The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is partnering with the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), a Washington, DC-based think tank, for its 2022 Washington Fellows program, the first year the program has had an official partner.

Established by Baker Center Associate Director Katie Cahill in 2018, the program is a two-week intensive interdisciplinary program that typically provides a Baker’s Dozen (13) students at UT an opportunity to meet and learn from the nation’s top public servants, researchers and journalists about politics and policymaking. BPC’s Senior Vice President of Communications Steve Scully will act as co-instructor for the course, along with the Baker Center’s Director of Student Programs, Jon Ring.

“A partnership between the Baker Center and Bipartisan Policy Center to augment the strength of the Washington Fellows program makes all the sense in the world,” Baker Center Executive Director Marianne Wanamaker said. “A primary focus of our mission is to provide students with the information and skills necessary to work effectively within our political system, and we can think of no better partner in this effort than BPC.”

BPC was established in 2003 by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders including Howard Baker, and the mission of BPC is to identify policy solutions by fostering informed deliberations of former elected and appointed officials, business and labor leaders, and academics and advocates who represent both sides of the political spectrum.
“A founding member of BPC, Howard Baker was a pragmatic partisan who understood how to cut out the noise in Washington and get things done,” BPC President Jason Grumet said. “We are delighted to be partnering with his namesake’s center to equip the next generation with the skills to effect change in Washington as devoted, committed public servants like Howard was.”

BPC has expertise in a wide range of issue areas, from the economy, energy and infrastructure, to health, immigration and education, all of which will provide an invaluable real-world education on policymaking for students in the program.

About the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy

The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy is a nonpartisan public policy center located on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Center aims to provide policy makers, citizens, scholars, and students with the information and skills necessary to work effectively within our political system and to serve our local, state, national, and global communities.

About the Bipartisan Policy Center

The Bipartisan Policy Center is a Washington, DC-based think tank that actively fosters bipartisanship by combining the best ideas from both parties to promote health, security, and opportunity for all Americans. The center’s policy solutions are the product of informed deliberations by former elected and appointed officials, business and labor leaders, and academics and advocates who represent both sides of the political spectrum.