The University of Southern California will open a new public policy institute in Washington, D.C., … [+]
The University of Southern California announced Thursday that it’s launching a public policy center at its Capital Campus in Washington, D.C. Scheduled to open July 1, 2024, the new USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service is being supported by a $59 million donation from Leonard D. Schaeffer and his wife, Pamela.
The mission of the new institute, which will expand the work of the current USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service is to produce “research that informs evidence-based policymaking to address our nation’s most pressing issues and to educate students to be responsible and involved citizens of a true, functioning democracy,” according to the university.
“The newly formed Schaeffer Institute accelerates USC’s capacity to develop effective academic leaders and to forge critical high-impact partnerships with influential policymakers and organizations,” USC President Carol Folt said as part of the announcement.
“There are times in the life of a university when a vision and an opportunity align to become a powerful force to serve the public good.” Folt added. “And our students and our nation need this now more than ever.”
Part of the gift will be used to prepare space for the new institute in the 60,000 square foot Capital Campus facility that USC opened last spring in the heart of D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. The institute will also have offices on the USC University Park Campus in Los Angeles.
Dana Goldman, currently dean of USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy and co-director of the USC Schaeffer Center, has been tabbed to become the Institute’s first director.
“The Schaeffer Institute will be an invaluable resource for education and scholarship, not just for Schaeffer scholars and its affiliated experts but for faculty members and students from multiple disciplines across USC,” said Goldman. “Their ability to use our Capital Campus office to more easily engage with policymakers will give them far more impact.”
In addition, the Schaeffers’ gift will be used to endow additional funds for the Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service, a program that provides paid fellowships for undergraduates to work in local, state and federal government offices.
The fellowships, administered by USC, are open to USC students and also those from four other universities – Harvard University; Princeton University; University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Virginia. The gift will allow at least 50 students from the five institutions to receive fellowships every year.
Erica Lovano McCann, currently USC’s assistant vice provost for undergraduate education, will become the full-time executive director of the expanded Schaeffer Fellows program.
“Our country is experiencing a series of challenges that are unique in our history,” said Schaeffer in the university’s news release. “We are facing many difficult issues around the world — climate change, pandemics, violent conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, and world trade and economic problems, to name a few. Here at home, we are experiencing the loss of faith in science and government. The institute will have the faculty, students and postdocs to provide the analysis and facts necessary to counter erosion in public discourse and promote more effective policy solutions.”
Schaeffer also said that an undergraduate fellowship in government “changed the course of my career and life, and I want others to have an even more enhanced opportunity. It is critical to educate students to be citizens who understand how government works.”
About Leonard Schaeffer
A graduate of Princeton University. Leonard D. Schaeffer was the founding chairman and CEO of WellPoint, a giant in the health insurance and health benefits industry. He also served as Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now CMS) and was responsible for the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Schaeffer has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and was awarded an honorary degree from USC as well as the inaugural USC Sol Price Award for lifetime achievements as a business leader, policy expert and philanthropist. He serves as the chair of the U.S. Health System Board and is vice chair of the Board of Trustees at the Brookings Institution. He is a USC trustee and chair of the Schaeffer Center’s Board of Advisors.
The Schaeffers have been frequent benefactors for USC over the years. This latest gift is their largest donation to the university. In 2009, their private gift established the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. In 2015, the Schaeffers funded the Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service program. The couple has also endowed chairs in health care financing and policy at The Brookings Institution; University of California, Berkeley; the Institute of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.
