Departments and Research Centers

Education Policy Initiative

Content type
Showing 1 - 30 of 608 results
Staff

Lauren O'Hair

Research Assistant
[email protected]
Lauren O'Hair is a research assistant at the Education Policy Initiative. She is a second-year MPP student with an interest in education policy due to her seven years as an elementary teacher in both public and charter schools across the country.…
Lauren O'Hair profile picture
Staff

Joseph Payovich

Web Developer, Office of Communications & Outreach
[email protected]
Joe Payovich is a web designer at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, where he supports the web and digital projects needs of the Education Policy Initiative, Program for Practical Policy Engagement, Poverty…
Joe Payovich
Staff

Stacey Rzeszut

Administrative Coordinator
[email protected]
734-615-6330
Stacey Rzeszut is the administrative coordinator for EPI and provides fiscal, operational and administrative support to the EPI team and predoctoral candidates. Outside of work, Stacey enjoys traveling with her…
Headshot of Stacey Rzeszut
Staff

Anne Taylor

Senior Project Manager, Education Policy Initiative
[email protected]
Annie Taylor is a senior project manager focusing on early childhood with the Education Policy Initiative. Her work at EPI includes designing and implementing research agendas and studies for universal preschool programs around the county. She joined…
Annie Taylor_directory
Staff

Qia Yang

Data Programmer
Qia Yang is the data programmer at the Education Policy Initiative. His primary work is to maintain the Michigan Education Data Center, import data from the State of Michigan and export data to MERI researchers. He also optimizes the code in MEDC to…
Qia Yang profile
Staff

Paige Foster

Student Graphic Designer
[email protected]
Paige Foster is a junior pursuing a BFA in art and design at the University of Michigan’s Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design concentrating on graphic design and visual communication. She is also pursuing a History of Art minor at LSA. Paige is…
Paige-foster-profile
Staff

Katie Hyland

Research Assistant
[email protected]
Katie Hyland is a Research Assistant for the Education Policy Initiative and MPP candidate at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Katie previously worked as a research associate at American Institutes for Research, where she conducted…
katie-hyland-profile
Staff

Luz Mayancela

Research Assistant
[email protected]
Luz Mayancela is an undergraduate student at the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy and a research assistant for the Education Policy Initiative. As a Chicago native and a product of public schools, she is passionate about early childhood education…
luz-mayancela-caho
Affiliated faculty

Deborah Rivas-Drake

Professor, School of Education; Professor Psychology, College of Literature, Science and the Arts
[email protected]
(734) 647-0614
Deborah Rivas-Drake, is a Professor of Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan. Together with the Contexts of Academic + Socioemotional Adjustment (CASA) Lab, she examines how school, peer, family, and community settings can support…
Debbie_Rivas-Drake_profile
News

Education research in service of others

Apr 11, 2024
2022 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellow and Education Policy Initiative (EPI) Research Assistant Katie Hyland (MPP ‘24) is set to graduate this spring following the completion of her Master’s in Public Policy. She takes with her two years of...
Education research in service of others
News

Transformative upgrades to Michigan's longitudinal data system

Apr 11, 2024
A new $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will improve Michigan’s statewide longitudinal data system, the go-to source for critical education data going to researchers and other stakeholders in Michigan and nationwide. The grant...
Transformative upgrades to Michigan's longitudinal data system
News

Jacob and Stange: Getting free college right

Feb 9, 2024
Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed making the first two years of community college free in Michigan in her 2024 State of the State AddressIn an opinion published in Bridge Michigan, Brian Jacob and Kevin Strange applaud Governor Whitmer for her...
Jacob and Stange: Getting free college right
News

Data mining at USED: Updating old systems to inform new policy

Jan 30, 2024
Kevin Stange approached PhD student Nathan Sotherland in the summer of 2022 with an offer to join him in a unique assignment in the U.S. Department of Education (USED). As a part of the first cohort of economists to join the Office of Under...
Data mining at USED: Updating old systems to inform new policy
News

Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All

Jan 30, 2024
Nikki Hamp (MPA ‘23) had several professional lives before arriving at the Ford School. An MD, she is a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician, and until recently has been the medical director of  the Arbor Autism Clinic in Ypsilanti...
Hamp contributes her unique perspective on Pre-K for All
News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024
The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following:  Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...
Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections
State & Hill

Spotlights, fall 2023

Dec 10, 2023
What’s on the barbie? Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson were on the guest list as the White House hosted a State Dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October. Skills match More than fifty...
Spotlights, fall 2023
News

CIERS seminar leads to on-the-ground financial aid research 

Oct 2, 2023
“We have great data in Iowa, and we are always interested in working with graduate students to probe it and see what we can learn.” That was an invitation from Meghan Oster (PhD ‘21), who was already working at Iowa College Aid, the state’s...
CIERS seminar leads to on-the-ground financial aid research 
News

Dr. Stange Goes to Washington

Sep 13, 2023
The Ford School is proud of its record of welcoming policymakers-in-residence. This past year, Ford School professor Kevin Stange played a different role – academic-in-residence. He had a one-year assignment working in the U.S. Department of...
Dr. Stange Goes to Washington
News

Ford School welcomes Sarah Cohodes as associate professor

Aug 16, 2023
Leading education policy economist Sarah Cohodes joins the Ford School as an associate professor with tenure. Cohodes uses quantitative causal inference methods to evaluate educational policies and programs. Her research focuses on school choice,...
Ford School welcomes Sarah Cohodes as associate professor
News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life 

Aug 2, 2023
What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society?  How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe?  These were...
PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life 
In the Media

Jacob's study on teacher loan forgiveness cited in Chalkbeat

Aug 1, 2023 Chalkbeat
Brian Jacob, Chalkbeat: “The program has really good intentions,” said Brian Jacob, a professor at the University of Michigan and coauthor of the study. But, ultimately, “it’s not effective as it’s currently structured.” “The teachers in schools...
Jacob's study on teacher loan forgiveness cited in Chalkbeat