SPP Brochure 8-04 - Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy ...

6 ABOUT THE SCHOOLGrowth of the SchoolIn 1999, the Ford School began a period of growththat coincided with the naming of the School forPresident Ford. With strong support from theUniversity, the school added new academic and outreachprograms, nearly doubled the size of its faculty, substantiallyincreased funding for students, and began planninga move into its own building.Faculty growth and program development are closelytied and each has benefited from private philanthropicsupport. Recent gifts have endowed professorships to supportresearch on broad issues of public policy and in educationpolicy. Prominent faculty have, in turn, helped theschool to develop innovative programs such as DistanceLearning Project for Quantitative Social Science, a programthat is training a new generation of policy researchers inSouth Africa.Financial support is critical to students as they preparefor their careers. Friends and alumni of the school haveprovided funding for both fellowships and internships.This funding enables students to make educational decisionsbased on their career goals rather than financialneed.Public lectures and events are an important part of apolicy program at a public university. Support from foundationsand individuals has helped the school to fulfill thisresponsibility. With ongoing support for such activities,the Ford School organizes lectures, symposia, and conferenceson topics such as the role of the United Nations ininternational crises, healthcare for the uninsured, privacyin the information age, and educational segregation andachievement.The rapid expansion of the Ford School has pushedcurrent facilities to their limit. Currently housed in threebuildings on the U-M central campus, construction on theFord school’s new home, Joan and Sanford Weill Hall, willbegin in the fall of 2004. Located at the southern entranceto the main campus, the building, when completed in2006, will bring all of the School’s programs and servicestogether in one place and will provide space for publicevents and for quiet study and informal conversation.James Levinsohn is the J. Ira and NickiHarris Family Professor of Public PolicyRichard Holbrooke, former U.S.Ambassador to the United Nations,delivered the Citigroup Lecture in 2003.WWW.FORDSCHOOL.UMICH.EDU