By Lauren Dzura
This fall, New York University will open the John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress in the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.
The center is named in honor of N.Y.U. president emeritus and former member of Congress Dr. John Brademas. The bipartisan center will hold discussions on how Congress shapes policy along with important national policies.
“Given the influence of the House and Senate on the day-to-day lives of every American, it is critical that we promote a better understanding, among both scholars and the public, of how Congress sets its agenda and works to create national policy,” said John Sexton, the university’s president.
The Center will pull from faculty at the Wagner school and other schools at the university for an interdisciplinary approach to study the first branch of the United States government.
The center’s inaugural event on Sept. 15 will be held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., with Senators Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) and Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.), and is the first in a series of planned lectures at the library.
Other activities at the Brademas Center include seminars on Congress’s legislative resources by Wagner Professor Paul Light. The center will hold conferences in New York City, Washington, D.C., and at the university’s international sites, as well as sponsor internships on Capitol Hill for N.Y.U. undergraduate and graduate students.
The Brademas Center has formed an advisory council made up of current and former U.S. senators and representatives from both political parties along with members of the N.Y.U. community, academic authorities on Congress and other leaders experienced in government. Dr. Alicia D. Hurley, director of N.Y.U.’s Office of Federal Policy, is the center’s acting director.
Dr. Brademas served as a Democratic congressmember from Indiana for 22 years, from 1959-’81, and was the majority whip at the House during his last four years. He went on to serve as president of N.Y.U. from 1981-’92 and is now president emeritus.
“I am delighted by the creation of a center named in honor of my friend and former colleague, John Brademas,” said Congressmember Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), a member of the center’s Advisory Council. “John’s extraordinary commitment to examining and highlighting the essential role that Congress plays in making policy will lead to the highest caliber of work. And what better place to house an outside-the-Beltway, objective than in New York City, with its diversity and access to academia and media outlets.”
“Dr. Brademas, through both his work in Congress and at N.Y.U., exemplified an unparalleled dedication to public service,” said Wagner Dean Ellen Schall. “The Brademas Center will allow the next generation of public service leaders to gain insight into how, and why, Congress makes the decisions that it does in the policymaking arena.”
Activities at the Brademas Center will be supported by a grant directed by the U.S. Congress and private contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations. More information about the center can be found at www.nyu.edu/ofp/brademascenter.
