University of Michigan

Joan and Sanford Weill Hall
735 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-3091
Phone: 734-764-3490
Fax: 734-615-4919

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy home page »

Beth Johnson, Director of Development and Alumni Relations
bethj@umich.edu

Judith Moore, Major Gift Officer
moorejud@umich.edu

Amanda Grazioli, Development and Alumni Relations Officer
grazioli@umich.edu

Sarah Johnson, Development Assistant
sdawnj@umich.edu

Funding Opportunities

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy has a number of important funding opportunities available for donors to consider, including:

Annual Fund

Gifts to the Annual Fund go directly to supporting public policy students in the form of fellowships and summer internship support. Fellowship funding enables the Ford School to compete with other policy schools for the most talented students. Internship support is critical because it enables students to choose summer internships most relevant to their future goals and careers, rather than having to choose an internship based on salary. All gifts to the Annual Fund through the end of 2008 will be matched through the President's Challenge.

Student Fellowships

Philanthropic support for student fellowships is one of the Ford School’s key fundraising objectives. Our students often graduate with a substantial debt, which they cannot quickly repay if they choose a career in public service work. Support for student fellowships will help Ford School graduates select the careers that attracted them to study public policy in the first place.

Faculty Support

A gift of $2 million will endow a senior faculty appointment to a professorship with tenure in the Ford School. Such appointments are made by the Dean and commended to the University Board of Regents by the Provost and Chief Academic Officer. Endowed professorships are reserved for scholars of national and often international stature, who have made major contributions to the academic discipline of public policy and whose record of teaching, research and publication is highly distinguished.

The Ford School currently has three fully funded endowed professorships:

• The Walter H. Annenberg Professorship of Education Policy is currently held by Professor Brian Jacob.
• The J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professorship of Public Policy is currently held by Professor James Levinsohn.
• The Allen Sinai Professorship in Macroeconomics, a joint position between the Ford School and the Department of Economics, in the process of being filled.

Student Internships

Gifts to the Ford School can also provide assistance to students during their required summer internships between their first and second year. Many students accept summer positions with government departments that do not pay interns (such as the State Department) or with non-profit organizations that do not have the resources to support interns. Donor support for student internships allows the Ford School students to accept internships that provide them with experiences they would not get in any other way. These experiences encourage our students to utilize their skills gained during their first year of study and put them to test in the real world.

Dean's Discretionary Fund

A gift toward the Dean's Discretionary Fund will provide much needed financial support for projects for which there is no other source of funds. Examples of past projects supported by this fund include co-sponsoring panel discussions, providing support for unpaid student internships and supporting junior faculty research projects.