Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies


The Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies is an interdisciplinary institute and center of The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

History

The Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies has its roots in the Boys Town Center for the Study of Youth Development.
In 1972, Boys Town had been found to be sitting on funds of nearly $300 million while serving only 200 residents in its Catholic-run home for wayward boys in Omaha, Nebraska. In response to the scandal, the Boys Town board of trustees agreed to widen the organization's mission to include research on youth development.
From 1974 to 1982, Boys Town funding at the University supported graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research stipends, support staff, a new building and tremendous growth in the National Catholic School of Social Service, the School of Theology and Religious Studies, and the departments of Anthropology, Human Development, and Sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences.
An interdisciplinary center known as the Life Cycle Institute was also founded with Boys Town funding by one of the University's leading professors of sociology, Dean R. Hoge. The LCI soon became known for its empirical research on community, youth, and political demographics and served as The Catholic University of America's original internal think tank.
Renamed the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies in 2009, the think tank continues to bring rigorous academic research to bear on contemporary questions of interest to policy experts and faith communities.

Mission

The Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies now serves the University as an interdisciplinary policy research center whose fellows, scholars, research associates, and students provide timely analysis of policy issues relevant to the life of the Church, the Catholic University of America, legislators, scholars, professionals, and concerned citizens, including the media. IPR also provides an interdisciplinary forum that welcomes and encourages participation and active collaboration among scholars, professionals, and experts from a variety of disciplines, institutions, and faith traditions.
The lectures, conferences, symposia, round-tables, and working groups of the Institute provide research that supports print and electronic publications, multimedia, and other means to share our research with the public, the Church, policymakers, media, and interested scholars.

Current Work of the Institute

The Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies organizes, facilitates, and sponsors policy analysis, empirical research, and publications focused on the policies that govern the public and private-sectors. It has organized hundreds of symposia, conferences, round-tables, debates, lectures, and publications, each of which was carefully designed to bring rigorous academic research to bear on contemporary questions that lie at the intersection of law, religion, and policy, including through close collaboration with lawmakers, policymakers, and stakeholders in the greater Washington, DC area.
The Institute is currently divided into interdisciplinary working groups, where each IPR Fellow, scholar, or associated professional agrees, in writing, to collaborate with his or her colleagues to complete a policy research project and to disseminate its results to interested members of the community. Current working groups are focused on the areas:
The Institute's highest honor, the Bishop John Joseph Keane Medallion, is awarded annually.
The medallion is named in honor of John Joseph Keane, the first rector of The Catholic University of America who was instrumental in locating the University in Washington, DC. The Medallion was crafted to honor individuals for lifetime service reflecting the vision of the Institute. The Latin inscription reads: Academia, Patria, Ecclesia.

Recent Keane Medallion Winners