The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for the fall 2022 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus. We are hosting distinguished policymakers, scholars, activists, and writers for events on some of the most pressing policy issues of our time, from health equity and social justice to the state of democracy and beyond.
We hope you will join us for these special events and more happening at the Ford School this semester. Below is just a snapshot of what is in store for this fall. Please visit our events listing for up-to-date information on all of these events and how you can register to attend. You can stay up to date on our events by joining our mailing list and following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
September
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September 12: Cities on the front line: Urban approaches to national issues. In partnership with the Big Ten Collaboration: Democracy in the 21st Century, U-M Taubman College, and Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), the Ford School will host a virtual forum of four mayors - Mike Duggan (Detroit), Lori Lightfoot (Chicago), Aftab Pureval (Cincinnati), and Bruce Teague (Iowa City) - to discuss topics of national importance that manifest at the municipal level.
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September 13: Lech Wałęsa: Russia's war on Ukraine and its global impact. The Weiser Diplomacy Center, in partnership with the Ford School, Democracy & Debate 2022-23, and the International Institute, is proud to partner on a special event featuring Nobel Prize Laureate and former President of Poland Lech Wałęsa on democracy, peace, and the global impact of Russia's war on Ukraine.
- September 22: The gun violence epidemic: What can we do? In the wake of repeated tragedies and the gun violence that plagues our nation, there is an urgent need to address the gun violence epidemic in America. Four leading experts will offer their insights on gun violence, its social, economic, and public health impacts, and policies that can help prevent it, featuring April Zeoli, U-M Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, Daniel Webster, Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, Sonali Rajan, Columbia University, Rod K. Brunson, University of Maryland, and moderated by Professor Luke Shaefer, associate dean for academic affairs at the Ford School and director of U-M Poverty Solutions.
- September 23: Social policy is health policy: Lessons from the pandemic. Center for Racial Justice director Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Ford School professor Paula Lantz discuss the devastating structural inequities exposed by the COVID pandemic – and why all policymakers must now be equipped with a toolkit for navigating pandemics – as part of the Ford School’s Welcome HoMe celebration weekend.
- September 29: Trust in elections: Preserving democracy from the ballot box. In partnership with the CLOSUP, this panel explores protecting the integrity of our democratic elections from the perspective of four local election officials, including Barb Byrum, Ingham County Clerk, Sherikia Hawkins, Southfield City Clerk, Christopher Thomas, former Director of Elections for the state of Michigan, Adam Wit, Harrison Twp. Clerk and director of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, moderated by Edie Goldenberg, Professor Emerita of Public Policy and Political Science and founder of Turn Up Turnout (TUT).
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September 30: The war in Ukraine: Russia, the EU, and NATO. Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Weiser International Policymaker in Residence Steve Biegun is joined by former Polish Ambassador to Russia Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle for a discussion of the diplomacy between the United States, key NATO allies, and Russia surrounding the war in Ukraine, as part of the International Policy Center Midwest Symposium.
October
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October 3: A conversation with Kade Crockford about technology, surveillance, and civil liberties. The Science, Technology, and Public Policy program presents this discussion with the director of the Technology for Liberty Program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, Kade Crockford.
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October 24: Author Ira Shapiro with Congressman Fred Upton. Michigan Congressman Fred Upton will join author, Senate commentator, and former Hill staffer Ira Shapiro for a Conversations Across Difference event, in alignment with Shapiro’s new book, The Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America.
November
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November 1: Jelani Cobb on "The half-life of freedom: Notes on race, media and democracy". The Democracy in Crisis: Views from the Press series continues with award winning journalist and the new dean of the Columbia Journalism School, Jelani Cobb, for a conversation with Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes that looks at historic challenges to democracy that centered around race, and how they frame and inform the current moment. This series is in partnership with the Wallace House and U-M Democracy & Debate.
December
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December 8: Towsley Policymaker in Residence, Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt, will host a public conversation on the social determinants of health and how they impact our justice system.
More event series from some of our research centers
The Center for Racial Justice’s Racial Foundations of Public Policy series this fall will feature renowned scholars from around the country to share insights on the historical roots and impact of race in shaping public policy, as both a disciplinary field and as a course of action, beginning September 15 with NYU School of Law Professor Melissa Murray on Racial Foundations of Public Policy: Reproductive justice.
Blue Bag Lunch Talks at the Center on Finance, Law & Policy kick off September 8 with U-M Ross Professor Nejat Seyhun on race differences in insiders' access to information.
This fall's Real World Perspectives on Poverty Solutions series from Poverty Solutions introduces key issues regarding the causes and consequences of poverty, featuring experts in policy and practice from across the nation like U-M School for Environment and Sustainability Professor Ivette Perfecto, Temple University Professor Nyron Crawford, Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit and Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Victoria Burton-Harris, and more.
The Education Policy Initiative’s Education Policy Speaker Series returns, bringing together a diverse slate of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to present cutting-edge research to improve educational outcomes for children across the country, kicking off September 29 with The on-going evaluation of a volunteer tutoring program for struggling readers.
Learn more about our research centers.
Questions?
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