Recent Announcements

On Wednesday, September 23rd, the Schwarzenegger Institute launched the Democracy Grants for Voting Access & Election Administration.

Last week, Dr. Neeraj Sood, Professor and Vice Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs at the Price School of Public Policy, joined USC President Carol Folt and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to discuss the COVID-19 antibody research study, conducted by USC and the County of Los Angeles with support from the Schwarzenegger Institute. At a time when everyone is looking for ways to make a positive difference, our team at the Schwarzenegger Institute -- led by Senior Fellow and LA City Councilmember-Elect Kevin de León – was honored to do our part by providing funding and operational support at test sites across Los Angeles County.

The USC Schwarzenegger Institute recognizes the need for expertise during our current moment. Professors and students at USC and beyond have quickly transitioned to online instruction to complete their semesters. However, this has created new challenges and opportunities for teachers creating new online instructional content. We have created the USC Schwarzenegger Institute Virtual Speakers’ Bureau for university professors looking for expert guest lecturers in the Institute’s key mission areas of political reforms, environmental policy, and after-school education.

The USC Schwarzenegger Institute was proud to continue its collaboration with the armed forces by hosting a round table conversation with senior leaders of the United States Marine Corps. On August 26, Lieutenant General Joseph L. Osterman, Commanding General of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and Brigadier General Sean M. Salene, Director of Communications for the United States Marine Corps visited Governor Schwarzenegger's production company offices for a conversation on increasing collaboration between the entertainment industry and the Marine Corps.

Former California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic State Senator Fran Pavley have collaborated on California's climate policies for over a decade. As the Oregon legislature is set to consider passage of House Bill 2020, a cap-and-invest program also known as the Clean Energy Jobs bill, the two joined forces again on an Op-Ed that was recently published in The Oregonian. At the heart of their editorial, Schwarzenegger and Pavley point to the success of California’s cap-and-invest program and suggest that Oregon will experience similar economic growth while meeting their new climate goals, if they can reach a bi-partisan agreement with HB 2020.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger convened a Talanoa Dialogue-style event in his native country of Austria, bringing together legislators, activists and entrepreneurs to share stories and best practices around combating the serious dangers of air pollution. The event, titled “Pollution: Making the Invisible Visible,” was held May 29 by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute during the R20 Austrian World Summit in Vienna. Schwarzenegger started things off by discussing how leaders must communicate the right message about climate change, highlighting the immediate health impacts people face from pollution.

Founded in 2012 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy is committed to advancing post-partisanship politics, where leaders put people over political parties and work together to find the best ideas and solutions to benefit the people they serve. The Institute seeks to influence public policy and public debate in finding evidence-based solutions to the serious challenges we face. In addition to being a strong voice in public policy and public debates, the USC Schwarzenegger Institute supports new academic research related to its three main areas of focus: energy and the environment, political reform, and after-school education. Here are 14 ways that the USC Schwarzenegger Institute is making a positive impact for global change.

Adam Rose, Ph.D. and Dan Wei, Ph.D assess the impacts of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program on the economies of California and Florida. Property Assessed Clean Energy is a way to finance a wide range of energy and water efficiency, renewable energy, and hazard mitigation improvements permanently attached to residential and commercial properties.

Charles T. Munger, Jr assesses the changes wrought by the advent in 2012 of the top-two primary in three papers. The author is the president of Californians to Defend the Open Primary, which has intervened to defend every legal challenge against the top-two primary since its inception, and who also played a significant role in its passage.

Today the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy congratulated California’s citizens and businesses for cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels four years before the 2020 deadline mandated by AB32: The Global Warming Solutions Act. “California has shown the way forward to clean the air and pump up the economy. Surpassing our 2020 emissions goal ahead of schedule while our economy grows by a nation-leading 4.9% and our unemployment rate is at a historic low should send a message to politicians all over the country: you don’t have to re-invent the wheel - just copy us,” said former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed AB 32 into law in 2006. “Business will boom and lives will be saved. Mary Nichols and CARB should be congratulated, and Fran Pavley and the Golden State leaders involved in our efforts all should be proud - along with every Californian.”

Schwarzenegger and Ohio Governor John Kasich joined legislative leaders to celebrate the passage of a bipartisan proposal to change how Ohio draws congressional district lines. Thanks to the legislative compromise Ohioans get to vote on Issue 1 on the May 8thBallot. If passed Issue 1 would require more minority party participation in Ohio’s redistricting process and would set new criteria to limit how counties and municipalities can be split among districts.

Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently presented with the Haagen-Smit Legacy Award for his contributions on improving air quality at a special 50th anniversary meeting of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in Sacramento. Schwarzenegger received the award for his work fighting pollution in both California and throughout the world. Mary Nichols, Chair of the California Air Resources Board, presented the Haagen-Smit Award to Schwarzenegger and said the former Governor’s “career has truly been multifaceted and defies categorization as well as expectations."