UC Berkeley Opening Nancy Pelosi Institute; She’ll Teach

The University of California, Berkeley, is partnering with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi to launch a “nonpartisan institute” named after her, the university announced in a news release last week. 

Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House in American history, is retiring from Congress at the end of this year after nearly four decades representing California as a Democrat. The institute, which will host an “exhibit chronicling her career,” will open in the political science department in January, and Pelosi will co-teach a course about Congress, the university said.   

“The Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy, or NPI, will be a hub for research, teaching and civic engagement rooted in a shared commitment to advancing the public good,” the release said. “Through faculty research initiatives, undergraduate courses and a visiting fellows program, the institute will explore what impedes progress and how best to solve political problems, from polarization to the future of artificial intelligence.”

UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said in the release that the institute would foster “civil discourse.” Pelosi said, “The work of democracy is never finished, and securing its future is our greatest calling.”

University officials have set a $50 million fundraising goal for the institute, and it has already “received more than $35 million in philanthropic commitments,” the release said. Neither the university nor Pelosi spokespeople would disclose to Inside Higher Ed how much the congresswoman donated.