Join the Ford School of Public Policy and the University of Michigan today, Monday, January 18, as we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

The Ford School will host moderator Christina Olsen, director of the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art; Mitch Landrieu, former Mayor of New Orleans; Earl Lewis, founding director of University of Michigan’s Center for Social Solutions; and Kristin Hass, Associate Professor of American Culture for a discussion on Public monuments and our histories: Reframing the memories of our nation. Register here for a reminder, and stream the event at 1:00pm ET on January 18.

Earlier in the day, from 10:00-11:30am ET, members of the public will be able to join this year’s University of Michigan symposium, which features speakers Gloria House and Malik Yakini. For more information about the speakers, see their bios here.

We invite you to join us in continuing to honor Dr. King throughout the month of January, with a host of events across the University. The University’s Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives also compiles a list of events that support the mission of the symposium and occur throughout the month of January. Many of these events are open to the public, and we encourage you to participate in as many as you’re interested in.

One event in particular that you may find of interest: U.S. race relations and foreign policy with speaker Ambassador (ret.) Susan D. Page. Register here to join the event at 4:00pm on January 27th.

From the day you enroll at the Ford School, you’re part of a great community—close-knit, engaged, and active while in school, and well-connected, involved, and committed long after graduation.

With approximately 110 MPP students, 25 MPA students, 6 PhD students, and 80 undergraduate students entering each year, the Ford School offers tremendous opportunities for leadership, collaboration, and participation.

This past year has been full of challenges for all of us: health and safety, racial justice and policing, the state of our democracy, and more.

Here at the Ford School, our faculty and staff have made supporting our students and caring for each other our top priority. And we remained fully committed to our teaching, research, service, and policy engagement missions.

Despite the challenges, our graduate students have had a communal, connected year. They joined together in internship search groups, helped our administration pivot during the pandemic, won a national case competition award for international policy, networked with alumni, organized events, helped real-world clients navigate the pandemic, and conducted important research and service in Detroit.

Read more about our incredible community in our school’s bi-annual magazine, State & Hill.

• Leading through crisis – Dean Barr and others reflect on public leadership and how the Ford School has managed the pandemic’s effects.
• Ford School votes—and supports our electoral process – members of our community learned about and supported our democracy in many ways this key election year.
• Preparing leaders for the public good – the school’s growing Leadership Initiative offers new opportunities for students.
• Currents – videos of alumni, faculty, and students describe action on urgent issues on campus, in Congress, and across the globe.

We hope you choose to join our warm community of professionals dedicated to the public good.