On the picturesque campus of Southern Illinois University, there exists a place that blends the worlds of academia, government and policy giving great opportunity to its students. Coined the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute after the deceased senator of Illinois, the institution provides students with the standards required of most academic institutions while also providing something more.

“We don’t have students per se in the sense that we don’t give degrees or we don’t organize classes through the institute directly… so it doesn’t have… students in the way… the political science department has… but there are many programs, and a lot of what we try to do is just bring policy makers to campus and let students have a chance to interact with them… and see how they work,” director of the Institute, John Shaw, said in a recent telephone interview.

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The institute also provides discussion sessions with prominent leaders, both nationally and internationally, in the field of public policy. Held both virtually and in person, students get the opportunity to gain  practical knowledge firsthand from policy makers and officials themselves. 

This is seen in the institute’s internship program headed by university professor Linda Baker, which allows a select group of students each spring semester to travel to the State Capitol in Springfield. The group is able to both observe and participate in activities which deepen their understanding of public policy and government including being able to observe governmental activities directly as well as partaking in academic courses while living in Springfield full time.

“Each year I teach a political science course that is an internship class and that class brings students from the campus to Springfield and they work in the House, they work in the Senate and some may work in transportation,” Baker said.

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Many institute interns go on to work in government, such as the Illinois Capitol, while others choose to further their education by pursuing a law degree or other form of higher education. The institute also describes itself as a think tank bringing together leaders in the world of policy to deliberate and come to a consensus on important matters of the discipline in a nonpartisan manner seeking to promote positive change.

“There is a whole range of institutions, some are affiliated with the university, some of them are independent, they are loosely called think tanks, these are institutions that try to… kind of bridge the world of the academic and policy practitioners… oftentimes these people inhabit very different worlds,” Shaw said.

Being the son of Christian missionaries, the moral value of service was instilled in Paul Simon at an early age. Prior to being a senator, he was still able to engage in acts of public advocacy. In an interview, Simon reflected on his experiences. 

“I contacted the governor of Illinois… Adley Stevenson, and urged him to use the state police… I argued that they ought to be used to close down this … illegal gambling operation in our county. Governor Stevenson, to his great credit, on one May day… had 51 state police swoop down on two of the big operations,” he said. 

Simon started his formal political career in the Illinois House of Representatives and became known for his ability to snuff out corruption within the state Senate. He even wrote an article, at the time, in Harper’s Bazaar Magazine where he exposed widespread corruption. After time in a wide variety of political roles including the United States House of Representatives, Simon eventually made his way to the United States Senate in 1984, where he represented southern Illinois.

Simon was known to fight for the rights of children, educators and the disadvantaged, forwarding bills to address such issues as childhood development and literacy. This value of selflessness in service was taken up by the Paul Simon Institute when Paul Simon retired in 1996.

“Paul announced his retirement and that meant he would leave the Senate… he announced that he and Jeanne Hurley Simon, his wife, were looking for the next chapter of their careers… He thought he had a lot of activity and contributions left, so he wanted to find a good place,” as there were many possible contenders to house the Paul Simon Institute including many of the top universities in Chicago, says institute visiting professor John Jackson.

In order to attract Paul and his wife to SIU, a proposal was put together by Southern Illinois University to bring the institute to its campus. After a long process of internal improval from the school administration, as well as approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the institute was finally ready to commence with Paul Simon becoming the first director of the institute along with four other colleagues, including Associate Director Mike Lawrence and professor John Jackson.

Simon stayed engaged with the institute until his death in 2003. He still participated in institute events and conferences such as conversation series where Simon would interview people of interest, including an event with Coretta Scott King held at the SIU Arena, a 2003 conversation with Walter Cronkite, one of the great news anchors of the 20th century.

Baker said of Simon’s activities in his later years, “The last two things that he did at the institute were programs that I basically directed and was responsible for. … We did a health care study on access to health care and if you look up that conference that was one of the last things that he did. We had a huge conference in Springfield, and it brought together policy makers, because my background is in health care. It brought together policy makers from the School of Medicine.”

“He was big on the fact that we are much alike, and we need to find those things that we have in common. And the common ground we have is access to health care,” she said. 

Baker continued to say that the paper written from the outcome of the conference on health care was one that lawmakers used in looking at the framework of health care, particularly in rural areas. This spirit of unwavering loyalty to his mission, exhibited by Paul Simon working up to within the year of his death with the institute, can still be seen at the institute today 27 years on. Shaw emphasized the wide breadth of interesting events which the Institute holds, from the Varsity in Carbondale to downtown Chicago. For a more laid-back vibe, he said to come to the institute’s Pizza and Politics which is held at the institute, in the Forestry Building. This is also open to members of the public.

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