The Ford School has an exciting and diverse series of events this fall, designed to encourage policy debate, civic engagement, and Conversations Across Differences in a number of ways for students, faculty, staff, and the wider U-M and general community.
We continue to mark the 50th anniversary of the presidency of Gerald R. Ford. We are hosting the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation’s event Mike Ford & Jason Carter to Speak: How DO We Run Fair, Safe Elections? on September 11. That will be followed by An Assessment of the Nixon Pardon on September 13, during the Ford School’s Reunion Weekend. Once vilified, then lionized, how does the shadow of the pardon sit in these days of seeming immunity? The panel includes U-M Law School Professor Barbara McQuade, former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks, former White House counsel John Dean (remotely), and University of Baltimore Law School Professor Kimberly Wehle, whose new book looks at the power of the pardon.
On the policy front, state legislators from Michigan and Ohio, and the former director of health care reform in Vermont, will join the Ford School’s Paula Lantz and John Ayanian, director of the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, to examine State Proposals for Single Payer Health Insurance Systems: Policy Visions and Challenges, on September 16, in the Annenberg Auditorium, part of the Omenn-Darling Health Policy series.
We are partnering with the Brookings Institution to look at Election 2024 and U.S. Climate Policy on September 19, including Brookings experts, the Ford School’s Barry Rabe, Brookings president Cecilia Rouse, Michigan EGLE director Phil Roos, and climate justice leader Tonya Allen.
Chuck Rocha will look at the important and heterogeneous LatinX vote in a panel on October 15.
The Ford School is proud to co-sponsor Rackham’s Gupta Professional Ethics Series, which this year celebrates scholar Renee DiResta, discussing Information Manipulation in Digital Spaces: Doing Public Interest Research Amidst Political Pressure, in the Rackham Amphitheater on October 18.
Conversations Across Differences will be highlighted with discussions between Two Dads Defending Democracy on September 27, and Former Governors John Kasich and Steve Bullock on Democracy and Civic Discourse on October 9.
The Ford School will be engaging with the arts. On September 26, the Ford School community will attend a performance of Fight Night presented by the University Musical Society at the Power Center, an interactive drama experience that gives a new perspective about the democratic process. An exclusive discussion with the show's director and cast members will follow the performance.
On the Sunday before the election, November 3, the Ford School will partner with the School of Music, Theater, and Dance, in a lyrical rendition of the 1931 George and Ira Gershwin satirical musical, Of Thee I Sing, which nearly 100 years later still resonates. A panel discussion of policy, political science, arts, and history scholars will follow the performance.
We have multimedia experiences on tap as well. Jonathan Van Ness will record a Get Out the Vote-themed episode of his Getting Curious podcast, live at the Michigan Theater on October 4th. The event is exclusive for the U-M community. And SiriusXM and ABC News Good Morning America host Mike Muse will record his weekly show in the Annenberg later in October, with a slate of cultural and political guests.
Election analysis will be provided through the Ford School’s partnership with Wallace House for Journalists. On October 23 Bret Stephens and Lydia Polgreen from The New York Times, Maria Elena Salinas of ABC News, and Steven Henderson from Detroit PBS will explore “One Nation, Divergent Views: Journalists’ take on the Eve of the Election,” at Rackham Auditorium.
On the day after the elections, we will jointly host a panel including Barbara McQuade, the Ford School’s Javed Ali, U-M Political Science Professor Alex Halderman, and others.
Later in the month, we will host a post-election discussion with the bipartisan leaders of MiCIVIC, including former Michigan GOP and Dem Party chairs.
The semester ends with talks by two giants in their fields. On November 20, the Ford School will welcome back its former dean, Susan Collins, now President of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank. Then on December 9, Dr. Denis Mukwege, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with victims of political sexual violence, will give an Omenn-Darling lecture about his groundbreaking and life-saving work and research.
Ford School research centers also will present relevant and important events this semester including:
Center for Racial Justice: September 9 - Immigration on the ballot; October 1 - Policy & Activism at the Intersections
Poverty Solutions: September 27 - Inheritance: 11 years in the life of one boy in the opioid epidemic at the School of Social Work
Science Technology and Public Policy, October 7 - A Conversation with NYT Technology Reporter Kashmir Hill
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