Retiring Michigan senator to lead USC politics center
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who will leave the Senate at the end of his current term, has been named a professor and co-director of the University of Southern California's Center for the Political Future (CPF). Peters will share leadership of the center with Republican strategist Mike Murphy and divide his time between USC's Los Angeles campus and its Washington, D.C. location.
Why It Matters
The appointment places a retiring U.S. senator with a record of bipartisan legislative achievements into a university role aimed at promoting civil discourse and practical policymaking, potentially shaping how future political leaders are trained. It also pairs Peters with a prominent GOP strategist, signaling a bipartisan leadership approach for the center.
Key Facts
- Appointee: Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.)
- New role: Professor and co-director of USC's Center for the Political Future
- Co-director: Republican strategist Mike Murphy
- Timing: Peters is retiring from the Senate at the end of this term
- Locations: Will split time between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. (USC campus near Dupont Circle)
The University of Southern California announced that Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will join its faculty as a professor and co-director of the Center for the Political Future (CPF). Peters, who is stepping down from the Senate at the conclusion of his current term, will lead the center jointly with Republican strategist Mike Murphy.
Peters is expected to divide his time between USC's Los Angeles campus and the university's Washington, D.C. location near Dupont Circle. The senator previously taught college-level politics courses before his first election to Congress in 2009, and USC said he will return to the classroom to teach courses on politics and policymaking.
CPF describes its mission as restoring civil discourse and emphasizing practical reasoning in politics while preparing students for public life through internships, study groups, professional development and events. In USC's announcement, Peters said he intends to help expand the university's presence in Washington and to encourage bipartisan engagement and civil discussion among students and participants.
The university highlighted Peters's legislative record as evidence of his bipartisan work, noting that he had 19 stand-alone bills enacted into law in the last Congress. Murphy, who will co-lead the center, praised Peters as a politician capable of producing concrete results and said he looked forward to advancing CPF's mission of teaching civility and reasoned compromise in political life.
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