CLOSUP Lecture Series

The Ford School’s Michigan Public Budgeting and Finance Planning class invites Ford students to join them for a conversation with guest speaker Janani Ramachandran Yates, Deputy Budget Director of the City of Detroit (and Ford School alum).

Michigan's new approach to redistricting by an independent citizens commission has now come full circle, from signature gathering for the statewide ballot initiative in 2018, to strong statewide support in that fall's election, creation of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, their work drawing new districts with extraordinary input from Michigan citizens, and now the new districts being used for the first time in the 2022 elections.  Join us for a final webinar in our redistricting series, to look back at this consequential change in state policy and to review how this new approach played out this fall, including its impacts on races and election outcomes, and how it compares to experiences in other states.   

This webinar will analyze and evaluate Michigan’s new redistricting approach and new maps, and compare to approaches of other states. Will Michigan's new model inspire reform in other states?

The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission will be meeting on U-M’s campus during the 45-day period for public comment before they vote to adopt final district maps in Michigan.

The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commissioners will meet virtually to answer questions about redistricting in Michigan.

Public meetings of the Michigan Citizens Independent Redistricting Commissioners with agenda to include racially polarized voting analysis, Voting Rights Act analysis, and map drawing for State Senate districts for Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties.  

Free and open to the public – this is a virtual webinar on Zoom - please register! Student researchers will share their research on the similarities and differences across the urban/rural continuum with respect to: the state of civic discourse; public participation in decision-making; citizen engagement; internet connectivity and access to information; and privatization of local government services.  

The Ford School invites you to join us for a conversation on voting rights and voter access, featuring Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Students of PUBPOL 456/756 invite the public to join them for a debate featuring prospective candidates for the city council in Ann Arbor. 

Students of PUBPOL 456/756 invite the public to join them for a debate featuring prospective candidates for the city council in Ann Arbor. 

Join Karl Hausker, Senior Fellow at World Resources Institute Energy and Climate Program as he discusses climate challenges and solutions of getting to net-zero emissions.

Join us to hear Christopher Hart, former Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board discuss opportunities of autonomous vehicles and the challenges they present to federal, state and local governments.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will deliver opening remarks for a panel discussion on "Communities of Interest" and the important role they will play in Michigan's new redistricting process beginning in 2020.

The Local Voices Network is a community-driven listening network which aims to improve our understanding of one another through communication.  Kathy Cramer, one of the groups' founders, will talk about how it works and what 's coming out of  the chapters in Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, and Alabama.  

Join the students of PUBPOL 750: Renewable Energy Policy at the State & Local Level for a Student Symposium on State & Local Renewable Energy Policy.  Students will share their research on the web of state and local policies facilitating and hindering renewable energy deployment in California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming.

Does Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansion have a positive or negative effect on labor market outcomes and household well being in Washington DC?  Hear Dr. Hardy discuss research on how EITC expansions undertaken by the Washington DC affect income and inequality in the city. 

This webinar on January 29, 2019 was jointly hosted by CLOSUP and the Michigan Municipal League.  The webinar features Professor Manny Teodoro from Texas A&M University, speaking on water and sewer system finance and policy, including how to measure affordability, and policy options for rate structures and related issues.  

Please join us in a Conversation Across Difference, as Professor Teodoro discusses alternative ownership and management models for water and sewer utilities, as well as the political dimensions of public, private, and public-private partnerships (P3s), and what they mean for cost and quality.

Sports remains a fascination to millions of Americans but also presents a great range of challenging public policy issues at both the professional and collegiate levels.  Please join us for a candid conversation about "Sports in America" with former Los Angeles Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti.

Join the Ford School's Michigan in Politics and Policy class to hear Randy Liepa, Superintendent of Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency discuss the current state of K-12 education in Michigan.  This lecture is free and open to the public!

The Ford School’s Michigan Politics and Policy class (PubPol 475/750) will be joined by Chase Cantrell, Executive Director and Founder of Building Community Value for a discussion about the future of Detroit on Weds Oct 31, 2:30pm. We have moved this class session to the larger Ford School Annenberg Auditorium (1120) so this lecture can be open to the public -- we hope to see you there!

Professor Tuohy will speak about her new book, Remaking Policy: Scale, Pace and Political Strategy in Health Care Reform (University of Toronto Press 2018). The book presents a new theoretical framework for addressing perennial questions about the drivers of policy change. It argues that the scale and pace of major policy change - change that alters the balance of power, the methods of control or the organizing principles of a policy arena – are fundamentally driven by political calculations at the centre of government, as political actors assess their ability to overcome vetoes not only in the present but also over time. The book develops this argument by drawing on ten cases of health policy change across seven decades (1945-2017) and four nations (the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and Canada). In her talk Prof. Tuohy will pay particular attention to the American cases, showing why the US is especially prone to “mosaic” bursts of simultaneous small-scale changes, and why both “big-bang” (large scale, fast paced) and “blueprint” (large scale, slow paced) strategies have proved elusive.

The panel will look at two initiatives on the November 2018 ballot: the Voters Not Politicians initiative to reform redistricting (Proposal 2), and the Promote the Vote initiative to expand voting and registration opportunities (Proposal 3).

Barry Rabe discusses his book Can We Price Carbon? Moderated by John Milewski, Director of Digital Programming; Host and Managing Editor, Wilson Center NOW.

Student panels will discuss the implications of their independent research projects on state and local environmental policy on issues including water, energy, climate change, and land use.This event showcases the work of Ford School BA students enrolled in a section of PubPol 495 that is part of the CLOSUP in the Classroom Initiative. 

Free and open to the public.Students of PUBPOL 456/756 invite the public to join them for a debate featuring candidates for the offices of mayor and city council in Ann Arbor. This event takes place as a product of PUBPOL 456/756. It originated and is planned, organized, and moderated by the students of the Ford School’s Public Policy Course 456/756 under the supervision of their instructor, former Mayor of Ann Arbor John Hieftje. Final details are pending on which candidates will participate, and will be announced here as soon as possible.

Khouri will discuss what it means for the current policy debates in Lansing (including federal tax reform impact on the State).

The U.S. is in the midst of an energy transition. This path toward decarbonization of the energy sector promises many societal benefits such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions, technological innovation, and reduced air pollution. The costs of this transition such as price spikes or job displacement, however, are not evenly spread across the population, since some individuals and communities are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts than others. In this presentation, I will introduce a framework for conceptualizing vulnerability and then provide an illustration of its potential application using the case of the renewable portfolio standard. I will also present findings from interviews and focus groups with individuals that reside or work within more vulnerable populations. These findings provide insights about the manner in which communities perceive of the energy transition, and how they cope with changes introduced by the transition.

The United States has seen dramatic growth in energy development with much of it occurring on privately owned lands, creating a unique raft of opportunity and risk for landowners. The presentation reviews research on the nexus of property ownership rights and regulatory policy, with a focus on Shale and Wind Energy. It introduces the concept of 'Private Participation' in the planning and siting of energy projects and discusses how private property ownership will continue to influence the energy revolution. 

Since the November 2016 elections, issues surrounding the nuts-and-bolts of election administration have risen to the forefront of discussion and debate, both here in Michigan and across the nation. This CLOSUP event begins with Debra Horner presenting new survey data collected by the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) exploring views of Michigan's local government leaders on: confidence in the accuracy of Michigan elections; problems experienced in election administration; plans to update voting equipment; and support and opposition to a host of potential election reforms. Then Christopher Thomas will explore a range of related issues, placing Michigan’s experiences in broader national context, while discussing the past, present and future of election issues.  Thomas will address topics such as voter registration policy and the effects of President Trump's voter fraud commission as well as recent Supreme Court decisions regarding the Voting Rights Act, control of ballots, voting equipment failure, and allegations of Russian interference, ending with thoughts on challenges and reforms going forward.