Osagie K. Obasogie is the Haas Distinguished Chair and Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law with a joint appointment in the Joint Medical Program and School of Public Health. He received his B.A. in Sociology and Political Science (with distinction in both majors) from Yale University, his J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a fellow with the National Science Foundation. Obasogie’s scholarly interests include Constitutional law, policing and police use of force, sociology of law, bioethics, race and inequality in law and medicine, and reproductive and genetic technologies.
What policymakers need to know about the criminal justice system
Join Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt and Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes for a conversation at the intersection of law, policy, and the criminal justice system.
As a 10th District Court of Appeals Judge for the State of Ohio, Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt will offer her perspective on what policymakers need to know about the criminal justice system.
Judge Beatty Blunt will offer firsthand knowledge about the criminal justice system, focusing on the inner workings of the local and national court systems, as well as the role of a judge as both a policy implementer and policy interpreter. Together, Dean Watkins-Hayes and Judge Beatty Blunt will discuss how social context–including race, gender, poverty, and education–shapes criminal justice pathways and outcomes.
Poverty is not Just Material: An Investigation of Attention and Time Poverties
This seminar will be presented by Visiting Scholar Dr. Irene Y.H. Ng, from the National University of Singapore.
While material poverty is an essential starting point for understanding the experiences of individuals in poverty, this presentation argues that policy responses are limited without understanding two other important poverties: attention and time poverties.
Along the lines of findings from behavioral research that poverty impedes cognitive function, Dr. Ng and her co-authors have found that a natural experiment of a debt relief program improved the psychological function of low-income individuals and that a “scam” experiment they implemented was more likely to trick low wage young workers who were financially distressed. Together with another set of colleagues, she is also conceptualizing a work-based time poverty measure that includes three constructs: long hours, nonstandard hours, and uncontrollable hours. They are discovering the pathways of influence from low wage to psychological well-being through time poverty and family-work conflict as mediators.
Dr. Ng’s presentation will share from her various research studies to suggest the importance of understanding the experience of poverty beyond the material, and to offer policy implications when attention and time poverties are also considered.
This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Global Activities, the School of Social Work ENGAGE Team, and the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions. Please note that this event has switched to a fully virtual (Zoom only) format. Information on how to join the Zoom meeting will be provided to those who register for the event.
Cultivating socially responsible engineers: The role of universities and public policy
Open to the public. Registration coming soon.
Join STPP for a panel discussion on the role of universities and public policy in cultivating socially responsible engineers.
Our speakers
- Amy Ko, Professor, Information School, University of Washington-Seattle
- Tim McKay, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics, Astronomy, and Education; University of Michigan
- Johanna Okerland, Postdoctoral Fellow, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan
- José Zayas-Castro, Division Director, NSF Division of Engineering Education and Centers, National Science Foundation
- Moderator: Alec Gallimore, Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, University of Michigan
Immigration reform and racial justice
Facilitated by faculty discussant Ann Chih Lin, this session focuses on the impact of immigration reform policies as part of a larger struggle to advance racial justice.
About the Public Policy and Institutional Discrimination series
The series, open to U-M students, faculty, and staff, is designed to foster dialogue on important issues of U.S. public policy. Sessions are facilitated by faculty discussants. This is an opportunity for students to hear from faculty outside of the classroom. Students are encouraged, though not required, to attend as many sessions as possible.
