The Dirksen Congressional Center provides financial support to other organizations which, through their programs, promote research and scholarship about the U.S. Congress. Current partners include the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress, the American Congress Digital Archives Project, the Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service at Bradley University, the Legislative Studies Section of the American Political Science Association, Pekin Chamber of Commerce, Pekin Community High School Close Up, the University Press of Kansas, and the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
Association of Centers for the Study of Congress
Annual Meeting Session Grant
The Center will award ACSC $1,000 per year for three years to host a “book talk” session at the annual meeting featuring authors of recent books about Congress.
2019 Publications Roundtable: Robert H. Michel: Leading the Republican House Minority
American Congress Digital Archives Project
Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service at Bradley University
The LaHood Scholarships
The Center and IPL jointly administer the Ray and Kathy LaHood Scholarships for the Study of American Government. The Center provides the entire funding for the program at $5,000 per year. Beginning in 2007, scholarships were restricted to students at Bradley University. See the previous winners.
Michel — LaHood Summer Congressional Internship Program
Established in 2023, the Michel – LaHood internship provides stipends covering at least $7,000 in housing, living and travel expenses for each of up to three Bradley University students to participate in summer internships in congressional offices on Capitol Hill.
Public Program Series
IPL conducts one public program per year co-sponsored with The Center. Funding is derived from The Center’s investment in establishing IPL.
2007 November 4 “Health Care for ALL Americans—Building a Bipartisan Coalition for Real Change”
2008 March 7 “Protecting the Illinois River: A Time for ACTION!”
2008 October 28 “Midwest Energy Solutions”
2010 April 21 “Transforming Public Education”
2010 November 10 “The Future of Midwest Transportation”
2011 November 3 “The Future of Midwest Agriculture and Environmental Sustainability”
2013 April 16 “Returning Civility to Public Discourse”
2014 April 11 “Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Historic Civil Rights Act of 1964″
2017 November 10 “Restoring America’s Democracy: Inspiring a New Generation of Civic Engagement”
2019 February 21 “A Conversation with David Axelrod”
2019 October 7 “Robert H. Michel: Leading the Republican House Minority.” Book panel filmed by C-SPAN
2019 October 9 “Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform at the Federal Level”
2019 Bob Michel Book Talk (C-SPAN)
2021 “Tackling Climate Change in the Rural Midwest”
2022 Cheri Bustos Tribute Dinner
2023 “What Leadership Means to Me”
Legislative Studies Section of the American Political Science Association
Emerging Scholar Award
LSS awards several prizes to encourage congressional scholarship. The Center will underwrite the section’s new “Emerging Scholar Award” at $1,000 per year for three years.
2018 Tiffany Barnes, University of Kentucky
2018 Justin Kirkland, University of Virginia
2019 Molly E. Reynolds, Brookings
Pekin Chamber of Commerce
Pekin Community High School Close Up
The CLOSE UP Foundation is a leader in civic education, classroom discourse, and exciting hands-on travel opportunities for students. Each year, Pekin Community High School selects a small group of Juniors and Seniors to represent their community in Washington DC as a part of the CLOSE UP program, and the Dirksen Congressional Center offers financial assistance to each student selected in their effort to raise over $2,000 per person for their trip. While in DC, these students connect with peers from all around the country while they learn first-hand about the inner workings of the US Government, visit important monuments and landmarks, and explore the rich history of our nation’s capital. The concept is simple: Give students the opportunity to directly engage with the people and institutions that represent our democracy, and they will develop the skills and attitudes they need for a lifetime of active citizenship.
University Press of Kansas
Congressional Leaders Series
The Center will award UPK $5,000 per book as a subvention for publications in UPK’s new Congressional Leaders Series.
Frank H. Mackaman and Sean Q Kelly, eds., Robert H. Michel: Leading the Republican House Minority (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2019)
The Journals of Barber Conable, by Bill Kaufman
Tom Foley: The Man in the Middle, by Kenton Bird and John Pierce
Newt Gingrich: Profile of a Party Entrepreneur, by Matthew Green
Sam Nunn (biography), by Frank Jones
The 1976 House Majority Leadership Contest, by Bruce Oppenheimer
Insider: Politics, Policy, and Power in the Pelosi Years (2005-2010) by John Lawrence