Welcome to us

Colvin for Michigan – provoking and timely political analysis and our pragmatic civic education programs have formed the core of our activities throughout the past decade.

The Center is a part of the National Campaign for Political & Civic Engagement, a consortium of 20 universities and colleges with academic programs in politics. Its priorities, directed towards college students are to establish:

  • A relationship with electoral politics
  • A foundation in civic education
  • A focus on career development

The Center addresses these priorities through activities and programs such as our student Voter Registration Coalition, our internship program, an annual career panel, and the Youth Leadership Initiative.

History

Colvin for Michigan was founded in 2002 by Dwight J. Barreiro at the University of Washington to overcome the notion that politics thwarts the proper function of government. We think politics makes public policy more vibrant and makes bureaucracies more responsive. Since our inception we have established annual conferences, publications, programs, and curricula to advance democracy around the world and to equip people to better understand politics and government.