On May 19, the Regents of the University of Michigan approved three faculty developments that further strengthen the Ford School faculty.
Longtime faculty members John Ciorciari and Megan Tompkins-Stange received promotions: Ciorciari to full professor and Tompkins-Stange to associate professor, each with tenure.
In addition, the regents approved the Ford School appointment of Megan Stewart, an expert in international political conflict and revolutionary movements internationally and in the U.S., as an associate professor of public policy, with tenure.
“Both Professor Ciorciari and Professor Tompkins-Stange are invaluable leaders in our educational community,” said Michael S. Barr, dean of the Ford School. “I am also incredibly excited to welcome Professor Stewart to the Ford School community. She is a leading international scholar and will be a wonderful addition to our faculty.”
Megan Stewart joins the Ford School from American University, bringing her expertise in qualitative and quantitative analysis of historical data, and scholarship at the intersection of international relations and comparative politics. Her recent research includes analyses of the politics of rebel governance and state building. Her 2021 book, Governing for Revolution: Social Transformation in Civil War (Cambridge University Press) was shortlisted for Conflict Research Society Book of the Year (2022). Her work has been published by Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Politics, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management and Peace Science, and Research and Politics, and has been featured in the Washington Post, Political Violence at a Glance, and the Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS). Stewart was also a 2020-2021 Fellow at the John Sloan Dickey Center at Dartmouth College.
"I am thrilled and honored to be a part of the Ford School's vibrant community, and I am eager for the opportunity to join its faculty at the forefront of research and policy engagement," Stewart said.
Since he joined the Ford School in 2009, John Ciorciari has transformed and expanded international education opportunities at the Ford School and across the University of Michigan.
Ciorciari is widely recognized as a leading scholar of southeast Asian politics, fragile states, international law and security, and global governance, and he’s made major contributions in the areas of human rights, international law, international relations, and public policy. Ciorciari’s latest book is Sovereignty Sharing in Fragile States (Stanford University Press 2021).
Ciorciari directs two research centers at the Ford School: the Weiser Diplomacy Center, and the International Policy Center. He also serves as faculty lead for the Ford School’s international policy concentration for MPP students.
Ciorciari is a highly regarded teacher and mentor in addition to his research and leadership work. He has expanded immersive learning opportunities that emphasize adaptability and problem-solving by making significant new connections with international policy organizations.
Megan Tompkins-Stange is a pioneering scholar on the role of philanthropic foundations in the arena of educational policy in the United States. Much of her research to date has involved engaging new methods to move behind the closed doors of philanthropic institutions and make extensive use of elite interviews to illuminate key patterns of decision making while contributing to the development of theory. Her work speaks not only directly to issues of philanthropy, but also to American governance, non-profit management, and education policy.
Tompkins-Stange also has an exceptional teaching record. She plays crucial roles in the development of Ford School curriculum around both nonprofit and public management and values and ethics, and she serves as the faculty lead for the nonprofit and public management MPP concentration.
Her work has been recognized with several accolades, including the Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize (2018), and the Henry Russel Award (2020), which is the University of Michigan’s highest honor for faculty at the early-to-mid stages of their career.
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