MPP ’95, and her

husband Michael Smith-Welch brought home their youngest daughter, Julienne Ejigayehu Conger (born June 29, 2008) from Ethiopia in March 2009.

Julienne is healthy, happy, and beautiful and adores her big sister, Camille.

Holly Donnelly , MPP ’96 and Bob Donnelly , MPP ’95, are moving back to

the DC area. Holly spent the last few years at home with children, Helena (6 yrs) and Robby (4 yrs), and recently accepted a job with the General Services Administration. Bob is the Senior Director of Health Policy at Johnson & Johnson.

Norquist

Brown

Evangeline Sophia Drossos , MPP ‘97, was promoted to Co-head of Global Foreign Exchange Strategy at Morgan Stanley. She and husband, Gabriel, welcomed a son, Zachary Alexander Ovanessian, in December.

Holly B. Anderson , MPP ‘98, and hus-

band Scott celebrated the birth of daughter Charlotte Jane Anderson on August 8, 2008. The family, including son Ross (7 yrs), is absolutely in love with their newest member.

Craig Garthwaite , MPP ‘01, finished

his PhD in Economics at the University of Maryland and has accepted a tenure track position at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.

Ben Sossa , MPP ‘01, and Genene Fisher Sossa , MPP ‘01, live in Raleigh, NC with their children, Lucas (3 yrs), and, Sofia (1 yr). After earning his MBA at Duke, Ben recently returned to Duke as Director of the Executive MBA Programs. Genene continues to work on science policy issues at the American Meteorological Society and is an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University.

Stephen Stowe , MPP ‘01, and Lisa (Berry) Stowe , MPP ‘00, welcomed

Elliot Michael Stowe on April 15, 2009. He joins big brother Daniel (3 yrs), who is thrilled with his little brother.

Steve is a research analyst at Samson Capital Advisors and Lisa is a business analyst in the Markets Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Walter Braunohler , MPP ’02, and

his wife, Loren, are moving back to Washington, DC where Walter will be working at the U.S. Department of State in Foggy Bottom after two years as the spokesman at the American Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan.

S TAT E & H I L L

23

From State Street to Pennsylvania Avenue Braunohler

Holmes, Dosanjh, Gupta Bulbul Gupta , MPP ’04, Sukhi Dosanjh , MPP ’01, and Stephanie Holmes , MPP ’05, met in New Delhi, India in March. Bulbul was in the city to work and visit family while Sukhi and Stephanie were in New Delhi working for USAID and the U.S. Embassy, respectively.

Stephanie Schmidt , MPP ’05, married

Scott Leiser (who recently finished his PhD in cellular and molecular biology at U-M) in May. They are moving to the Seattle area for positions at the University of Washington: Stephanie in the PhD program at the Evans School of Public Affairs and Scott as a postdoctoral fellow.

Aaron Skrocki , MPP ’05, is back in

Ann Arbor where he completed his first year of MBA studies in the Ross School of Business. Aaron previously worked in international development with Catholic Relief Services and the UN World Food Programme. On February 11, 2009, he and his wife welcomed a daughter, Eve Elisabeth Skrocki.

Mikhail Zolikoff , MPP ‘05, and wife,

Deborah, welcomed their new son, Grigori Mikhailovich Zolikoff, into the world on March 1, 2009. They don’t know what they would do without him!

Chris Dorle , MPP ‘07, recently deployed to Afghanistan where he is serving with USAID as a Development Advisor to NATO/ISAF Headquarters.

Geoff Young , MPP ’07, was the recipi-

ent of Crain’s Detroit Business “20 in their 20s” award for his work on the Detroit Region Aerotropolis Project.

Dina Ufberg , BA ’09, is completing a

Fulbright in Hong Kong where she will conduct research and serve as an English Teaching Assistant.

In Memoriam Howard Vaughn Gary , MPP ’72,

passed away February 15, 2009. Howard broke ground as the first black City Manager of Miami, serving from 19811984. Howard was born Jan. 13, 1947, in New York City. In addition to his IPPS MPP, he earned undergraduate degrees in political science and business administration from Morehouse College.

After IPPS, Howard served as the budget director of Newark, NJ, and then as Miami’s budget director in 1976 before moving on to become City Manager of Miami in 1981 at the age of 35. Howard’s administration was instrumental in efforts to build modern downtown Miami. After his career with the city, Howard went into the private sector as a bond manager. He died after a fiveyear battle with cancer.

Deil Wright , MPA ’54, passed away

after a brief illness on June 30, 2009. He was a native of Michigan with BA, MPA, and PhD degrees from the U-M. Deil was an Alumni Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina. He joined the UNC Political Science Department in 1967 after teaching at Wayne State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of California at Berkeley.

He is the author or co-author of numerous books, articles, and papers, including three editions of Understanding Intergovernmental Relations. He was director of the MPA Program at the University of North Carolina from 19731979, and in 1975 he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Public Administration. Deil is survived by his wife, Pat, and three children.

In June, Annie Maxwell (MPP ‘02) was one of 15 named as 2009–2010 White House Fellows. Selection as a White House Fellow is highly competitive and based on a record of remarkable professional achievement early in one’s career, evidence of leadership potential, a proven commitment to public service, and the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute successfully at the highest levels of the Federal government.

Annie is the Chief Operating Officer of Direct Relief International, a nonprofit that through humanitarian assistance improves the quality of life for people affected by poverty or disasters in 59 countries including the U.S. Annie served as chair and vice chair of the Ford School’s Alumni Board. In addition to her MPP from the University of Michigan, Annie received a BA in English and Political Science, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude. She attended the U-M on a full athletic scholarship and was captain of the volleyball team.

Bev Godwin , MPP ’82, is working in the White House as Director of Online Resources and Interagency Development at the Office of New Media @ The White House. This new office manages all the online media for the President and Administration, including WhiteHouse.gov and online citizen engagement initiatives such as Open for Questions, live chats, video, photos, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.

Bev was also recently honored with the President’s Award from the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration, and she has been nominated to be a Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration.

Bev Godwin

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S TAT E & H I L L

The Last Wo rd

International Opportunities

Jennifer Niggemeier

Alumni and financial support key to international internship growth International internships for MPP students have increased significantly in the last decade—but not without deliberate planning on the part of the Ford School.

Alumni connections and increased financial support have been essential to the growth in international internships. Jennifer Niggemeier, Director of Graduate Career Services, explains more in this interview with Geoffroy Ponte (MPP ’09).

Jennifer Niggemeier: One of the goals of the program over the

past ten years was definitely to expand the school’s international offerings. Part of that deliberate goal was to create more opportunities for students to secure internships overseas, and also to find internship opportunities that were within the U.S. but focused on international issues.

So, over the past ten years, we have seen significant growth in both those areas, moving from a place where less than 5% percent of the students were going overseas for internships to, in recent years, 20 to 25 percent of the class (nearly twice the size it was 10 years ago) interning abroad, with an additional 20 percent doing international work within the U.S. That’s more than a four-fold increase, from just 8 internationally-focused internships in 1997 to 34 last summer.

Geoffroy Ponte: How did the school achieve such results?

JN: Around the time that IPPS became the School of Public Policy, a significant investment was made in expanding the Career Services department. With a commitment of additional resources, we were (and are) able to not only develop relationships with more employers, but also provide more students with funding support. Funding was critical to making international internships a reality; we had to reduce the financial obstacles which often prevent students from accepting the internship that best suits their career goals.

We continue to work to create new opportunities. One successful strategy has been the development of internship ‘partnerships’: that is, relationships between the Ford School and key organizations in the U.S. or abroad that specifically agree to host a Ford School intern.

GP: What role did our alumni play in this evolution?

JN: Our alumni have always been the greatest resource in terms of connecting us with what’s really happening in the policy world: what are the hot policy issues? Who are the employers doing cutting-edge work? Where are the opportunities? Our alumni have been absolutely critical in helping us to find those answers and connect our students with incredible opportunities.

GP: What are the prospects for future students regarding

internships and jobs?

JN: There are always new opportunities and new organizations, and finding ways for students to connect with these organizations is part of what our office is about. We do that in a number of ways, from active employer outreach—we actually go to different countries and meet with key employers—to working with alumni who can point us in those directions.

For example, a new internship partnership developed this summer with The Asia Foundation (TAF) in the Philippines was not a result of me going to the Philippines, but of an employer outreach visit to San Francisco, where I met with an alum working for TAF. She was instrumental in opening that door and setting up the opportunity. Building more opportunities like that is what we seek.

Geoffroy Ponte, a citizen of France, completed his internship (with funding support from the Ford School) working in DC for Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA), where he was assigned to her Foreign Affairs & Military and Veterans Affairs Department.

50% International Internships within U.S. Internships Abroad

40% 30% 20%

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

0

1997

10%

S TAT E & H I L L

Calendar Highlights September 25-26, 2009 95th Anniversary and Alumni Weekend October 2, 2009 Paul Krugman, Princeton University and The New York Times A Citigroup Foundation Lecture October 2-3, 2009 Comparative Advantage, Economic Growth, and the Gains from Trade and Globalization: A Festschrift in Honor of Alan V. Deardorff October 7, 2009 Senator Chuck Hagel, Georgetown University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha A Citigroup Foundation Lecture

November 2, 2009 Douglas A. Brook (MPA ’67), former Acting Under Secretary of Defense/Chief Financial Officer A Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence Lecture November 5, 2009 Alumni Reception at APPAM Conference in Washington, DC December 10, 2009 Lt. Governor John Cherry, keynote lecturer for conference: The Future of Higher Education in Michigan.

Hosted by CLOSUP

Can’t make it back to Ann Arbor? Visit our website for details, video, and audio. www.fordschool.umich.edu

Are you coming to the 95th Anniversary and Alumni Weekend?

Friday, September 25

For a full list of activities, visit:

Campus bus tour University-wide lecture series Coffee Talk with Dean Susan M. Collins Faculty panel discussion Alumni reception: presentation of the Neil Staebler Alumni Service Award to Dr. Douglas A. Brook (MPA ’67) Dinner with Ford School student organizations

www.fordschool.umich.edu/alumni-weekend.

Saturday, September 26

If you can’t make it, look for event highlights online,

All-school tailgate Homecoming football game: U-M vs. Indiana

Alums: mention this note at registration and receive a free Ford School gift.

in the feed and in the next edition of State & Hill.

More: 734-615-3892 or fspp-alum@umich.edu

25



Joan and Sanford Weill Hall 735 S. State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3091

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