Institute Marks 35 Years of Political Study

The Institute of Politics (IOP) celebrated its 35th anniversary last night with a party at the ARCO Forum that included speeches by IOP notables such as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56 (D-Mass.) and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

“If we have another 35 years like the past 35 years we will be an undisputed success,” said IOP Director Sen. David H. Pryor.

About 200 guests attended the event, including University alumni, past IOP speakers and many current undergraduates, along with most of the current IOP student board.

“It was a wonderful evening,” said IOP fellow Beth Nolan, “a positive way to celebrate an anniversary.”

Goodwin spoke about the IOP’s history, remembering the organization’s importance as a “meeting ground for debates” during the late 1960s and early 1970s when there was a renewed interest among students in politics.

“It was an exhilarating time for students and young faculty,” Goodwin said.

But the IOP became “even more crucial in the ’80s and ’90s” when the interest died, Goodwin said. “The IOP kept the flames of JFK’s memory alive.”

Goodwin suggested that the future “promises to be once more a turbulent and exhilarating time,” and said she hoped the “IOP will be where it has always been—a beacon of light, of promise, of memory.”

Warren Professor of American History Ernest R. May reminisced about the IOP’s early years in a house at 78 Mount Auburn St.

“It was constantly lively,” May said. “There was serious conversation at all hours of day and night.”

“I learned a lot and laughed a lot and I hope that’s the experience of people here today,” he said.

Sen. Kennedy also spoke about his own love for the IOP.

“I can’t think of any memorial which would have mattered more to President Kennedy than this institute,” he said.

For IOP officers, the evening was a good chance to reflect on their progress and also to see old friends.

Robert F. McCarthy ’02, outgoing IOP president, spoke of the tremendous opportunities the IOP presents to students and the benefits of the institute’s programs, even to those who choose not to pursue careers in politics.

“[The event] was a great celebration of all that the IOP has been as we look forward to all that it will be,” said newly elected Vice President Heather A. Woodruff ’03.