SIU Day Of Giving

The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute is rooted at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and its impact stretches far beyond Illinois. The Institute is focused on developing resources and programming that encourages Better Politics, Smarter Government, with a dedicated interest in addressing the challenges and opportunities confronting Illinois. The Institute continues to take part in national debate on leadership and citizenship, while also providing insight into the pulse of the Midwest. Throughout the year we continue to bring high quality thought leaders to Carbondale to take part in public policy discussions with students and the community. We continue Senator Simon’s legacy of supporting the next generation of public servants by offering diverse fellowships, internships, and scholarship opportunities for SIU students.

Your support and generosity are vital to continuing our programming.

 Institute Priorities

1. Give voice to students who care about the future of Illinois. The Institute is determined to play an active and constructive role to revitalize Illinois. We look forward to hosting our annual Renewing Illinois Summit April 2-3, 2020. The summit will convene undergraduate and graduate students from across the state to discuss public policy challenges and opportunities along with solutions to make our state a more attractive place for young people to settle after graduation.
2. Support Restoring American Statesmanship. The Institute launched an initiative to study, teach, and celebrate statesmanship which we define as inspired leadership characterized by courage, vision, civility, fairness, compassion, and effectiveness. We are committed to studying statesmanship at all levels of government and imagining what a rebirth of such leadership could look like in contemporary American politics. The Institute is inviting historians, political analysts, and leaders from all levels of government to come to campus and discuss the challenges of statesmanship. This spring we published Restoring American Statesmanship: A Citizen’s Guide, which analyzes examples of statesmanship including citizen and civic engagement. 
3. Make a difference in the life of a student Saluki. Supporting any of our student scholarships (see full list) allows the Institute to reward outstanding SIU students, who have an interest in public service, for their achievements.
4. Help Saluki’s gain professional experience. The Institute offers eight competitive internships (see full list) in both Carbondale and Springfield that give SIU students the chance to learn directly from leaders in public policy.