Students participating in the New Politics Forum

Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation

3001 Lake Austin Blvd. Suite 2.316, Austin, TX 78703
512-471-1959
strauss.institute@austin.utexas.edu

Creating More Voters and Better Citizens

The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation was established at The University of Texas at Austin in 2000 to respond to growing political cynicism and disaffection in the United States. The goals of the institute are (1) to conduct cutting-edge research on the ways in which civic participation and community understanding are undermined or sustained and (2) to develop new programs for increasing democratic understanding among citizens.

Research

The Annette Strauss Institute conducts research that furthers scholarly and public understanding of media, politics, voting, and civic participation. Projects by our affiliated faculty include books and scholarly articles on topics such as political language, consumer news choice, and media coverage of politics and policy. In addition, projects pursued through the Office of Survey Research, Project Vote Smart, and the Campaign Mapping Project contribute to public and expert knowledge about various aspects of political and civic life, while the Patricia Witherspoon Award promotes graduate student research on public service, civic life, and citizenship.