Rep. Nancy Pelosi will launch an eponymous academic institute at the University of California, Berkeley focusing on “strengthening American democracy” when she retires from Congress after nearly 40 years of public service, the former House speaker announced Monday.
The nonpartisan institute, dubbed the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy, or NPI, will include faculty research programs, undergraduate classes to “prepare future leaders,” a visiting fellowship program that will bring national and world leaders to campus, and an annual forum, the university said Monday. The institute is scheduled to open in January 2027.
Students will also have the opportunity to learn directly from Pelosi, who will co-teach a class on Congress.
“As I look forward to seeing the incredible ideas and leaders that will emerge from this institute, I am thinking about the words embroidered in Abraham Lincoln’s overcoat ‘One Country. One Destiny,” Pelosi said in a statement.
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UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said the institute’s purpose is to “more than simply study democracy; we are building this institute to strengthen it.”
The institute will be guided by four fundamental concepts, UC Berkeley said, including reinforcing democratic institutions, addressing the country’s “greatest challenges,” promoting civil rights at home and abroad, and ensuring political leadership encompasses varied perspectives.
Pelosi announced she would not seek reelection last November, marking the end of a historic career in which she became the first and only woman to serve as speaker of the House.
“As we go forward, my message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power. We have made history,” Pelosi said in a six-minute video announcing her retirement in November. “We have made progress. We have always led the way, and now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear.”
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