Obama adviser David Axelrod to lead new political institute in Chicago

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's top strategist, David Axelrod, is launching an Institute of Politics at his alma mater, the University of Chicago, to create bipartisan programs bringing big names in politics to campus and internships for students.


"If years from now I run across young people who have participated in this Institute who are now writers and staffers and yes, candidates, we'll have done our job well," Axelrod said in a conference call on Wednesday.


The U. of C. institute will be largely modeled on Harvard University's Institute of Politics, housed in the Kennedy School of Government. Harvard's IOP brings together all kinds of figures involved in politics -- from political journalists to elected and appointed government officials and high level campaign operatives.


As at Harvard, Axelrod said he envisioned quarterly fellowships for political practioneers, programs and internships for U. of C. students.


Axelrod will be the founding director of the Institute starting in 2013; at present he is handling his last official campaign -- Obama's 2012 re-election bid. Axelrod joined the Harvard IOP board last year and will step down at the end of 2012.


A draw of the U. of C. IOP will be bringing political star power to the Hyde Park campus.


The Institute, said Axelrod, "will be making the University of Chicago a top destination for newsmakers and political actors."


To that point -- and to kick off the U. of C. IOP -- Axelrod lined up a Thursday panel to discuss the 2012 presidential election contest at the International House: ABC News George Stephanopolous; Mayor Rahm Emanuel; MSNBC host Rachel Maddow; GOP media consultant Alex Castellanos and New York Times columnist David Brooks, who picked up his undergraduate degree at the U. of C. in 1983. (The program is for students and invited guests.)


Axelrod says the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago will bring high profile speakers to the university’s campus on Chicago’s South Side, help students get internships in politics and journalism and help bring visiting fellows to the school.


Axelrod graduated from the private university in 1976 and says he wished there had been more opportunities to expand his interest in politics. The one-time Chicago Tribune political writer was an adviser to the president before becoming a re-election strategist.