Miller-Adams’s work at the Upjohn Institute focuses on two themes: the local, state, and national movements toward tuition-free college and the question of how young adults with disabilities connect to employment. She is the author of The Path to Free College: In Pursuit of Access, Equity, and Prosperity (Harvard Education Press, 2021), Promise Nation: Transforming Communities through Place-Based Scholarships (Upjohn Institute, 2015), The Power of a Promise: Education and Economic Renewal in Kalamazoo (Upjohn Institute, 2009), and Owning Up: Poverty, Assets and the American Dream (Brookings Institution Press, 2002), as well as an earlier book on the World Bank. One of the nation’s leading experts on the Kalamazoo Promise and the free-college movement, she speaks with local and national media, advises policymakers and community stakeholders, and evaluates tuition-free college initiatives.
Miller-Adams is co-director of the Institute's place-based research initiative that explores how communities facing economic challenges can create broadly shared prosperity for their residents. In this role, she is examining the systems that serve young adults with disabilities as they transition from the education to the employment systems.
Miller-Adams was a professor of political science at Grand Valley State University until her retirement in 2024.
Recent Research
“Six lessons for tuition-free college programs from the Columbus Promise” (with Bridget Timmeney), June 13, 2024
“What policymakers need to know about tuition-free college options for Michigan,” May 2, 2024
“How to Make Sustainable Investments in Communities” (with co-authors), Policies for Place Annual Report, March 26, 2024
The Free College Handbook: A Practitioner’s Guide to Promise Research (co-edited with Jennifer Iriti), December 2022
More on tuition-free college
Watch a video that discusses the sustainability of Promise programs.
“Tuition-free college is central to Michigan’s future prosperity,” Bridge Michigan, May 28, 2024
“Making community college free is crucial next step for Massachusetts,” CommonWealth Beacon, May 16, 2024
“5 Ways to Get Human-Infrastructure Initiatives Right” (with Kathleen Bolter), Governing: The Future of States and Localities, October 13, 2021
“If free college is the goal, start with community college,” Politico, February 4, 2021
“We Need Tuition-Free College. For Adults,” New York Times, May 14, 2020