The former House speaker is preparing to leave Congress after a nearly four-decade decorated career.
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Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), who is retiring from Congress at the end of this session, plans to establish the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy at the University of California at Berkeley, her office announced Monday.
The institute, which is scheduled to launch in January, is the first preview Pelosi has offered of her planned activities following her nearly four decades on Capitol Hill.
Pelosi, 86, will co-teach a course on Congress alongside Berkeley political science professor Eric Schickler, her office said. The Pelosi Institute has already received more than $32 million in philanthropic commitments, which are earmarked for a permanent endowment, according to the university.
The congresswoman, who served two stints as House speaker, from 2007 to 2011 and 2019 to 2023, announced in November that she would retire from Congress at the end of this term. Pelosi was the first elected female speaker of the House and first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress.
In a statement Monday, Pelosi said she is “honored to partner with this exceptional community of scholars and students so we can equip the next generation with the tools they need to strengthen our democratic institutions and forge a future that serves the public good.”
“The work of democracy is never finished, and securing its future is our greatest calling,” she said.
According to a news release from UC Berkeley, the academic institute will be nonpartisan and “dedicated to strengthening American democracy.” It will host faculty research initiatives, undergraduate courses, a visiting fellows program for national and international leaders, summer programming, and an annual nonpartisan forum for global thought.
Berkeley’s Bancroft Library also plans to host next spring a public exhibit about Pelosi’s life and time in the House, and the institute also plans to host an exhibit on Pelosi’s career.
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Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said in a statement that establishing the Pelosi Institute “aligns perfectly with our commitment to fostering civil discourse, advancing democracy, and preparing our students to lead with integrity on the global stage.”
Drew Hammill, who worked as a top Pelosi aide for more than 16 years, told The Washington Post it was challenging to find a way to honor someone “who’s completely broken the mold.”
“You’re gonna need a to step it up a bit,” he said. “That’s exactly what they’ve done here.”
Hammill added: “This arrangement, this partnership with Berkeley, is just such a fitting way for her to have a personal role in continuing to educate next generation of leaders.”
As speaker, Pelosi was well known for her ability to bend the House to her will and keep her thin Democratic majority in line through persuasion and fear of retribution.
Her legacy includes passage of several sweeping laws including the 2010 Affordable Care Act and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
She also embraced her role as leader of her party’s opposition to President Donald Trump before announcing in late 2022 that she would step down from a leadership role to make way for a new generation of Democratic leaders.
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