Nancy Pelosi Will Teach At UC Berkeley After Retiring From Congress

BERKELEY, CA — Representative. Nancy Pelosi will be heading to UC Berkeley to co-teach a course on Congress, university officials said.

University officials on Monday announced Pelosi would be teaching at Berkeley, along with the launch of a new institute named after the congresswoman that will focus on "strengthening democracy."

The Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy will serve as a research, teaching and civic engagement hub "rooted in a shared commitment to advancing the public good," according to the university.

The announcement comes as Pelosi is set to retire. Pelosi announced her retirement in 2025, giving up a seat she's held for nearly 40 years.

In a statement Monday, Pelosi said the work of democracy is never finished and "securing its future is our greatest calling.

"UC Berkeley has a long, proud history of challenging the status quo and producing leaders who run toward the greatest challenges of our time," Pelosi said. "I am honored to partner with this exceptional community of scholars and students so we can equip the next generation with the tools they need to strengthen our democratic institutions and forge a future that serves the public good."

The institute will launch in January 2027 in the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science, university officials said, and will support hundreds of students each year.

It will focus on four pillars, according to university officials:

• America’s democratic institutions
• Overcoming America’s greatest challenges for our society, economy and planet
• Promoting human rights and civil rights at home and abroad;
• Ensuring political leadership that represents the full spectrum of perspectives and backgrounds in California and the country.

"The purpose and impact of the NPI will be defined and strengthened by Berkeley’s ability to bring together world-class faculty and extraordinary students and by our commitment, as the country’s preeminent public university, to advancing the greater good," UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said. "We intend to do more than simply study democracy; we are building this institute to strengthen it."