The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life student-centered programs are built around the academic calendar, as is the University of Texas fiscal calendar, so we release our End-of-Year Impact report in August, at the end of our fiscal year and before the start of the new academic year.
Message from the Director
Most of the students who participate in our programs are already more engaged than most – we didn’t light that spark; they brought it with them when they walked through our doors.
But as I complete my third year in this role, I am beginning to appreciate how the investment we make in developing young leaders pays compound dividends, both for the students and for the State of Texas.
In finance, much attention is paid to how modest, early investments yield exponential returns over time. Investing in civic leadership works the same way. By breathing just a little more wind into their sails as they launch their civic journeys, the Annette Strauss Institute invests not only in their success but in the success of our shared civic enterprise.
This Impact Report documents our work for the 2025-2026 academic year, but the true return on this investment will be measured in the decades ahead through the accomplishments of our students and the strength of our state.
Director, Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life
RESEARCH
Election Reform Convening
In November, ASI collaborated with Better Choices for Democracy, a new democracy reform advocacy organization, to produce a panel discussion at the Texas Tribune Festival featuring former Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV), Nobel laureate economist Eric Maskin, the former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes, and ASI Director Mark Strama. Immediately following the TribFest panel, ASI hosted a convening of thirty of the nation’s leading election scholars and advocates to discuss reforms designed to de-polarize American politics and better reflect the full spectrum of public opinion.
Election Reform Research Grant
In May, our post-doctoral fellow Dr. Eugenia Quintanilla attended the 2026 Pathways to Primary Election Reform Conference in Los Angeles, as one of four finalists in a research award competition hosted by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and Unite America Institute. Finalists presented their proposed projects with short “Shark Tank-style” elevator pitches before a cross-sector panel of judges, including philanthropic leaders, policy practitioners, and social science field experts. Judges evaluated projects based on their potential policy impact, societal importance, and novel contributions to academic scholarship. Similar to the TV show, each judge was independently able to fund, or not fund finalists. Dr. Quintanilla’s pitch proposed two studies investigating how voters psychologically infer the advantages or disadvantages of electoral reforms, with a particular focus on the role of partisanship and cues from elites. She received $21,000 in total, the largest amount awarded at the competition.