Center for the Political Future

Return to: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences  

The mission of the Center for the Political Future is to advance civil dialogue that transcends partisan divisions and explores solutions to our most pressing national and global challenges. Now, more than ever, we need innovative pathways to restore dispassionate analysis to the political arena and renew the compromise essential to our democracy. The Center for the Political Future combines rigorous intellectual inquiry, teaching and practical politics to advance a new model for political discourse that opens those pathways.

Each semester, the Center hosts two to three Fellows on campus, each an exemplary leader in their field of politics and public service. Our Fellows spend the semester leading 2-unit seminar courses as well as hosting office hours, roundtable discussions, and bipartisan political panels designed to benefit students and the broader community. The Center also hosts weekly programs covering political issues, and conferences addressing national and global challenges such as immigration, climate change and tribalism.

An integral component of the Center is the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, which serves students by giving them the opportunity to be politically active and civically engaged through internships, scholarships, and professional development. The institute facilitates student internships in the offices of elected officials, non-profit organizations, public affairs professionals and more. At the institute, USC Dornsife students also conduct research into major public policy challenges at the local, state, and national levels. In the spring, the institute organizes the Cerrell Seminar in Political Leadership, a trip to Sacramento where USC students meet with legislators, lobbyists and members of the media to discuss important issues in state politics.

Center for the Political Future

Social Science Building B15
(213) 740-5596
Email: cpf@usc.edu
dornsife-center-for-political-future.usc.edu   

Unruh Institute

Von KleinSmid Center 263
(213) 740-8964
Email: unruhins@usc.edu
 

Director: Robert M. Shrum

Co-Director: Michael Murphy

Executive Director: Kamy Akhavan