semesterly policy seminars
Each semester, the Biden Institute offers three one-credit seminars on various policy topics. These include lectures and visits from senior practitioners from various backgrounds and perspectives.
Each seminar meets 5:30鈥8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays during spring 2026.
Any questions about upcoming seminars?听Have a suggestion for a topic you would like us to consider?听
Email questions and suggestions to听bideninstitute@udel.edu.
Fall 2026 seminars
Meeting dates:听September 15, 22, 29, and October 6
Description:听Policy implementation is a crucial stage in the public policy process when government translates legislation or policy into action to improve people's lives. Students will learn key concepts and skills in policy implementation including how to operationalize programs and rules based on the relevant policy language, mobilize available resources, manage stakeholder engagement, and evaluate success. Policy implementation can make or break whether legislation is successful and impactful or not. Biden Institute Seminars include lectures and visits from senior practitioners from various backgrounds and perspectives.
Meeting dates:听October 20, 27, November 10, 17
Description:听 Health policy touches every person's life in numerous ways. At the state and federal level, policies around equitable health care access, public health, and pandemic preparedness and response are vital to protecting people. Students will learn about the current state of important health policies at the federal, state, and local levels and what solutions exist to tackle some of the looming challenges in the political and policy context. Biden Institute Seminars include lectures and visits from senior practitioners from various backgrounds and perspectives.
spring 2026 seminars
Meeting dates:听February 10, 17, 24; March 3
Description:听For all the recent advances in technology, nothing rivals the power of a speech: To transform an idea into action. Chart a new and clear course. Energize employees, volunteers, or voters. Contain a crisis. Define a debate. Win a campaign. If a speech is going to accomplish any of these goals, it鈥檚 got to be good. It鈥檚 got to be well conceived, well crafted, and well received. In this course, you鈥檒l learn the fundamentals of speechwriting 鈥 how to make a memorable introduction, craft a persuasive argument, deploy story and humor and powerful language, and put it all together in service of a cause you care about. Biden Institute Seminars include lectures and visits from senior practitioners from various backgrounds and perspectives.
Meeting dates:听March 10, 17, 31; April 7
Description:听The world is facing urgent environmental challenges, from climate change to resource management to questions of justice. This seminar dives into the innovations shaping the future of environmental policy. Students will explore how new technologies, market forces, and governance approaches are changing the way societies respond to these problems. The course invites students to weigh opportunities and trade-offs, imagine creative solutions, and think about what it will take to build a more sustainable world. Biden Institute Seminars include lectures and visits from senior practitioners from various backgrounds and perspectives.
Meeting dates:听April 14, 21, 28; May 5
Description:听Education is changing fast. How will schools, teachers, and students meet the demands of the 21st century? This seminar explores the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of learning. Students will look at how societal, technological, and economic shifts are transforming what it means to teach and to learn. They will think critically about the choices policymakers face, the trade-offs involved, and how these decisions ripple out to affect learners, communities, and society. By the end of the course, students will have a sharper understanding of the forces shaping education, and a sense of what the future might hold. Biden Institute Seminars include lectures and visits from senior practitioners from various backgrounds and perspectives.
Previous Biden Institute Seminars
Fall 2025
Campaign Management
The Role of an Ambassador in U.S. Diplomacy
Mental Health Policy
听
Spring 2025
Public Service Project Management
Environmental Policy: Climate Change
Criminal Justice Policy
听
Winter 2025
Public Service Career Workshop
Fall 2024
Technology Policy
Case Study: Crisis Management
Healthcare Policy: Solving the Pipeline Problem
听
Spring 2024
Title: Political Fundraising
Faculty: Christy Gleason
听
Title: Environmental Policy: Sustainability
Faculty: David Carter
听
Title: Middle Class Economics
Faculty: Troy D. Mix
Fall 2023
Title: Diplomats and Diplomacy
Faculty:听Gary Locke
听
Title: Education Policy听
Faculty:听Susan Buntin
听
Title: Getting to Know Washington, DC
Faculty: Cathy McLaughlin
听
Spring 2023
Title: Political Speechwriting
Faculty: Jeff Nussbaum
听
Title: Environmental Justice
Faculty: Michele Roberts
听
Title: Social Justice Policy
Faculty: Anumira Bhargava
Fall 2022
Title: Lobbying & Influence in Public Policy听
Faculty: Rhett Ruggerio
听
Title: Middle Class Economics听
Faculty: Steph Sterling听
听
Title: LGBTQ+ Policy and Public Discourse听
Faculty: Sarah McBride
听
Spring 2022
Title: Gun Policy
Faculty: Dave Bentz
听
Title: Civil Discourse
Faculty: Tim Shaffer
听
Title: Protest to Policy
Faculty: Shyana Strom
听
Title: Immigration Policy
Faculty: Charles Kamasaki
Fall 2021
Title: Civil Discourse
Faculty: Phil Barnes
Guest Speaker: Tim Schaffer
听
Title: Infrastructure Policy
Faculty: Leslie Proll
听
Title: Climate Policy
Faculty: Collin O鈥橫ara
听
Spring 2021
Title: Intro to Washington, DC
Faculty: Cathy McLaughlin
听
Title: Vaccine Policy
Faculty: Kim Isett
听
Title: Protest to Policy
Faculty: Eugene Young
Fall 2020
Title: National Security Policy
Faculty: Samantha Vinograd
听
Title: Environmental Policy
Faculty: Dr. Cecilia Martinez
听
Spring 2020
Title: Topics in Public Policy: Criminal Justice Policy
Faculty: Maryanne Donoghy听
听
Title: Topics in Public Policy: Environmental Policy听
Faculty: W. Michael McCabe, Pablo McConnie-Saad
听
Title: Topics in Public Policy: Education Policy
Faculty: Amanda Fuchs Miller
Fall 2019
Title: Topics in Public Policy: Modern Presidential Campaigns听
Faculty: Mike Donilon
听
Title: Topics in Public Policy: Gun Policy听
Faculty: David Bentz
听
Title: Topics in Public Policy: Opioid Policy
Faculty: Kayla Tormohlen & Jia Ahmed
听
Spring 2019
Title: Topics in Public Policy: U.S. LGBTQ Policy
Faculty: Stefanie Feldman, Sarah McBride
Fall 2018
Title: U.S. Federal Policymaking Toolkit
Faculty: Stefanie Feldman
听
Title: Seminar on Non-Profit Management
Faculty: Louisa Terrell, Deborah Jospin
听
Title: Seminar on U.S. Immigration Policy
Faculty: Ali Noorani, Jacinta Ma
听
Spring 2018
Title: Jobs, Economy and the Impact on the Middle Class
Faculty: Mike Donilon and Sarah Bianchi
听
Title: Developing and Implementing Health Care
Faculty: Bruce Reed, Sarah Bianchi