Nancy Pelosi's next career move: Teaching at UC Berkeley
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BERKELEY, Calif. - After House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi retires from Congress next year, she will move on to her next gig: teaching at her eponymous center at the University of California, Berkeley.
Nancy Pelosi Institute
What we know:
Nancy Pelosi thanks San Francisco, announces she's not seeking re-election
"Dear San Francisco," Nancy Pelosi said in a nearly six-minute video showing the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco's Castro District and the Transamerica Pyramid, signaling the end to her career. "I will not be seeking reelection to Congress."
UC Berkeley announced Monday that it plans to open the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy in January 2027 to research and teach civics, the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The institute, which will reside in the university's undergraduate political science department, will explore the best ways to solve political problems, according to a university statement.
"We intend to do more than simply study democracy," said Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons in the statement. "We are building this institute to strengthen it."
Big picture view:
At a time of political polarization, civics centers have been sprouting in colleges and universities since 2021, with 13 new centers created in 2023, according to a December 2025 report by the Heterodox Academy, a nonpartisan organization whose members include educators and administrators from higher education.
Supporters of these civics centers applaud them as hubs for constructive dialogue while detractors are concerned about biased political influence, according to the Heterodox Academy report.
The report investigated 45 civics centers at 41 institutions in 25 states and discovered that of the 22 centers founded between 2022 and 2025, 59% were mandated through state legislation. According to the report, every legislatively mandated civics center that the organization studied was born out of a Republican-controlled state.
"My excitement about this springs from the fact that this will be totally non-partisan," said Pelosi in a video sent by UC Berkeley, referring to her namesake institute. "That's why I like that it says 'representative democracy.' It represents every element of our society."
One goal of the Nancy Pelosi Institute is to provide future political leaders with the type of education historically reserved for Ivy League students, according to a statement from the university. Pelosi is expected to teach a course about Congress.
Pelosi has been in Congress since 1987 and made history in 2007 when she became the first woman to serve as speaker of the house.
"The study of political science is most impactful when it bridges the gap between academic research and real-world governance," said Scott Straus, chair of Berkeley's Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science, in a university press release.
By the numbers:
The Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy has received more than $35 million in donations with a fundraising goal of $50 million, according to UC Berkeley. The institute plans to house an exhibit about Pelosi's nearly 40-year-long career in Congress.
The Source: UC Berkeley, Nancy Pelosi video