Barbara Boxer, John Chiang, Mimi Walters join the Center for the Political Future

Three of America’s most distinguished former elected representatives will be serving as fellows at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future this coming fall and will be participating in a series of online discussions in the coming weeks about the 2020 election. The fellows include former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, former California State Treasurer John Chiang and former U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters.

“We are honored and delighted to have such an outstanding group of fellows for the fall semester,” said Robert Shrum, the center’s director and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics. “Their years of experience in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., and their diverse political viewpoints will be invaluable to our goal of breaking down ideological barriers to reach bipartisan solutions.”

“These fellows embody our commitment to hearing from voices from across the political spectrum,” said Michael Murphy, the center’s co-director. “Their willingness and ability to teach students to become the next generation of political leaders gives me hope that we can dial back the shrill rhetoric that dominates today’s political discourse.”

Barbara Boxer

Boxer is one of the county’s most widely recognized and accomplished legislators, having served in the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2017 and, before that, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to ’93. Her service in the Senate included chairing the Environment and Public Works Committee, where she focused on the environment and infrastructure. She was a senior member on the House Foreign Relations Committee, where she worked for global women’s issues and for the successful use of the soft power of diplomacy. She also served as the top Democrat on the Senate Ethics Committee.

As a fellow at the center, Boxer will teach a course titled “Demystifying Governance and Politics,” which will help students understand how to embrace their role as informed citizens and leaders. The last class will deal with the aftermath of the election and include a deep discussion of what the outcome means, having had a mock debate between “Team Trump” and “Team Biden” the week before.

John Chiang

As well as serving as California’s Treasurer from 2015 to ’19, Chiang was the State Controller from 2007 to 2014. His cash management decisions during the Great Recession were credited with keeping the state’s credit rating from plunging into junk status.

He currently is a member of the boards of directors of Apollo Medical Holdings Inc., Aegis Systems and Zeuss Technologies. In addition, he serves on the advisory boards of Pasadena Private Finance and Calyx Peak.

Chiang will teach a course titled “From Financial Crisis to COVID-19: California Policy Responses to the Financial Fallout,” which will examine California’s economy and state finances from the Financial Crisis of 2008–09 to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mimi Walters

Walters served as a member of the U.S. House for California’s 45th District in Orange County from 2015 to ’19. She was the freshman and sophomore representative to the Republican Elected Leadership Committee for the 114th and 115th Congress.

As a member of the House leadership team, Walters worked on key issues ranging from legislation and policy to messaging for House Republicans.

Prior to her election to the House, Walters served California in both the State Senate and State Assembly. She started her career in public service on the Laguna Niguel City Council and served as Mayor in 2000.

She will teach a course titled “So You Want to Run for Office?,” which will inform students how to run for public office and be an effective public servant. Members of the class will be able to see how each level of government, special interest groups, the private sector and appointees interact with each other.

Election R&D Dialogues

Each of the fellows will participate in a new series of online discussions hosted by Murphy and Shrum, both veteran political consultants, titled Election R&D Dialogues, which will explore various aspects of the forthcoming presidential election.

The first event, on May 28, featured Boxer. Walters will anchor the second dialogue on June 18 from noon to 1 p.m., with Chiang featured from noon to 1 p.m. on July 16.

The public is invited to register for the free Election R&D Dialogues here or by simply searching online for the Center for the Political Future.