Research Units and Affiliated Centers
Policy Agendas Project
The Policy Agendas Project is an online data resource center available to the public that allows users to trace, graph, and download policy change in the U.S. since the Second World War. Data is available through a web-based interface that allows users to download filtered records for their own analyses as well as track levels of attention and government activity through graphical analysis tools. The PAP allows students and researchers to track the agendas of multiple government institutions, the media, and the public. Legislative activity is captured by data sets on all congressional hearings, roll call votes, public laws, U.S. budget authority, and stories from the Congressional Quarterly. In addition, all bills introduced in Congress are collected and coded in a related undertaking, the Congressional Bills Project. Executive branch activity can be traced using data sets on all executive orders and State of the Union addresses. The Judicial Branch is represented by data sets on Supreme Court certioraris granted and denied. Finally, the media and public agendas are captured respectively by a sample of stories from the New York Times and the Gallup opinion poll on the Most Important Problem.
Irma Rangel Public Policy Institute
The Irma Rangel Public Policy Institute (PPI) is a research unit of the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Government. It focuses on public policy issues salient to the State of Texas. Although our research has covered a wide range of subjects over the last decade, the PPI is particularly interested in issues relevant to the growing Latino/Hispanic population. The PPI provides unique opportunities for graduate students to acquire experience conducting policy research. The PPI also supports the publication of books, reports, papers, journal articles, and book chapters, thereby disseminating our research to a wide audience.
Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation
The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation is named after Annette Greenfield Strauss, former mayor of Dallas, who spent some forty years as a city volunteer and community activist. The Institute conducts original research on the growing problem of civic disengagement, especially among the nation's young people, and tries to find practical ways of increasing participation. Strictly non-partisan, the Institute's funding has come from the Aspen Institute, the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Annenberg Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Council for Excellence in Government in Washington.
European Studies Center
With Professor Douglas Biow as its Director, this area studies Center is associated closely with the Government Department, although the Center's mission is inter-disciplinary. Its political research focus is on European integration, immigration patterns and policies in Europe, and racial and ethnic conflicts in Europe. The Center houses the student and faculty exchange at European University in Viadrina, Germany and the student exchange at the University of Erfurt, Germany. The Center also recently began an Outreach Program for K-12 schools throughout the Austin area.
Edward A. Clark Center for Australia & New Zealand Studies
The Edward A. Clark Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies is associated closely with the Department and supports Government graduate student research in Australia and New Zealand, and on U.S. relations with the two countries and the wider Southeast Asian area.
The Experimental Political Behavior and Communication Laboratory
The Experimental Political Behavior and Communication Laboratory was established in 2007 to provide Department of Government scholars with a state-of-the-art venue for testing causal relationships between media and campaign messages and the political attitudes of individuals. Graduate students and faculty from the department and others within the College of Liberal Arts have performed experiments to test a wide range of hypotheses, including racial attitudes, immigration policy and Internet usage. The laboratory provides facilities and software for all phases of experimental research, from stimulus and questionnaire design, to subject administration to data analysis. For more information or to schedule a tour of the facilities, contact Tasha Philpot, faculty supervisor, or L. Matthew Vandenbroek, graduate student coordinator.
The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas
The aim of the Thomas Jefferson Center is to realize Jefferson’s vision of educating citizens and leaders to understand the meaning of liberty and to exercise it wisely. Students engage in a direct, respectful, but probing and critical study of major creative and theoretical works that have shaped human thought and history. They enter into debates about human nature, ethics, and the meaning of life that have unfolded over centuries. They learn skills of critical reasoning, close reading, and clear, cogent writing.
