Town Hall GR at the Ford: Data Centers
Data centers are reshaping communities across Michigan and the nation—but what do we really know about their opportunities, challenges, costs, and impacts?
Join the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Citizens Research Council of Michigan for the inaugural Town Hall GR at the Ford, a community conversation examining the many dimensions of data-center development. Rather than a traditional debate, this program will bring together experts with different perspectives and areas of expertise for a thoughtful, fact-based conversation.
Moderated by Professor Sarah Mills of the University of Michigan, the discussion will feature Professor Michael Webber of the University of Texas at Austin, an expert in energy policy and energy systems; Eric Paul Dennis, PE, of the Citizens Research Council, whose work examines data-center development and its implications for Michigan communities; and Professor Jason Peters of Hillsdale College, whose scholarship includes agrarian thought and the work of Wendell Berry.
Together, the panelists will explore questions surrounding data centers, including energy and water use, economic development, land use, infrastructure, community impacts, and the broader technological changes driving their growth. Audience members will have an opportunity to ask questions and engage with the panel.
The conversation reflects a principle associated with President Gerald R. Ford: “We can disagree without being disagreeable.” The goal is to encourage informed, engaged citizens and create space for meaningful discussion about an issue increasingly affecting communities across Michigan.
Details on Attending
Ford Presidential Museum
303 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Monday, November 16, 2026
Free Brown Bag Lunch: 11:30 a.m. (Registration required)
Program: noon - 1:30 p.m.
Program Supporters
In partnership with Citizens Research Council of Michigan and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation is proud to bring this program to Grand Rapids.
Watch the Livestream
DR. SARAH MILLS is a professor of practice at the University of Michigan's Urban & Regional Planning program and the Director of UM's Center for EmPowering Communities. Her research studies the positive and negative impacts of large-renewable energy projects on the rural communities that host them, and state and local policies impacting energy deployment. For the last several years, she and her team have received funding from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to help Michigan local governments across the urban-rural spectrum set policies related to energy, especially zoning for large-scale clean energy infrastructure. Sarah received her doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan, where her dissertation looked at the intersection of farmland preservation and wind energy development. She has a master's in engineering for sustainable development from the University of Cambridge, and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Villanova University. She grew up on a farm in Monroe County, Michigan, but now lives in Ann Arbor where she serves on the City Planning Commission.
JASON PETERS joined Hillsdale’s faculty in the fall of 2021 after spending 25 years at Augustana College, where he was Dorothy J. Parkander Professor in Literature. His books include Wendell Berry: Life and Work (editor) and The Culinary Plagiarist: (Mis)Adventures of a Lusty, Thieving, God-Fearing Gourmand. He is also the editor-in-chief of Local Culture: A Journal of the Front Porch Republic. He and his wife live on a small acreage in Ingham County, where they raise lambs, hogs, and chickens.
