The Center for the Political Future is a non-partisan center housed in the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The center was established in order to combat uncivil political discourse and promote bipartisan, fact-based dialogue on national issues. [1] [2] The Center for the Political Future hosts conferences, [3] offers a Fellows program, [4] hosts an ongoing dialogue series called Political Conversations, [3] and provides a neutral ground for political discourse in "off-the-record policy workshops" with top experts from relevant disciplines, among other programs. [5]
Through its dialogue series, conferences, and workshops, the center has expressed that some of its goals are to "understand and contextualize causes of the political divide" in the United States, "work toward a common fact base," "renew civil discourse to find common ground," and assess the possible "domestic and global implications of different policy approaches" through civil discourse between experts across the ideological spectrum. [5]
The center's director is Robert Shrum and its co-director is Mike Murphy. Shrum is a longtime Democratic strategist and speechwriter for politicians, including Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry. Murphy is a veteran Republican campaign strategist and has worked for candidates Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jeb Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney. [6] [7] The center's Executive Director is Kamy Akhavan, former CEO of ProCon.org. [8]
The Center for the Political Future brings political professionals together from both sides of the aisle and models bipartisan discussions for students and the national political stage. [9] [10] [11]
The center's stated mission is to “combine rigorous intellectual inquiry, teaching, and practical politics to advance civil dialogue that transcends partisan divisions and explores solutions to our most pressing national and global challenges.” [12]
The Center for the Political Future outlines several objectives, including:
In 1978, before it was called the Center for the Political Future, USC founded the USC Institute of Politics and Government. A little more than a decade later, in 1987, it was renamed the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics after the late California state politician, Jesse M. Unruh. [13] In 2018, long-time political strategists and friends Robert Shrum (D) and Mike Murphy (R) expanded the Unruh Institute of Politics by creating the Center for the Political Future.
The center has several departments and initiatives that further its mission: the Unruh Institute of Politics, [14] the USC Dornsife/LA Times Poll, [15] weekly programming through their Political Conversations series, [16] a Fellows Program, [17] and large-scale conferences. [18]
The Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, named after long-time California politician Jesse M. Unruh, is a component of the Center for the Political Future. Its focus is on engaging students at USC in politics and public service. It achieves this goal by providing students with internships and practical experiences in politics.
Student programs include immersive professional experiences at the Iowa Caucuses, in California state politics in Sacramento, a leadership conference for LA-based high school women, and related coursework in these areas.
The Unruh Institute has two affiliated student groups, VoteSC, and USC Political Union, [19] currently run by Duncan Law [20] and Eleanor Love, [21] and formerly by Eli Scott [22] and Darik De Jong. [23] Both organizations promote student engagement in voting and politics. [24] [25] [26]
The USC Dornsife/LA Times poll is maintained by USC’s Center for Economic and Social Research and conducted in partnership with the Center for the Political Future and the Los Angeles Times. The purpose of the probability-based online panel is to track respondents changing attitudes and preferences for political candidates over time. [27] [28] [29]
The Center for the Political Future hosts a regular conversation series called Political Conversations, in partnership with the Political Science Department at USC. The Center brings in guests from the world of politics, journalism, and other related fields to expose students to practitioners in journalism, politics, and public policy. [16]
Past guests include:
The Center for the Political Future hosts visiting Fellows each semester to teach classes pertaining to politics, public policy, and journalism.
Fellows have included:
The Center for the Political Future conducts several annual conferences. The conference themes range from climate change and political tribalism to immigration and elections. [64] [65] [66]
Featured speakers have included:
On March 22, 2022, the Center for the Political Future partnered with Fox11 and the Los Angeles Times to sponsor the Los Angeles Mayoral debate, held at USC's Bovard Auditorium. [73]
The University of Southern California is a private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in California, and has an enrollment of more than 49,000 students.
David Timothy Dreier OAE is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California from 1981 to 2013. He was one of the youngest members ever elected to the United States Congress. Dreier was the youngest chairman of the House Rules Committee in U.S. history, serving from 1999 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2013. He was instrumental in passing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. After leaving Congress, Dreier served on the Foreign Affairs Policy Board under President Barack Obama. He served as the chairman of the Tribune Publishing Company from 2019 to 2020. Dreier is also founder and chair of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation.
Robert M. "Bob" Shrum is the director of the Center for the Political Future and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics at the University of Southern California, where he is a professor of political science in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He is a former American political consultant, who has worked on numerous Democratic campaigns, including as senior advisor to the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004 and to the Gore-Lieberman campaign in 2000. Shrum wrote the famous speech Ted Kennedy gave at the 1980 Democratic National Convention conceding to and supporting President Jimmy Carter. He has been described as "the most sought-after consultant in the Democratic Party." Shrum served as speechwriter to New York Mayor John V. Lindsay from 1970 to 1971, speechwriter to Senator George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign and speechwriter and press secretary to Senator Edward M. Kennedy from 1980 to 1984 and political consultant until 2009.
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