Fifty years ago, the Harvard Institute of Politics was established as a living memorial to President Kennedy. This week, the IOP celebrates its first half century with a weekend-long event highlighting the past, present and future of politics and public service.
Help celebrate the IOP 50th anniversary by joining us on Friday, April 1 at Public Service Career Panels, or The Pollsters Podcast Live. Share your favorite IOP memories on social media using #HarvardIOP50.
Founding
“We wanted to deal with current political problems and current policy problems, and shed light on them and get people excited about them,” said Richard Neustadt, the first director of the Institute of Politics. Learn more about the founding of the IOP, featuring the original location- the Little Yellow House and what it was like to be on Harvard's campus in the early 70s in the video below:
50 Years of the IOP
Since its founding, the IOP has grown and changed. Today its popular offerings include the JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard’s premier arena for political speech, discussion and debate. Since the founding, the Fellows Program has hosted political practitioners who become informal teachers and mentors to students.
Learn more about the stats of the IOP, from pizzas to the Harvard Political Review, below:
Some of the students and directors' favorite moments at the IOP- from Cambridge to Washington, are highlighted in the 50th Anniversary Slideshow: