Dear Friends of the Citrin Center,
I want to review with you last year at the Jack Citrin Center for Public Opinion
Research, and to tell you about the new series of events we are programming for the 2019‐20 academic year.
As you know, the Citrin Center opened in the spring of 2017 as a legacy to Jack and his long service to Berkeley, including more than 45 years on the faculty in Political Science and 10 years as the Director of the Institute of Governmental Studies. The Citrin Center now is located in the Charles and Louise Travers Political Science Department, Jack’s teaching home, with an affiliation to Social Science Matrix, a consortium of social science research units. The new office of the Citrin Center is 798 Barrows Hall and its website citrincenter.berkeley.edu includes information about all past events, including slides and videos as well as a list of affiliated scholars and graduate student fellows. The new administrative arrangement, thanks to the support of wonderful staff, has made it possible to do more and do it more effectively.
The Citrin Center is devoted to improving the understanding of public opinion
through public events, polling, and research. Many of you gave generously to
establish an endowment for the Citrin Center and that endowment is growing,
thanks in part to additional contributions. The Center’s programming continues to be planned and managed by an Executive Committee comprised of me (Professor Gabriel Lenz as Chair), Professor Laura Stoker, and Professor Amy Lerman.
As noted in our last report to you, in fall 2018 the Citrin Center conducted two
panels on the mid‐term elections. The first was titled “The 2018 Midterms: Blue
Wave or Red Wall?, and the speakers—Laura Stoker of Berkeley Political Science,
Eric McGhee of the Public Policy Institute of California, Samantha Luks of YouGov,
and Mark DiCamillo of the IGS Survey—were remarkably prescient in predicting the election’s outcomes. The second event was an election post‐mortem, focusing on Winners and Losers, featuring Robert van Houweling of Berkeley Political Science, Tom Mann of IGS and the Brookings Institution, and Bill Whalen of the Hoover Institution as speakers.
Then, on March 5, 2019, Peter Hart, the leading public opinion pollster in America
over the last forty years, delivered the annual Citrin Award Lecture titled “The 2020 Election: The Challenges and Changes Facing Political Polling.” There was an overflow audience for Peter’s masterful talk which reviewed the changing landscape in public opinion polling and also provided an insightful primer in how to follow responses to the 2020 campaign as it develops. We encourage you to look at the video of this event.
On March 15, the incredibly timely topic of “American Opinion on Immigration”
Was discussed in presentations by Cara Wong of the University of Illinois, Morris
Levy of the University of Southern California and Cecilia Mo of Berkeley. They zeroed in on the cultural and economic underpinnings of immigration attitudes and how conceptions of American national identity is shaping opinion and policy.
Then, on May 3, the Citrin Conference focused on Gender and Politics with speakers who represent the foremost up‐ and‐ coming scholars doing work in this critical domain of public opinion. There also was a discussion by leading practitioners on campaigns about the dynamics of races with female candidates. We are especially pleased that this conference continued Jack’s long tradition of guidance and mentorship to the next generation of scholars. In this spirit, we now have initiated a program of small grants for Berkeley graduate students studying public opinion in the United States or elsewhere.
Programming for 2019‐2020 understandably emphasizes the upcoming presidential election. Here is a preview of the scheduled events and evite announcements with details will be coming at the appropriate times:
September 24, 3‐5 pm:
“Will It Still be the Economy, Stupid in 2020?”
December 12, 3‐5 pm:
“Who’s on First? The Democratic Race at the End of the Invisible Primary.”
February 28, 2020 3‐5 pm:
“The California Primary and Its Impact”
In mid‐March 2020, the distinguished and prolific scholar Professor Diana Mutz of the University of Pennsylvania will deliver the Citrin Award Lecture and in early May the Citrin Conference features the topic of Social Media’s Influence on Opinion and Voting.
Like the University of California as a whole, the Political Science Department and the Citrin Center face a landscape of declining financial support from the state. To an ever greater degree each year, the Center therefore must rely on private funding to support all the work we do at Berkeley and for the greater community. That is why we so deeply appreciate the outpouring of support that helped to endow the Citrin Center. We hope that you will continue to support the Center with your interest, participation and financial contributions in the coming years. You can find additional information about how to support the Center on our website, The Citrin Center is establishing as both an important research center on public opinion and a major asset to the campus community. We look forward to working in partnership with you and to keeping in touch as the Center continues to grow.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Lenz,
Chair, Citrin Center Executive Committee