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About the Riley Institute

The Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics, and Public Leadership is a multi-faceted, non-partisan institute affiliated with the Department of Political Science at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Named for the former Governor of South Carolina and United States Secretary of Education, Richard Riley, the Institute is unique in the United States in the emphasis it places on engaging students in the various arenas of politics, public policy, and public leadership.

Since its inauguration in 1999, the Riley Institute has developed a broad array of programs, symposia, and conferences designed to promote discussion and analysis of the dynamics of important public policy issues ranging from social security to national security policy. Programs include important series on urban politics and policy, women in politics, and the American Congress, and international programs such as "China Rising" and "The Middle East in Transition."

The yearly Riley National Conference brings noted participants from around the United States and the world. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was the keynote speaker for the Riley Institute National Conference, National Security in a New Age," a Conference which brought 4,000 people to campus. The National Conference, Women and Politics: Transforming Public Leadership, designed to assess changes in the trajectory and scope of the involvement of women in the political arenas of South Carolina and the United States over the past three decades, was attended by more than 5,000 people from across the United States.

Among the most important programs of The Riley Institute are those created to promote civic participation, responsibility and leadership. Our Teachers of Government and Emerging Public Leaders Programs and Riley Diversity Leadership Academy engage high school students, teachers, and community leaders in civic responsibility, political participation, and knowledge about government and public policy. Information on these and other programs of the Institute are found elsewhere in this website.

By bringing local, national, and international leaders to South Carolina and to Furman and by underwriting collaborative research, study abroad, and internships for Furman students the Riley Institute creates a synergy of discussion, analysis, and understanding about public policy, leadership, and government not only for Furman students but for the broader regional and national community.

The Riley Institute can be found at www.rileyinstitute.org.

Programs of the Riley Institute

Emerging Public Leaders

Leadership is a trait acquired over time through experiences, knowledge, mentoring and skill development. This program is a week packed with experiences that enable students to gain the confidence, motivation, information and skills necessary to become leaders in both domestic- and international-policy arenas. The program is offered free of charge to a select group of rising high school seniors who want to get involved and make a difference in the world.

This exciting and innovative program, which received a "South Carolina on the Move" award from U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) in 2005, features sessions with local, state and national governmental leaders as well as members of the faculty of Furman's Department of Political Science. Students attend lectures, participate in off-campus trips, and interact with speakers and faculty individually and in small-group session.

During the week, each participant develops a plan for a student-led project addressing a need in their community. Students then return home to work with local residents and peers on the implementation of their projects. During the following spring, students are invited to return to Furman to present their completed projects. The schools of the students with the most successful projects are awarded a cash prize.

Information about the program can be found at Emerging Public Leaders.

Diversity Leaders Initiative

South Carolina has always been a highly diverse state. Yet, for many of our citizens, being part of that diversity has been a considerable disadvantage. Historical racial divisions and cultural legacies have created deep divides that continue to challenge social and economic progress in South Carolina. In addition, over the last two decades, South Carolina has rapidly become an even more diverse state. Marked especially by in-migration of people from Central and South America, particularly in the rural and inner city urban areas of our state, and by retirees moving to the coast, lakes, and mountains, these new South Carolinians contribute to a much more complex demographic matrix.

Recognizing an urgent need for diversity-related programming, the Riley Institute, then in cooperation with the American Institute for Managing Diversity (AIMD), launched a unique program that encouraged community leaders to consider the challenges and opportunities presented by the many facets of diversity in our state, including among others, differences in cultural background, language, gender, and physical ability. Since its inception in 2003 in the upstate of South Carolina, the Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI) (formerly Diversity Leadership Academy (DLA)) now operates statewide, adding classes in the South Carolina Lowcountry (2005) and midlands (2006). Over 400 CEOs of corporations, mayors, city and county council members, legislators, school superintendents, pastors and rabbis, non-profit heads, chamber of commerce directors, and community leaders have graduated from the program. Having established a critical mass of leaders that now serve as champions and supporters of dialogue and collaboration around diversity issues, the Riley Institute has launched a new program, independent of AIMD, that will serve as a cornerstone offering: the Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI). Like the former DLA, this program is offered to select senior level leaders across the state. The new program focuses on diversity leadership, community building, and communication and collaboration skills.

Participants in Riley Institute diversity programs hold leadership positions in business, government, and community organizations and are chosen from nominees who have been asked to apply. Classes, limited to around 40 participants, are shaped to reflect the diverse demographic characteristics of South Carolina.

Classes meet four times in monthly sessions during which participants acquire frames of reference and skills to be effective leaders in South Carolina’s increasingly diverse social environment. During the class, participants work in groups to create and carry out community action projects. Throughout the implementation of their projects, participants acquire diversity leadership skills absolutely invaluable for addressing diversity efforts in the workplace and in the greater community.

The Riley Institute’s diversity programming has also won a variety of awards including the Greenville NAACP’s award for helping create an understanding of cultural differences for all people and the MLK Dream Weekend “Champion of Diversity” Award.

Summer Institute for Teachers of Government

The Richard W. Riley Summer Institute for Teachers of Government is an intensive two week program for high school and middle school teachers of Government. Participants spend a week studying on the Furman campus and a week in Washington, DC.

While on campus, teachers attend lectures on domestic and international politics given by award-winning members of the Furman Department of Political Science. In Washington, teachers meet with governmental officials, politicians, non-governmental activists, and members of education policy-making agencies. The combination of intensive learning, networking, and exposure to decision makers is designed to expand useful contacts and promote effective teaching.

Coordinated by Furman professor, Dr. Elizabeth S. Smith, this program is free of charge for those accepted and operates each summer.

Information about the program can be found at Teachers of Government.

Center for Education Policy and Leadership

In South Carolina, public education is seen by many as at a crossroads in its ability to adequately prepare students across the state to succeed in college or the workplace. Underwritten by a grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Center for Education Policy and Leadership of the Riley Institute at Furman University has completed a non-partisan statewide study of public education in South Carolina.

Between May 2005 and November 2006, the Riley Institute project team spent more than 3,000 hours meeting with nearly 800 South Carolinians to gather their opinions on public education. The team met with businessmen and women, teachers of all levels, principals, superintendents, parents, school board members and students from every county and school district in the state—large and small, rural and urban, wealthy and poor. The goals of the study were to elicit the opinions of South Carolinians at the grassroots level and to provide policy makers with essential information about courses of action needed to ensure that all students are prepared for success.

The research team collected a tremendous amount of data about what people from across the state think about the issues affecting public education, and the strategies they recommend for developing world class public schools. In the final stages of data analysis, the Riley Institute will share broad findings in the coming months.

Who's Who At the Riley Institute

Dr. Don Gordon - Executive Director
Jacki Martin - Associate Director
Carol Asalon - Business Manager
Jill Fuson- Manager of Events and Programs
Alexis Sprogis- Administrative Assistant and Research Specialist
Brooke Culclasure - Center for Education Policy and Leadership Research Director
Cathy Stevens - Center for Education Policy and Leadership Project Coordinator
Courtenay Williams- Center for Education Policy and Leadership Project Director

Jonanthan Cote - Advance Team Intern
Ashley-Anne Lopez and Alyssa Richardson - Diversity Leaders Initative Interns