2016 Election Experts Guide

February 1, 2016
Written By:
News Service
Contact:
  • umichnews@umich.edu

Vote buttons.From the primaries and caucuses to Election Day on Nov. 8, the University of Michigan has faculty experts to offer insights on candidates and issues throughout the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.

For assistance reaching any U-M expert, please contact Jared Wadley, 734-936-7819 (office), 734-834-7719 (cell), jwadley@umich.edu, @jared_wadley

U-M also has a satellite uplink TV studio and an ISDN radio line for interviews. Media outlets seeking a studio interview with an expert should contact Michigan News producer Mike Wood at 734-647-4412, mwoodmw@umich.edu


Economy/Jobs

Donald GrimesDonald Grimes, economist at the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy, 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: 941-225-1304, dgrimes@umich.edu

Jerry DavisJerry Davis is a professor of management and organizations at the Ross School of Business and professor of sociology. His research is broadly concerned with corporate governance and the effects of finance on society. He recently studied how labor-on-demand models, such as Uber, are out of sync with public policy focused on job creation.

Contact: 734-647-4737, 734-709-4661, gfdavis@umich.edu

Education

Susan DynarskiSusan Dynarski, professor of public policy, education and economics at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and School of Education, can discuss education and tax policy.

Contact: 734-615-5113, dynarski@umich.edu

Michael BastedoMichael Bastedo is professor and director of the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the School of Education. His scholarly interests are in the governance, politics and organization of public higher education, with particular interests in college admissions, enrollment management and low-income students.

Contact: (via Ted Montgomery) 734-615-7378, tedjmont@umich.edu

Environment/Climate Change/Energy

Andy HoffmanAndy Hoffman, is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources & Environment. 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: 734-763-9455, ajhoff@umich.edu

Barry RabeBarry Rabe, professor of public policy, political science and natural resources and environment, is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He surveys Americans on issues related to climate change in the National Surveys on Energy and Environment.

Contact: 734-615-9596, brabe@umich.edu

Mark BarteauMark Barteau, director of the U-M Energy Institute and the DTE Energy Professor of Advanced Energy Research, can discuss the candidates” energy platforms and pipeline issues.

Contact: 734-763-7401, barteau@umich.edu

Health Policy

Dr. John AyanianDr. John Ayanian, director of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, the Alice Hamilton Professor of Internal Medicine and professor of 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: 734-764-2220, kegavin@umich.edu

Thomas BuchmuellerThomas Buchmueller is a professor of business economics, public policy, and risk management and insurance. He is a health economist 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: 734-764-5933, tbuch@umich.edu

Richard HirthRichard Hirth, professor of health management and policy at the School of Public Health and member of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, can discuss the economics of health insurance, health care costs and payment system design.

Contact: 734-936-1306, rhirth@umich.edu

Richard LichtensteinRichard Lichtenstein, the S.J. Axelrod Collegiate Professor of Health Management and Policy at the School of Public Health, can discuss the relationship between poverty and health, racial and ethnic disparities in health, barriers to health insurance coverage for low-income children, and the effects of discrimination on access to health care.

Contact: 734-936-1316, lichto@umich.edu

Peter JacobsonPeter Jacobson is a professor of health law and policy and director for the Center for Law, Ethics, and Health at the School of Public Health. He can address the legal aspects of dismantling Affordable Care Act, a key issue for many of the candidates.

Contact: 734-936-0928, pdj@umich.edu

Helen LevyHelen Levy, research associate professor in the Institute for Social Research, School of Public Policy and School of Public Health, 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: 734-936-4506, hlevy@umich.edu

Immigration

Martha JonesMartha Jones, co-director of Michigan Law”s Program in Race, Law & History and associate professor of Afroamerican and African studies, has conducted research on the history of race, citizenship and slavery. Jones can discuss Trump’s proposal regarding birthright citizenship, it’s historical and political implications.

Contact: 734-647-5421, msjonz@umich.edu

James HathawayJames Hathaway, professor of law and director of the Refugee and Asylum Law Program, is a leading authority on international refugee law. He is editor of the Immigration and Nationality Law Reports.

Contact: jch@umich.edu

Margo SchlangerMargo 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: 734-615-2618, mschlan@umich.edu

Jason De LeónJason De León, assistant professor of anthropology, is author of “The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail.” He is an expert on the physical realities that characterize the act of border crossing, and has written extensively about the relationship between anti-immigration and hyper-border enforcement rhetoric and presidential election cycles. He is bilingual in Spanish.

Contact: 814-769-3706, jpdeleon@umich.edu

Silvia PedrazaSilvia 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: 734-647-3659, spedraza@umich.edu

Sherrie KossoudjiSherrie Kossoudji, associate professor of social work, has written numerous articles on the legal status of immigrant workers in the U.S. and the incentives to cross the border illegally. Her work focuses on non-immigrants and the transition to immigration.

Contact: 734-763-6320, kossoudj@umich.edu

Ann LinAnn Lin, an associate professor of public policy, 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: 734-764-7507, annlin@umich.edu

Nicholas ValentinoNicholas Valentino, professor of communication studies and political science and a research professor at the Center for Political Studies, is an expert on race and politics, and voting rights.

Contact: 734-647-4302, nvalenti@umich.edu

International Trade

Linda LimLinda Lim, a strategy professor in the Ross School of Business, focuses her research on the political economy of multinational and local business in Southeast Asia. That 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: 734-763-0290, lylim@umich.edu

Political Campaign Music/Design

Mark ClagueMark Clague, associate professor of musicology at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, 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: 734-649-4972, claguem@umich.edu

Franc Nunoo-QuarcooFranc Nunoo-Quarcoo is a professor at the Stamps School of Art & Design, where he teaches visual identity and branding, and poster and packaging design. He can discuss campaign branding, logos and design.

Contact: 734-834-4340, fnunoo@umich.edu

Political Communication/Public Opinion/Polls

Michael TraugottMichael Traugott, professor emeritus of communication studies and political science and a senior research scientist at the U-M Center for Political Studies, is an authority on political communication, public opinion and media polling.

Contact: 734-763-4702, mtrau@umich.edu

Nojin KwakNojin Kwak, associate professor of communication studies, has done research on the influence of interpersonal communication on political and civic participation, knowledge, and attitudes. He also studies the role of nontraditional channels of political communication, including soft news, new communication technology, and political talk.

Contact: 734-647-9857, kwak@umich.edu

Josh PasekJosh Pasek, assistant professor of communication studies, explores how new media and psychological processes shape public opinion and political attitudes and behaviors. He studies whether the use of online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter might be changing the political information environment.

Contact: 734-764-6717, jpasek@umich.edu

Stuart SorokaStuart Soroka, the Michael W. Traugott Collegiate Professor of Communication Studies and Political Science, conducts research on political communication, on the sources and structure of public preferences for policy, and on the relationships between public policy, public opinion and mass media.

Contact: 734-647-0421, ssoroka@umich.edu

Brian WeeksBrian Weeks, assistant professor of communication studies and faculty associate at the Center for Political Studies, analyzes the consequences of political misperceptions and how citizens engage political information on social media.

Contact: 734-763-1922, beweeks@umich.edu

Puneet ManchandaPuneet Manchanda is professor and chair of marketing at the Ross School of Business. His main research interest is in building empirical models to solve strategic marketing problems in social media, e-commerce and high-tech. He can talk about political marketing and use of social media by presidential candidates.

Contact: 734-936-2445, pmanchan@umich.edu

Political Rights/Voting/Behaviors

Vincent HutchingsVincent Hutchings, professor of political science, is an expert on public opinion, elections, voting behavior and African-American politics.

Contact: 734-764-6591, vincenth@umich.edu

Arthur LupiaArthur Lupia, the Hal R. Varian Collegiate Professor of Political Science and research professor at the Center for Political Studies, examines how people make decisions when they lack information and in how they manage complex information flows.

Contact: 734-647-7549, lupia@umich.edu

Jowei ChenJowei Chen, associate professor of political science, has examined how government spending influences voters.

Contact: 734-763-2222, jowei@umich.edu

Ellen KatzEllen Katz, the Ralph W. Aigler Professor of Law, specializes in election law, civil rights and remedies, and equal protection. Minority representation, political equality and the role of institutions and anti-discrimination laws are some of her areas of expertise. Her articles include an influential empirical study of litigation under the Voting Rights Act.

Contact: 734-647-6241, ekatz@umich.edu

Mara OstfeldMara Ostfeld, postdoctoral fellow at the Ford School of Public Policy and assistant professor of political science (beginning fall 2016), is an expert on Latino political attitudes, as well as the broader relationship between race, identity and public opinion. Mara also works at Telemundo and NBC as an elections analyst.

Contact: 734-615-8684, mostfeld@umich.edu

Presidential Debate Analysis

Aaron KallAaron Kall, director of the U-M Debate Program and Debate Institute, can discuss speeches given by elected officials.

Contact: 734-239-3996, akall@umich.edu

Robin QueenRobin Queen is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and chair of the Department of Linguistics. Her research includes language and mass media.

Contact: 734-764-0353, rqueen@umich.edu

Security

J. Alex HaldermanJ. 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: 734-647-1806, jhalderm@eecs.umich.edu

Robert AxelrodRobert Axelrod is the Mary Ann and Charles R. Walgreen Jr. Professor for the Study of Human Understanding and professor of public policy and political science. He can discuss international policy, security and diplomacy.

Contact: 734-763-0099, axe@umich.edu

Social Policies

Luke ShaeferLuke Shaefer, associate professor of social work and public policy, can discuss the measurement of poverty and alternative metrics for measuring hardship. He has published articles on rising extreme poverty in the U.S., the effects of major anti-poverty programs and low-wage work.

Contact: 734-936-5065, lshaefer@umich.edu

Kristin SeefeldtKristin 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: 734-​717-1239, kseef@umich.edu

Reuben MillerReuben Miller, assistant professor of social work, specializes in social welfare policy and the urban poor. He has written about poverty in the U.S.

Contact: 734-763-5951, mreuben@umich.edu

Tax Policy

Joel SlemrodJoel Slemrod, professor of business economics and public policy, studies and writes about tax policy. He is the co-author of “Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen”s Guide to the Great Debate over Taxes” and “Tax Systems.”

Contact: 734-936-3914, jslemrod@umich.edu

U.S. Supreme Court

Richard FriedmanRichard Friedman, the Alene and Allan F. Smith Professor of Law, is an expert on evidence and U.S. Supreme Court history.

Contact: 734-647-1078, rdfrdman@umich.edu

Richard PrimusRichard Primus, the Theodore J. St. Antoine Collegiate Professor of Law, teaches the law, theory and history of the U.S. Constitution.

Contact: 734-647-5543, raprimus@umich.edu

Richard HallRichard Hall, professor of political science and public policy, can discuss the U.S. Senate nomination fight to replace Scalia.

Contact: 734-763-4390, rlhall@umich.edu

Gil SeinfeldGil Seinfeld, professor of law, teaches and writes about federal jurisdiction, the constitutional law of federalism and civil procedure. He clerked for Antonin Scalia during the October 2002 term.

Contact: 734-615-7284, gsein@umich.edu

Women/Gender Pay Issues

Laura LeinLaura Lein, professor of social work and anthropology, has conducted research on women”s employment and child care.

Contact: 734-615-7379, leinl@umich.edu