Do you want to know what’s happening on college campuses this election cycle? Then look no further, because JVN went to the heart of the matter in 2024 swing state, Michigan, at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy. JVN got to talk to returning guest and Getting Curious MVP, Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Political Science Professor (and Icon) Jenna Bednar, as well as two student leaders from the non-partisan voting organization Turn Up Turnout (TUT). TUT’s Co-Presidents, Hillary Poudeu-Tchokothe and Maurielle Courtois, break down what TUT's mission is on the University of Michigan campus, and how the university supports student voting efforts.

Celeste Watkins-Hayes is the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and founding director of the school's Center for Racial Justice. Watkins-Hayes is also the Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, professor of sociology, and an Anti-Racism Collaborative research and community impact fellow. 

Jenna Bednar is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and serves in the provost’s office as the inaugural faculty director of UMICH Votes and Democratic Engagement.  She leads the campus’s voting infrastructure and is co-chair of the Year of Democracy and Civic Engagement, a campus-wide collaborative effort to elevate democracy-related research, curriculum, and engagement as part of the launch of the university’s next capital campaign.

Professor Bednar’s research focuses on how collective action builds social goods and the role that institutions play in making that collaboration possible.

Hillary Poudeu-Tchokothe, Co-President of Turn Up Turnout, is graduating in the Class of 2026 double majoring in Political Science and History.

Maurielle Courtois, Co-President of Turn Up Turnout, is a political Science major with a minor in Law, Justice, and Social Change graduating in 2025. This club is the perfect intersection of my interest in voting rights and politics.

You can follow Ford School on Instagram @fordschool You can follow Celeste Watkins-Hayes on Instagram @celestewatkinshayes  You can follow Turn Up Turnout on Instagram @umturnout

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Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.

Our senior producer is Chris McClure. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.

Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.

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