MPP students showcase their research at this year's Capstone Forum

May 15, 2026 - Karessa Weir

From affordable housing to right-to-work legislation, this year's MSU Master of Public Policy graduates put some of the most-pressing policy debates of our time under the microscope. 

The students presented their work at the annual MPP Capstone Forum on April 9  which also featured a keynote address by Michigan State Budget Director and MPP alumna Jen Flood. Around 75 policy practitioners, MPP alumni, faculty, staff, and friends were in attendance. The event was sponsored by ITC Holdings, Public Policy Associates, Citizens Research Council of Michigan, Anderson Economic Group, and the Lansing Economic Development Corporation.  

“This year’s graduating cohort is relatively small. But this moment highlights one of the core strengths that we have in our MPP program, which is intentionally small cohorts that allow for faculty mentorship, individualized instruction, and deep engagement with applied policy work,” said MPP Director Assistant Professor Marty Jordan. “Over the past eight months, that’s what our students have been doing. They’re engaging with complex policy challenges.”  

Josh Lake’s research was titled “Crossing the Finish Line, But Missing the Mark: The Growing Gap between Graduation & Competency in Michigan High Schools.” The project examined the paradox of rising high school graduation rates alongside declining proficiency in English and math scores in Michigan.  

For his project, “When Youth Speak, Do Budgets Listen? Evidence from Malawi,” Aubrey Ghambi  analyzed policy responsiveness by comparing actual Malawian budget priorities with youth policy preferences.  

Michael Oriyavong offered a normative policy analysis of the three types of mail-in voting systems across the U.S. states in his project, “In Mail Ballots, We Trust! Policy Evaluation of Mail Voting Systems.” 

In “Upzoning and Affordable Housing,” Luke Bingaman studied zoning polices in large U.S. cities and their relationship to housing affordability and urban density. 

And in a first for the MPP program, Charles Vroman employed synthetic control modeling for his research into the effects of right-to-work laws on private-sector employment and wage growth. His project was entitled, “Right for Workers? Effects of Right-to-Work on Private Sector Labor Market Outcomes in Michigan and Indiana.”  

“They are doing sophisticated work,” Dr. Jordan said in his remarks to graduating students.  “Applied policy research is demanding work. It is demanding conceptually, methodologically, communicatively. But this difficulty is precisely where its value lies. Each of you is leaving this program as a skilled professional who’s about to make meaningful contributions to the policy world, and you should be proud of your accomplishments. We certainly are.”