Pelosi to launch namesake institute at UC Berkeley after retirement from Congress
OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
7:41 PM – Monday, June 29, 2026
Representative Nancy Pelosi announced she will teach a course at the Nancy Pelosi Institute (NPI) for Representative Democracy at the University of California (UC) Berkeley after retiring from nearly four decades of public service.
UC Berkeley announced on Monday in a press release that Pelosi (D-Calif.) has helped to raise $35 million of the $50 million fundraising goal to make the institute a “national leader in research and fellowships.”
The university described the institute as a “hub for research, teaching and civic engagement rooted in a shared commitment to advancing the public good.” The institute will suss out what prevents progress and how to solve political problems.
“The purpose and impact of the NPI will be defined and strengthened by Berkeley’s ability to bring together world-class faculty and extraordinary students and by our commitment, as the country’s preeminent public university, to advancing the greater good,” Chancellor Rich Lyons said. “We intend to do more than simply study democracy; we are building this institute to strengthen it.”
The NPI will open in January in the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science. After 39 years in Congress and two tenures as speaker of the House, Pelosi will co-teach a course about Congress.
“The work of democracy is never finished, and securing its future is our greatest calling,” Pelosi said.
“I am 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,” she added.
The institute’s focus has four pillars:
- Strengthening America’s democratic institutions;
- Overcoming the greatest challenges to America’s society, economy and planet;
- Promoting human rights and civil rights;
- Ensuring political leadership that represents the full spectrum of perspectives and backgrounds in California and the country.
The institute plans to serve 500 students annually and eventually offer several undergraduate courses for a variety of majors.
Next spring, the school will also hold a public exhibit about Pelosi’s life and career in the lower chamber of Congress at the Bancroft Library.
“The study of political science is most impactful when it bridges the gap between academic research and real-world governance,” said Scott Straus, chair of the Travers Department of Political Science. “This institute will provide our students and faculty with unprecedented opportunities to engage directly with the mechanics of leadership and move ideas from the classroom into the real world, ensuring that our research directly informs the leaders and policymakers who are working for a better tomorrow across the political spectrum.”
“There could be no better place than Berkeley,” said Raka Ray, dean of Berkeley’s Division of Social Sciences. “This institute represents an incredible opportunity to create an academic center with national and global impact at a university that has long served as a pipeline for civic leadership.”
Pelosi emphasized that this is a nonpartisan venture, which gives it more value.
“I concede this as a departure from the partisan political arena,” Pelosi told the Los Angeles Times. “I think the value of being associated with an academic institution, instead of just having my own foundation to do things, is that it would be nonpartisan. I think there’s so much strength in that.”
Pelosi, 85, announced in November that she will not seek reelection at the end of her current term — her 20th — in January 2027. She is the first Californian and first woman to serve as the House speaker.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
