Past Events

Tuesday, March 12th, 2024 The Robert T. Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service is pleased to announce that Former United States Representative Mickey Edwards will be the 2024 Matsui Lecturer.

The Matsui Lecture is delivered each year by a distinguished...Read more about 2024 Matsui Lecture: Congress and the Crisis in American Democracy

Friday, March 14, 2025 12:00pm - 1:30pm

In The Manufacturing of Job Displacement: How Racial Capitalism Drives Immigrant and Gender Inequality in the Labor Market (NYU Press, 2024), Dr. Laura López-Sanders investigates the structural mechanisms by which employers shape labor...Read more about REI Colloquium: The Manufacturing of Job Displacement: How Racial Capitalism Drives Immigrant and Gender Inequality in the Labor Market

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 4:00pm - 5:30pm Join us in welcoming new and returning students, faculty, staff and visiting scholars!

Enjoy sweet and savory bites and toast to the new year while catching up on summer adventures with fellow IGS affiliated faculty,...Read more about Institute of Governmental Studies Fall 2024 Welcome Reception

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 12:00pm - 1:30pm

This talk will focus on my book, Making Never-Never Land: Race and Law in the Creation of Puerto Rico, which argues that despite the endurance of Puerto Rico’s colonial status well into the twenty first century, its path to becoming...Read more about REI Colloquium: Making Never-Never Land: Race and Law in the Creation of Puerto Rico

Join us for an evening of food/drinks, discussion, and community as we watch live coverage of 2024 general election results.

2024 General Election Night Watch Party

Tuesday, November 5, 2025 @ 6:00PM at IGS Library (109 Philosophy Hall)

Doors open at 5:45pm (...Read more about Institute of Governmental Studies' 2024 Election Night Watch Party

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 12:00pm - 1:30pm

From campaigns to stop the construction of the borough based jails to tenants organizing rent strikes against predatory landlords, this talk will explore the connections between gentrification, carcerality, and abolition. Drawing from...Read more about REI Colloquium: Cartographies of Housing Justice and Abolitionist Futures, Chinatown Style

The IGS Library Staff will host a workshop to review the propositions and provide resources to help inform California voters!

We're voting for more than just candidates on the November 5, 2024 election. California has 10 statewide ballot propositions and the city of Berkeley has...Read more about IGS Library California State and Local Ballot Measures Lunch Talk

September 18, 2024 6:00pm - 7:30pm Are you a UC Berkeley undergraduate student who is driven to serve others and be a change-maker? Seeking a career path to public service? Attend our Democracy Camp info session to learn more!

April 17, 2024 4:00pm - 5:15pm Please join us in conversations with Former Representative Jackie Speier.

Every elected official sees life through their personal experience. These experiences have shaped Congresswoman Speier at every level of government as she very successfully...Read more about 2024 Barbara Boxer Lecture: Politics is Personal: A Conversation with Former Rep. Jackie Speier

March 19, 2024 12:00pm - 1:30pm

This talk examines the protests that rocked Puerto Rico during the summer of 2019, known as the Verano Boricua. The Verano Boricua is important not just because it resulted in the resignation of Ricardo Rosselló, the first time a democratically...Read more about REI Colloquium: Against Muerto Rico: The Struggle for Life in Puerto Rico

The Robert T. Matsui Center for Politics & Public Service & the Institute of Governmental Studies are hosting an Election Night Watch Party

2024 Primary Elections Watch Party

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 @ 6:30PM at IGS Library (109 Philosophy Hall)

Doors open at...Read more about Election Night: 2024 California Primary Watch Party

November 9, 2023 4:00pm - 5:30pm

October 10, 2023 12:00pm - 1:30pm

More children than ever are crossing international borders alone to seek asylum worldwide. In the past decade, over a half million children have fled from Central America to the United States, seeking safety and a chance to continue lives...Read more about REI Colloquium: Precarious Protections: Unaccompanied Minors Seeking Asylum in the United States

September 21, 2023 4:00pm - 5:30pm Join us at the Institute of Governmental Studies Library on Thursday, September 21st at 4:00pm for a presentation on the latest round of Berkeley IGS Poll data, conducted in partnership with the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, followed by a...Read more about Advancing Multiracial Democracy in California: Pathways Leading up to the 2024 Election

September 18, 2023 6:30pm - 8:00pm Interested in public service? Apply for one of our internship programs today!

Information Session: Cal-in-Sacramento Fellowship & Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service | September 18 | 6:30-8 p.m...Read more about 2024 Cal-in-Sacramento and Schaeffer Fellows Info Session

April 21, 2023 9:30am - 3:00pm

March 3, 2023 12:00pm - 1:30pm Please join us as we explore the contents of Yael Berda's latest book, examining how the legacies of colonial bureaucracy continue to shape political life after empire.

Yael Berda is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer...Read more about REI Colloquium: Colonial Bureaucracy & Contemporary Citizenship: Legacies of Race & Emergency in the Former British Empire

February 24, 2023 2:00pm - 4:00pm Please join us as we congratulate the 2023 recipients of the Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research and the Mike Synar Graduate Research Fellowship.

November 8, 2022 5:00pm - 9:00pm The Robert T. Matsui Center for Politics & Public Service, and the Institute of Governmental Studies are hosting an fun, friendly, and informative evening of food, trivia games, and healthy discussion as we livestream the election results from...Read more about Election Night @ IGS: 2022 Midterm Election Watch Party

October 27, 2022 4:00pm - 5:30pm Join Berkeley IGS for a book talk with John Lawrence, former chief of staff to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, documenting his insider perspective from 2005 to 2010.

Date: Thursday,...Read more about Book Talk: Arc of Power: Inside Nancy Pelosi's Speakership 2005-2010

September 30, 2022 9:30am - 4:00pm

September 8, 2022 4:00pm - 5:00pm Join us in welcoming new and returning students, faculty, staff and visiting scholars!

Enjoy sweet and savory bites and toast to the new year while catching up on summer adventures with fellow IGS affiliated faculty, graduate...Read more about Institute of Governmental Studies Fall 2022 Welcome Reception

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 4:00pm - 5:15pm The Robert T. Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service is pleased to announce that Former United States Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will be the 2022 Matsui Lecturer.

The Matsui Lecture is delivered each year...Read more about 2022 Matsui Lecture: The Future of Democracy, A Conversation with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen