Institute for Public Service

The Institute for Public Service (IPS) was established in 2003 thanks to a grant from the Annenberg Foundation. Its aim is to promote research in politics and communications and to expose students to political and communications practitioners through special undergraduate course offerings taught by lecturers – and often featuring notable visiting speakers – and by underwriting public-service oriented internships. 

The program has been developed under the guidance of David Eisenhower, who has been the director of IPS since its inception. 

One of IPS’s signature courses is COMM 3950 Communication and the Presidency. COMM 3950 subsidizes each students’ travel — including travel overseas — to visit research repositories in order to conduct primary research on topics pertaining to the presidency and communications. Often students choose to visit presidential libraries such as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, TX; the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA; or the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, CA.

Every four years – with 2020 excepted, due to the pandemic — Eisenhower has also taught COMM 4280 Conventions, Debates and Campaigns with former journalist and U.S. House Representative Marjorie Margolies. This course allows its students to travel to both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, visiting the convention floor each night and meeting with a variety of well-known politicians and journalists each day. Click here for a story and video about the 2024 course and convention attendance.