Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy

The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy is a nonpartisan institute on the campus of the University of Tennessee devoted to education and research concerning public policy and civic engagement. Through classes, public lectures, research, and student initiatives, 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.

By examining policy and politics through a nonpartisan lens, the Baker Center continues the groundbreaking work of its namesake, Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr., who was nicknamed “The Great Conciliator” for his ability to cross party lines and encourage lawmakers to cooperate on key issues affecting the public good. In the spirit of Baker’s work, the center offers a number of public lectures and programs on topics across the political spectrum, with a focus on its three main areas: Energy & Environment, Global Security and Leadership & Governance.

To help promote policy-related scholarship, the Baker Center also is home to the Modern Political Archive featuring the papers of many Tennessee political leaders, including those of Senator Baker himself, Senator Fred Thompson, Ambassador Victor Ashe, and Governor Donald Sundquist.

"The Baker Center develops programs and promotes research to further the public's knowledge of our system of governance and of critical public policy issues, and to highlight the importance of public service. Areas of special interest include the media, energy, environment, the teaching of civics and history, political communications, national security, and the future of representative government. The Baker Center is and will remain a non-partisan institution. In all of our programs and activities, we seek to include and discuss many perspectives. In the best tradition of Howard Baker, the Center embodies his genuine respect for differing points of view. The Center neither advocates nor endorses specific policies or individuals. Instead, we serve as a forum for discussion, debate, education, and unbiased research."

In 2001, the University of Tennessee received a congressionally authorized Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant to create the center and begin its programming and operations. In January 2003, Alan Lowe began serving as executive director. The center sought out to follow Howard Baker Jr.'s bipartisan line of reasoning in all of their research and programming.

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