Faculty News

Professor Trina Shanks’ research on the long-term implications of the Homestead Act was cited by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in her dissent of last month’s Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action in college admissions.

Assistant Professor Rebeccah Sokol was quoted in a New York Times article exploring the rise in gun ownership in American families. Sokol’s research shows that families with teenagers who kept one firearm loaded and unlocked were more likely to buy another firearm during the pandemic than those who kept guns stored. These households are particularly vulnerable to gun injuries, she said. “Teens have some of the highest rates of firearm fatal and nonfatal injuries.”

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke to Minnesota Public Radio about that state’s new child tax credit. “It's not a silver bullet. It's not going to solve all of the challenges that we face, but no policy is. And this one is one that works. It is one that we should be able to see positive impacts in a year's time,” Shaefer said.

Associate Professor Kristin Seefeldt and Lecturer Trevor Bechtel spoke to the Ann Arbor City Council earlier this month about a new program which would provide a universal basic income to 100 Ann Arbor residents engaged in some form of entrepreneurship. The program is a partnership between the city and U-M’s Poverty Solutions, who will administer the program and analyze the findings. 

“We want to see how this guaranteed income allows this community to improve their personal economic security and wellbeing, whether that’s through expanding their business efforts or by scaling back,” said Seefeldt, who will lead the research efforts. Assistant Professor Rebeccah Sokol is a co-principal investigator. Associate Professor Terri Friedline and Professors Joe Ryan and Trina Shanks are also on the research team.

“We know some community members were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic,” said Councilmember Linh Song, MSW ’04, who advocated for the initiative. “This program recognizes and addresses this inequity so that program participants can have a fighting chance to continue to live and work in Ann Arbor.”

Lecturer Jen Towns wrote a new book titled “Our Deepest Roots: Navigating Past Trauma to Build Healthier Queer Relationships.” Towns shares stories from her own personal and professional experiences as a trauma therapist, trauma survivor and queer woman to explore how trauma in childhood or adulthood — combined with being part of the queer community — can impact intimacy, attachment and our everyday interactions with those closest to us. The book, she says, “is neither exclusively memoir nor academic, but a gentle blending of the two.”

Professor William Elliott III spoke with St. Louis public radio about the transformational power of Child Development Accounts and the effect they can have on multi-generational poverty. One of the key things he’s learned, Elliott says, is that the way out of poverty lies along the path of asset accumulation. “Building assets allows people to build their full potential,” he says, “because it augments their ability to tackle the system.”

Associate Professor Katie Maguire-Jack has received 2023 Doctoral Student Organization Faculty Award. The Doctoral Student Organization bestows this award to a faculty mentor who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to mentoring, developing and supporting doctoral students.

Assistant Clinical Professor Justin Hodge was named the 2023 Student Union Teacher of the Year. This award is given by the School of Social Work students and recognizes faculty who have demonstrated commitment to improving DEI, made an outstanding and positive contribution to the School’s climate, and whose skills, dedication, understanding and caring have made a positive impact on students.