My Teaching Philosophy

I have the privilege of teaching in the Ford School of Public Policy. My students inspire me every day. My goal is to provide them with skills, insights and opportunities to help them become smarter, more thoughtful, more effective policy professionals. One way I do this is through creating engaged learning experiences in which we partner with real-world organizations to work on pressing and timely problems that are of immediate value to both the students and the organizations. Some recent examples are below.

Strategic Consulting (PUBPOL 578)

Strategic Public Policy Consulting (SPPC) is a semester-long course offered to advanced graduate students. It provides an opportunity for students to conduct a supervised consulting project for a real policy organization. Project topics are jointly developed by the course’s faculty director and staff at the client organizations. All projects culminate in the production of a final report and an oral presentation to the client. 

Project Skills Workshop (PUBPOL 778)

Project Skills Workshop provides instruction and experience in several “professional skills” areas that have been identified by students, alums and employers as critical to success as a policy professional. Recent topics include StrengthsFinder assessment, project management, managing consulting relationships, writing professional reports, conducting library research, and more.

Integrated Policy Exercise (PUBPOL 638)

Integrated Policy Exercise (IPE) is a signature event of the Ford School of Public Policy. Every January, approximately 160 Masters students participate in a multi-day role-playing simulation. The IPE simulation is designed to immerse students in a policy debate of immediate importance and to help students better appreciate the complex trade-offs inherent in the public policy process.

State and Local Policy Analysis (PUBPOL 686)

State and Local Policy Analysis is a graduate-level elective course that provides students with: analytical tools to evaluate policy; background on state, local and regional policy processes and outcomes; and detailed information about selected state and local public policies. The course combines reading, classroom discussions, independent research, and role-playing simulations. 

Some Photos from my Classroom

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(L-R) APS students Christopher Falcone (MPP ’14), Jessica Teng (MPP '14), Erin Sullivan (MPP ’14), Matthew Papadapoluos (MPP/MA ’13), testifying before Michigan's House Commerce Committee

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Policy experts interacting with students during the January 2015 IPE
Students on a bus tour of downtown Detroit during the January 2008 IPE