On August 25, the College of Letters & Sciences officially approved the La Follette faculty’s recommendation to appoint Professor J. Michael Collins as the next director of the La Follette School. He will begin his post on January 1, 2027.

Collins is an accomplished scholar who studies consumer decision-making in the financial marketplace and the role of public policy in influencing personal credit, savings and investment choices.

He is a family economics specialist for the Division of Extension, the associate director for training and research at the Institute for Research on Poverty, and an affiliate of the Department of Consumer Science in the School of Human Ecology, the Center for Demography and Ecology, the UW Survey Center and the School of Social Work. He developed and led the UW Retirement and Disability Research Consortium research center from 2018-2025.

Collins earned a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and a PhD in policy analysis and management from Cornell University.

Susan Yackee is stepping down from her leadership role after serving as director for the La Follette School since 2018.

“Susan’s leadership over the past decade has been nothing short of transformative, leaving enormous shoes to fill. Thanks to her vision, the La Follette School has established an incredible foundation for teaching, rigorous research, and public service in Wisconsin and beyond,” Collins said. “I am deeply honored to step into this role and look forward to working alongside our extraordinary faculty, staff, students, and alumni as we begin this next chapter.”

“I’m so pleased that we will have such a strong, dynamic, and talented leader during this important period for our school,” Yackee said. “As we enter the next phase at La Follette, Michael is the perfect person to take the reins, especially as we look to continue our upward trajectory and embody the Wisconsin Idea.”

Under Yackee’s leadership, the La Follette School experienced unprecedented growth and achieved several significant milestones.

In 2019, she announced the transformative $10 million gift from Sen. Herb Kohl that would help jumpstart several key initiatives under her leadership.

Since that time, La Follette has begun to offer undergraduate certificates in public policy and health policy. Nearly 1,000 students have earned an undergraduate certificate from La Follette. This fall, La Follette will begin offering an undergraduate major in public policy, a years-in-the-making project that Yackee championed.

Under Yackee’s leadership, Herb Kohl Philanthropies this spring announced a historic $30 million lead private gift to extend the late Sen. Herb Kohl’s longstanding support of the school. The gift will support programming and renovations to UW–Madison’s Music Hall, which will serve as La Follette’s future home under the new name of Herb Kohl Hall.

Yackee was also instrumental in helping La Follette expand its outreach mission through high-profile events and speaking engagements.

The biennial Main Street Agenda project has explored ways to promote policy conversations, counter polarization, and rebuild trust. The 2024 Main Street Agenda brought together nearly 350 Wisconsinites around the state for four facilitated dinner conversations focused on practicing and promoting civil dialogue.

This year’s Main Street Agenda will bring representative groups of residents together in the fall to deliberate about housing issues affecting their communities and provide a set of policy recommendations to local government officials. It also includes a documentary project in collaboration with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that investigates polarization among Gen Z in Wisconsin and the efforts around the state to counter it and promote civil dialogue. The documentary is set to debut this fall.

High-profile speakers from across the political spectrum have turned La Follette public events into “can’t miss” talks that have drawn thousands of community members from Madison and beyond. Recent speakers have included Paul Ryan, Ezra Klein, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels.

Yackee also served as La Follette’s director from 2013 to 2016, helping the school to establish a Board of Visitors during that term. She has also led all development for the school since 2013. Under her leadership, La Follette has raised approximately $50 million in philanthropy to support its mission.

“Serving as director of the La Follette School has been one of the greatest privileges of my career, especially alongside exceptional faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends. Together, we have expanded opportunities for students, strengthened our research enterprise, grown our community of supporters, and positioned La Follette for an exciting future,” Yackee said.