Heidi Heitkamp, Institute Director
Heidi was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from North Dakota. She is Co-Founder and Chair of the One Country Project. She has served as the Director of the IOP since January 2023.
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Zeenat Rahman, Executive Director
Zeenat manages day-to-day operations at the IOP, overseeing budget development, financial operations, human resources, fundraising, and program execution. She works closely with the director to establish and implement the overall strategy and goals of the Institute, including short- and long-term planning and developing new initiatives.
Zeenat comes to the IOP with more than two decades of experience in the public and social sectors working to strengthen democracy and civil society. She previously served at the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development.
When I first arrived on this campus as a college student in the early 1970s, it was in another turbulent time. The nation was bitterly divided by race and class; war and scandal; and young people were leading the movement for change and reform.
Yet, with all of this ferment, UChicago felt maddeningly removed from the events swirling around it. The Life of the Mind was alive and well, but for students like me, eager to engage with the world around us, the campus offered little opportunity to connect and few forums for honest, open discussions about the challenging issues of the day.
Forty years later, I helped launch the non-partisan UChicago Institute of Politics to bring to campus what I so missed – an extracurricular program where students could explore issues with practitioners from across the political spectrum and find opportunities to engage in the work of our democracy.
Visit the IOP on a given day and you might find a senator or community activist; a diplomat, journalist, or political organizer who will challenge or inspire you – and probably be challenged and inspired by you, as well! You’ll find people with whom you agree, and probably some with whom you won’t. You’ll find people – some well-known and some well-known only in their communities – who are not just cursing the darkness but shedding light through their works.
This is another turbulent time. Our communities, country, and world are rife with challenge and division. But I leave campus hopeful every day because of the passion and purpose I witness in the students who pass through the doors of the IOP. If you are new here, I hope you’ll attend our events, Fellows seminars and explore our civic engagement and career development programs.
Our democracy depends on engaged citizens. I hope you will come by the IOP and get involved.
We need you!
David Axelrod