Past events

The Ford School will welcome Montgomery, AL, Mayor Steven Reed to Weill Hall for an event on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.   

Join us for an intimate conversation between two leading voices for rural prosperity as they share experiences visiting rural communities across the country, and highlight inspiring stories from within the state of Michigan.

Join this virtual mayors panel via livestream or in person at the Watch Party hosted at the University of Michigan's Taubman College.  This annual event brings together mayors from cities across the states of the Big Ten in a conversation around timely topics of national importance that manifest at the municipal level.

Check out the GovFin 2023 Conference in Washington DC on Empowering Governments, Modernizing Reporting on November 9, 2023. https://xbrl.us/events/govfin23/

This event brings together mayors virtually from cities across the states of the Big Ten in a discussion about how leadership at the municipal level shapes our national approaches to some of the most pressing issues of the day. 

CLOSUP invites you to join our research partners, XBRL/US in their upcoming free webinar on Government Reporting and the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA): Florida, Michigan, Utah.  Our CLOSUP and Ford School colleague, Stephanie Leiser will be presenting.   REGISTER NOW at: https://xbrl.us/events/230918/  

Michigan Public Budgeting and Finance Planning class (PubPol 715) invites you to join them for a conversation with guest speaker Robert Widigan, former CFO for the City of Flint and incoming Chief Deputy CFO of Wayne County. 

Women make up over 50% of the state’s population, but just 16% of Michigan’s local chief administrative officers. The Michigan Municipal League’s 16/50 Project is transforming this leadership gap – getting more women seated in the municipal top spot in Michigan communities.

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).

Join XBRL US for a session to explore government data standards, find out how governments can create their own machine-readable financial statements, and discover what impact this legislation could have on government entities. Most importantly, discover how machine-readable data standards can benefit state and local government entities by reducing costs and increasing access to time-sensitive information for policy making.

Join us for a conversation hosted at the Ford School by The Carter Center and the Gerald R. Ford Foundation that tackles how to buttress voter confidence in our democracy. Former Michigan U.S. Representatives Andy Levin (D-MI) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) and Amb (ret) Susan D. Page, Michigan Law and Ford School professor from practice and Carter Center trustee, will explore the bipartisan challenge of restoring faith in our democratic systems and highlight ways individuals can be part of the solution as we work together to uphold the standards of our democracy.

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.   

Key dates and deadlines for the November 8 election, plus how to register and vote.

This event brings together mayors from cities across the states of the Big Ten in a discussion about how leadership at the city level shapes our national approaches to some of the most pressing issues of the day.

The official start of the school year, welcome week and orientation activities at the Ford School give new master's students the opportunity to meet and engage with peers, faculty, and staff, and begin the process of preparing for the academic year.

Michigan will hold its primary election on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, and the Ford School strongly encourages all eligible voters to make their voices heard.

Michigan will hold a regular election on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, and voters may have measures or candidates on their local ballots. The Ford School strongly encourages all eligible voters to make their voices heard.

The Ford School is proud to celebrate the achievements of the graduating classes of 2022!

With sovereign debt soaring, the issues of "how much debt is too much debt" and "what to do about it'' are likely to move once again from the technocratic realm of "quiet politics" into the electoral realm of "loud politics." Join Charlotte Cavaille, Assistant Professor at Ford School of Public Policy, as we discuss implications for future research, including the need to shift to elite-centric research designs.

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.

Michigan will hold elections on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, and the Ford School strongly encourages all eligible voters to make their voices heard.

Michigan’s redistricting process will affect Michigan policy and politics for the next decade. We will address the process that the MICRC is using to draw district maps for the U.S. Congress and both houses of the Michigan Legislature.

Jacqueline Patterson, Founder and Executive Director of The Chisholm Legacy Project, and Kyle Whyte, Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan and affiliate of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program, discuss environmental and climate justice.

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.  

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

Hear from a panel of redistricting experts and commissioners sharing lessons learned, tips, and plans, as the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission prepares for fair and effective public hearings scheduled for May and June.

Learn how to participate in the process of drawing the new district maps in Michigan, the role of "communities of interest", and how to engage with the new Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission in the redistricting process.

Women represent just 15% of Michigan's local chief administrative officers. Although women continue to be underrepresented as municipal managers, there is a growing contingent of dedicated women serving their communities and challenging the status quo in local government.

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.