Experts guide: U-M faculty weigh in on 2024 elections
University of Michigan faculty are available to offer insights on candidates and issues impacting the 2024 elections.
The 2024 Elections Guide lists topics and issues in many areas, including politics, economics, immigration, public policy and law.
For topics not listed in the guide, reporters can contact Jared Wadley for assistance. U-M has an LTN TV studio and IP radio line for interviews.
Libby Hemphill is an associate professor of information and digital studies, and associate director of the Center for Social Media Responsibility. She can discuss political communication through social media, as well as civic engagement, digital curation and data stewardship.
Contact: libbyh@umich.edu
Aaron Kall, director of the U-M Debate Program and Debate Institute, can discuss political debates and speeches given by elected officials.
Contact: akall@umich.edu
Josh Pasek is an associate professor of communication and media, and political science, and associate director of the Michigan Institute for Data Science. He explores how new media and psychological processes shape public opinion and political attitudes and behaviors. He studies biases in the processing of political information and how the use of online social networking sites is changing the political information environment.
Contact: jpasek@umich.edu
Paul Resnick, professor of information and director of the Center for Social Media Responsibility, can discuss social media responsibility and “fake” news.
Contact: presnick@umich.edu
Michael Traugott, professor emeritus of communication studies and political science and a senior research scientist at the Center for Political Studies, is an authority on political communication, public opinion and media polling.
Contact: mtrau@umich.edu
Peter Adriaens is an expert on the limitations of traditional means of funding major infrastructure improvements, as well as the possibilities that lie in new approaches. He is the director of the U-M Center for Smart Infrastructure Finance and professor of environmental engineering and finance.
Contact: adriaens@umich.edu
Jerry Davis is a professor of management and organizations, and sociology. His research is broadly concerned with corporate governance and the effects of finance on society, including what organizational alternatives exist to the shareholder-owned corporation, and how national institutions shape corporate structures, and what this means for income inequality.
Contact: gfdavis@umich.edu
Donald Grimes, an economist with the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, specializes in economic forecasting and regional economic development. He conducts annual Michigan state and county economic forecasts, and has studied occupational wages in the Great Lakes states and the relationship between education and high-paying jobs.
Contact: dgrimes@umich.edu
Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics, is an expert on women’s labor market experiences, the economic forces shaping the modern family, and how labor market experiences and economic forces on the family influence each other.
Contact: betseys@umich.edu
Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, has research interests include labor economics, macroeconomics, political economy, social policy, law and economics, and behavioral economics.
Contact: jwolfers@umich.edu
Matthew Diemer, professor of education, studies how youth of color challenge inequality and become motivated to engage in activism, community organizing and social protest.
Contact: diemerm@umich.edu
Elizabeth Birr Moje, dean of the School of Education, has done research examining young people’s navigations of culture, identity and literacy learning in and out of school in Detroit.
Contact: moje@umich.edu
Donald Peurach, professor of educational policy, leadership and innovation, can discuss the production, use and management of knowledge in practice, among social innovators and those they seek to serve.
Contact: dpeurach@umich.edu
April Zeoli is an associate professor of health management and policy, and policy core director at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. She can discuss firearm laws, safety and injury prevention, and is an expert on extreme risk protection orders, or red flag laws, and firearm policy in general.
Contact: azeoli@umich.edu
Deborah Rivas-Drake, professor of psychology and education, examines how school, peer and family settings support adolescents in navigating issues related to race, ethnicity, racism and xenophobia, and how these experiences inform young people’s academic, socioemotional and civic development.
Contact: drivas@umich.edu
Christina Weiland, associate professor of education, can discuss the effects of early childhood interventions and public policies on children’s development, especially on children from low-income families. She is particularly interested in the active ingredients that drive children’s gains in successful, at-scale public preschool programs
Contact: 734-615-1530, weilandc@umich.edu
Todd Allen, professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences, is an expert in energy sustainability, energy policy and nuclear energy. He can discuss the role of nuclear energy in a sustainable future.
Contact: traumich@umich.edu
Andy Hoffman is a professor of management and organizations, and environment and sustainability. He also serves as education director of the Graham Sustainability Institute. His research uses a sociological perspective to understand cultural and institutional aspects of environmental issues for organizations.
Contact: ajhoff@umich.edu
Marie O’Neill is a professor of epidemiology and environmental health sciences and an expert on the health effects of temperature extremes, air pollution and climate change. She is also engaged in environmental justice and health equity through collaborative research with community partners.
Contact: marieo@umich.edu
Jonathan Overpeck is an interdisciplinary climate scientist and dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability. He is an expert on paleoclimate, climate-vegetation interactions, climate and weather extremes, sea-level rise, the impacts of climate change and options for dealing with it.
Contact: overpeck@umich.edu
Barry Rabe, professor of public policy, political science, and environment and sustainability, is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He examines the political feasibility and durability of environmental and energy policy, with a particular emphasis on efforts to address climate change in the United States and other nations.
Contact: brabe@umich.edu
Anna Stefanopoulou, director of the Energy Institute, is an expert on the estimation and control of internal combustion engines and electrochemical processes such as fuel cells and batteries.
Contact: annastef@umich.edu
John Ayanian, director of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and professor of internal medicine, public health and public policy, is a longtime researcher on how access to health insurance affects individuals’ access to health care, the quality of care they receive and their health outcomes.
Contact: kegavin@umich.edu
Thomas Buchmueller is a professor of business economics and public policy whose research focuses on the economics of health insurance and related public policy issues. His recent work has examined the relationship between employer-sponsored insurance and labor market outcomes, interactions between the public sector and private insurance markets, and consumer demand for health insurance.
Contact: tbuch@umich.edu
Richard Hirth is a professor of health management and policy, and internal medicine, and associate director of the Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center. He can discuss health care economics, health insurance design, health care spending and the role of not-for-profit providers in health care markets and long-term care.
Contact: rhirth@umich.edu
Peter Jacobson, professor emeritus of health law and policy, can address health law, public health law and public health systems. His work explores the legal implications of public health crises such as COVID-19 and the Flint water crisis, and elements of the Affordable Care Act. His work also focuses on the role of the U.S. Surgeon General in public health and health policy in general and for youth.
Contact: pdj@umich.edu
Helen Levy, research professor of public health and public policy and at the Institute for Social Research, can discuss the causes and consequences of lacking health insurance and the role of health literacy in explaining disparities in health outcomes. Her research includes evaluation of public health insurance programs.
Contact: hlevy@umich.edu
Ann Lin is an associate professor of public policy and director of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, She studies potential immigration policies, such as guestworker programs and legalization, and the political beliefs of American immigrants, with a specific focus on Arab Americans.
Contact: annlin@umich.edu
William Lopez, clinical assistant professor of health behavior and health education, can discuss the health impacts of immigration law enforcement in the U.S. His research and community engagement focuses on surveillance, incarceration and deportation in communities of color.
Contact: wdlopez@umich.edu
Silvia Pedraza, professor of sociology and American culture, has interests in the sociology of immigration, and race and ethnicity in America, Cuba and Western Europe. Her research seeks to understand the causes and consequences of immigration as a historical process that forms and transforms nations.
Contact: spedraza@umich.edu
Margo Schlanger, professor of law, is a leading authority on civil rights issues and served as the presidentially appointed officer for civil rights and civil liberties in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Contact: mschlan@umich.edu
John Ciorciari, associate professor of public policy, conducts research on international law and politics in the Global South, international relations in the Indo-Pacific region, and international criminal justice.
Contact: johncior@umich.edu
Susan Page is a professor of practice in international diplomacy and law. She has deep expertise in international relations, and was the first ambassador to the newly independent South Sudan.
Contact: sdpage@umich.edu
Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice, spent 35 years as a U.S. diplomat, including serving as an ambassador to Brazil and Bulgaria.
Contact: levitsky@umich.edu
Linda Lim, professor emerita of corporate strategy and international business, focuses her research on the political economy of multinational and local business in Southeast Asia. This includes the changing international trade and investment environment, and the influence of domestic politics, economic policy and culture on business structure, strategy and operations.
Contact: lylim@umich.edu
Tom Ivacko is executive director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, which conducts the Michigan Public Policy Survey.
Contact: tmi@umich.edu
Jenna Bednar is a professor of political science and public policy. Her research combines positive political theory and systems theory to study how formal institutions, such as laws, electoral rules, or constitutions, remain effective in complex environments.
Contact: jbednar@umich.edu
Mark Clague, associate professor of musicology, is an expert on all forms of music-making in the U.S., the national anthem, American popular music, and music and politics in popular culture. He can address the choice of campaign music made by presidential candidates and the frequent backlash they receive from artists whose songs are selected.
Contact: claguem@umich.edu
Devin Judge-Lord is an assistant professor of public policy. He works at the intersection of social movements and technocratic policymaking, studying interactions among interest groups, legislators and bureaucracies. His work focuses on how public pressure campaigns affect agency rulemaking, especially climate and environmental justice campaigns. Other research projects address legislator behavior and capacity, money in politics, lobbying and private governance.
Contact: judgelor@umich.edu
Richard Hall, professor of political science and public policy, can discuss campaign finance reform, congressional oversight. health politics, and health policy.
Contact: rlhall@umich.edu
Jonathan Hanson is a specialist in comparative political economy and political development. He examines the ways that political institutions affect economic performance and development. In his recent projects, he has explored how to measure state capacity, the roles of democracy and state capacity for improving human development, and why authoritarian regimes vary significantly in economic and social outcomes.
Contact: jkhanson@umich.edu
Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo, professor of art and design, teaches visual identity and branding, and poster and packaging design. He can discuss campaign branding, logos and design.
Contact: fnunoo@umich.edu
Ken Kollman is the director of the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research and professor of political science. His research focuses on political parties and organizations, elections, lobbying, federal systems, American politics and comparative politics.
Contact: kkollman@umich.edu
Nadine Hubbs, professor of women’s studies and music, and faculty associate in American culture, as well as director of the Lesbian-Gay-Queer Research Initiative. Her research focuses on gender and queer studies, 20th- and 21st-century U.S. culture, and social class in popular and classical music.
Contact: nhubbs@umich.edu
Roshanak Mehdipanah, associate professor of health behavior and health education, has led several projects on housing and health, including health evaluations of housing policies on affordability and discrimination in the U.S. Her research focuses on urban health, including urban renewal, gentrification and their impacts on health inequities.
Contact: rmehdipa@umich.edu
Kristin Seefeldt, assistant professor of social work and public policy, explores how low-income individuals understand their situations, particularly around issues related to work and economic well-being. She conducts research on family financial coping strategies, and the effects of the recession and recovery policies on individuals’ well-being.
Contact: kseef@umich.edu
Luke Shaefer is associate professor of social work and public policy and director of Poverty Solutions. He can discuss the measurement of poverty and alternative metrics for measuring hardship, and has published articles on rising extreme poverty in the U.S. and the effects of major anti-poverty programs and low-wage work.
Contact: lshaefer@umich.edu
Marc Zimmerman is a professor of health behavior and education, and psychology, and co-director of the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. His research examines how positive factors in adolescents’ lives can overcome risks they face for violent and aggressive behavior, including death and injury involving firearms.
Contact: marcz@umich.edu
Enid Rosario-Ramos, assistant professor of educational studies and faculty associate of Latina/o studies, studies educational justice issues for Latino students, families and communities. Her research focuses on the civic engagement and critical literacy skills of youth. She is also interested in how schools and community contexts support the development of civic knowledge and participation of youth and students.
Contact: erosario@umich.edu
Earl Lewis, director of the Center for Social Solutions and professor of history and public policy, examines and addresses critical questions for our society including the role of race in American history, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Contact: kreedl@umich.edu
Robert Axelrod, emeritus professor of public policy and political science, can discuss international policy, security and diplomacy.
Contact: axe@umich.edu
Jason Corso, computer vision expert and professor of electrical engineering and computer science, can comment on deepfake video technology and how we might detect it in the lead-up to the presidential election. He is working to improve a computer’s ability to track an object through a video clip—a feature that could aid in understanding how deepfakes are made. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Voxel51, a startup building an advanced video analytics platform.
Contact: jjcorso@umich.edu
J. Alex Halderman, professor of computer science and engineering and director of the Center for Computer Security and Society, can discuss vulnerabilities in the U.S. voting system.
Contact: jhalderm@eecs.umich.edu
Cliff Lampe, professor of information, is currently looking at how the design of social media platforms encourages moderation, misinformation and social development. He studies the social and technical structures of large-scale technology-mediated communication, working with sites like Facebook, Wikipedia, Slashdot and Everything2. He has also been involved in the creation of multiple social media and online community projects.
Contact: cacl@umich.edu
Florian Schaub, assistant professor of information, can discuss privacy issues and foreign interference in social media, human-computer interaction, mobile and ubiquitous computing, and the Internet of Things.
Contact: fschaub@umich.edu
Richard Friedman, professor of law, is an expert on evidence and U.S. Supreme Court history.
Contact: rdfrdman@umich.edu
Richard Primus, professor of law, teaches the law, theory and history of the U.S. Constitution.
Contact: raprimus@umich.edu
Jowei Chen, associate professor of political science, has research interests on distributive politics, executive agencies and legislatures. He has studied how legislators’ pork-barreling strategies are shaped by the electoral geography of their districts, and has examined how government spending influences voters.
Contact: jowei@umich.edu
Vincent Hutchings, professor of political science, is an expert on public opinion, elections, voting behavior and African American politics.
Contact: vincenth@umich.edu