The Center promotes academic inquiry into the history, structure and leadership of the Congress, the relationship between citizens and the Congress, and the processes of policy-making with other institutions in the American political system.
Over the years, the Center has hosted national conferences for scholars including the Congress and History Conference in 2016.
In addition, the Center is a founding member of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress – the premier national collaboration preserving historical material on the Congress.

Since 1983, the Center has hosted the biennial Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture in Representative Government, which focuses on the health of representative institutions in the United States and emphasizes the importance of participation by private citizens in public affairs.
The Rothbaum lectures have featured the nation’s most distinguished political scientists and statespersons including Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jack N. Rakove and Harvard University professor Thomas E. Patterson.
The lectures, suitably revised and extended, are individually published as a book by the University of Oklahoma Press.

The Center offers academic programs in congressional studies at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
The Center’s doctoral program has trained more than 37 students who now play leadership roles in academia and politics.
The Center engages undergraduates in scholarly research, civic engagement activities, and service-learning opportunities at the Oklahoma State Capitol and in the local community.
Several of our former undergraduates currently hold elected office and others are pursuing careers dedicated to public service across the state and nation.

Believing that professional research is the foundation upon which its academic programs rest, the Center promotes original research by faculty members and students into various aspects of politics and the Congress.
Further, the Center’s congressional archive provides a national resource available to historians, political scientists, the media and members of the public interested in the health of our representative institutions.

The Carl Albert Center is also home to the Women's Leadership Initiative, which addresses historic gender imbalances and challenges facing women in leadership and public service positions, including politics.
Started by former Director Cindy Simon Rosenthal, the initiative consists of a number of programs that endeavor to increase the number of women in political roles and other positions of public service, and they are targeted at both female college students and post-collegiate working women.
The National Education for Women's Leadership program, which is a five-day event designed to encourage female college students to consider public service-related career paths, was established at the University of Oklahoma in 2002 and is at the heart of the Initiative.

The Carl Albert Center additionally publishes the journal Extensions, which it considers a "forum of discussion" for topics concerning the United States Congress.
It includes articles written by congressional scholars, interviews with members of Congress, historical commentaries, and notes about the Center's current activities and research efforts.
The Center promotes academic inquiry into the history, structure and leadership of the Congress, the relationship between citizens and the Congress, and the processes of policy-making with other institutions in the American political system. Over the years, the Center has hosted national conferences for scholars including the Congress and History Conference in 2016. In addition, the Center is a founding member of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress – the premier national collaboration preserving historical material on the Congress.
Since 1983, the Center has hosted the biennial Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture in Representative Government, which focuses on the health of representative institutions in the United States and emphasizes the importance of participation by private citizens in public affairs. The Rothbaum lectures have featured the nation’s most distinguished political scientists and statespersons including Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jack N. Rakove and Harvard University professor Thomas E. Patterson. The lectures, suitably revised and extended, are individually published as a book by the University of Oklahoma Press.
The Center offers academic programs in congressional studies at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The Center’s doctoral program has trained more than 37 students who now play leadership roles in academia and politics. The Center engages undergraduates in scholarly research, civic engagement activities, and service-learning opportunities at the Oklahoma State Capitol and in the local community. Several of our former undergraduates currently hold elected office and others are pursuing careers dedicated to public service across the state and nation.
Believing that professional research is the foundation upon which its academic programs rest, the Center promotes original research by faculty members and students into various aspects of politics and the Congress. Further, the Center’s congressional archive provides a national resource available to historians, political scientists, the media and members of the public interested in the health of our representative institutions.
The Carl Albert Center is also home to the Women's Leadership Initiative, which addresses historic gender imbalances and challenges facing women in leadership and public service positions, including politics. Started by former Director Cindy Simon Rosenthal, the initiative consists of a number of programs that endeavor to increase the number of women in political roles and other positions of public service, and they are targeted at both female college students and post-collegiate working women. The National Education for Women's Leadership program, which is a five-day event designed to encourage female college students to consider public service-related career paths, was established at the University of Oklahoma in 2002 and is at the heart of the Initiative.
The Carl Albert Center additionally publishes the journal Extensions, which it considers a "forum of discussion" for topics concerning the United States Congress. It includes articles written by congressional scholars, interviews with members of Congress, historical commentaries, and notes about the Center's current activities and research efforts.
Carl Albert Center