H. Luke Shafer, PhD, is the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy and Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. At U-M, he is also the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, presidential initiative that partners with communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.
Shaefer is one of the nation’s leading scholars of poverty and social welfare policy. His research has been published in top peer-reviewed academic journals in the fields of public policy, public health, health services research, sociology, social work, and history, and his work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and U.S. Census Bureau among other sources. He has presented his research at the White House and before numerous federal agencies, has testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, and has advised a number of the nation’s largest human service providers.
His work has been cited in media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, The Economist, and The Atlantic, and he has been featured on such programs as PBS NewsHour, Marketplace, 1A, All Things Considered, and CNBC’s Nightly Business Report. His book with Kathryn Edin, "$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America," was named one of the 100 Notable Books of 2015 by the New York Times Book Review, and won the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism among other awards.
Shaefer’s new co-authored book, The Injustice of Place, has been featured on MSNBC, The Atlantic, TIME, and the LA Times, among other outlets. He is the co-director of Rx Kids, the nation’s first citywide maternal and infant health cash prescription program launched in Flint, Michigan in January 2024. Through Poverty Solutions, Shaefer acted as a special counselor on anti-poverty policy to the director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services from 2019-2021.
Shaefer received his BA in politics from Oberlin College and AM and Ph. from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration. He is the recipient of an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.
Contact Information
Education
- 2008 PhD Social Service AdministrationUniversity of Chicago, Illinois
- 2005 MA Social Service AdministrationUniversity of Chicago, Illinois
- 2001 BA PoliticsOberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Activities
Publications
Experience
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2020-present | Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2019-present | Professor, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2019-present | Professor, University of Michigan School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2016-present | Director, Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2015-2019 | Associate Professor, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2014-present | Faculty Affiliate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2014-2019 | Associate Professor, University of Michigan School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2008-2014 | Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2007 | Adjunct Instructor, Social Policies and Programs, SSA |
| 2007 | Adjunct Instructor, Economics for Social Welfare, SSA |
| 2006-2008 | Director, Social Innovation Fund |
| 2006 | Research Associate, The Work Scheduling Intervention Experiment |
| 2006 | Co-director & Instructor, Summer Institute, Economics for Health and Social Service Managers |
| 2004-2005 | Project Director, Community Connections, Work, Welfare, & Families, Chicago, IL |
| 2003-2006 | Research Assistant, Study of Work-Child Care Fit |
| 2003 | Policy Associate, Work, Welfare, & Families, Chicago, IL |
| 2001-2002 | Program Assistant, University of Michigan, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Ann Arbor, MI |
| 1999-2000 | Senior Scholar, Oberlin Politics Department, Oberlin, OH |
Honors and Awards
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2022 | President's Award for Public Impact |
| 2020 | 2020 Andrew Carnegie Fellow |
| 2020 | Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy |
| 2018 | 2018 U-M Faculty Recognition Award |
| 2018 | Rackham Graduate School Funding |
| 2017 | Named a “torch recipient” as a top leader under forty in the field of social insurance, National Academy of Social Insurance. |
| 2017 | Best Scholarly Book of the Year for $2.00 a Day, the Society for Social Work and Research. |
| 2016 | Winner of the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, "$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America," Sidney Hillman Foundation. |
| 2016 | Finalist for Annual Literary Award for Adult Nonfiction Books, "$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America," Columbia School of Journalism and Nieman Foundation, Harvard University. |
| 2016 | "$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America" shortlist for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize |
| 2015 | "$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America" named as one of The New York Times 100 Notable Books |
| 2015 | Third place recognition in the 2015 Best Paper Award competition, Journal of Dental Hygiene |
| 2014-2015 | Appointed to the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council’s Panel on the Review and Evaluation of the 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation Content and Design. |
| 2014 | Elected to Membership in the National Academy of Social Insurance |
| 2013 | Emerging Scholar, Self-Sufficiency Research Clearinghouse, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (ACF OPRE) |
| 2013 | Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award, Society for Social Work and Research |
| 2012-2013 | Professor of the Year, University of Michigan School of Social Work Student Union |
| 2012-2013 | Member of the University of Michigan School of Social Work Executive Committee. |
| 2011 | Visiting Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University |
| 2011 | Visiting Scholar, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin Madison |
| 2010 | L.R. Klein Award for Best 2009 Monthly Labor Review Article by an Author outside of the Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| 2009 | Best Abstract Award, Academy Health Annual Research Meeting |
| 2007-2008 | School of Social Service Administration Dissertation Fellowship, 2007-08. |
| 2000 | Senior Scholar, Oberlin College, 2000. |
Presentations
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Shaefer, H. L., Grogan, C. M,. & Pollack, H. A. (2008, October). The effects of SCHIP expansion on family insurance and out of pocket medical costs: New results from the SIPP. National Poverty Center and U.S. Census Bureau conference: The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP): Research on Health Insurance, Welfare and Child Support. |
| 2009 | Shaefer, H. L. (2009, March). Identifying key barriers to unemployment insurance for disadvantaged workers in the United States. Presentation at the University of Chicago Centennial Symposium: Putting Research to Work: Improving Low-Wage Jobs and Public Policies to Support Vulnerable Workers. |
| 2009 | Shaefer, H. L. (2009, June). The effects of SCHIP expansion on family insurance and out of pocket medical costs: New results from the SIPP. AcademyHealth’s Annual Research Meeting (ARM). |
| 2009 | Shaefer, H. L. (2009, November). Identifying key barriers to unemployment insurance for disadvantaged workers in the United States. Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM): The Next Decade—What Are the Big Policy Challenges? |
| 2010 | Shaefer, H. L. (2010, January). The effects of SCHIP expansion on family insurance and out-of-pocket medical costs. Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR): Social Work Research: A World of Possibilities. |