CPR Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

Twenty years ago, my predecessors as Editors-in-Chief laid out our organization’s mission in the inaugural edition of the Chicago Policy Review. On Page 1, Volume 1, Issue 1, Kathy H. Kim and Doug Lauen wrote, “Effective governance depends to a large degree on the quality of information available to the public, government officials, and professors and students of public policy.” I am proud that we have remained committed to this vision for two decades. At the core of this sentiment is the assumption that the knowledge needed to solve society’s problems already exists in society; it is just a matter of building the bridges connecting ideas and practice. If the Chicago Policy Review can play even the most modest role in making people’s lives better through this process, we will have succeeded. And there is evidence we have done that—from our readers in government letting us know how a piece influenced their work to international media picking up our coverage of an idea that had otherwise been neglected. We take great pride in everything we have accomplished over the past 20 years.

Despite our successes, we have never rested on our laurels. We have fostered innovation year after year to evolve into an organization that is more insightful, relevant, and comprehensive. At its inception, few people could have predicted what the Chicago Policy Review would look like at age 20. For a long time, the Review was published semiannually in a traditional paperback journal. The inaugural edition featured eight articles on topics such as Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole’s economic plan; President Bill Clinton’s welfare reform and its implications for Illinois; and the national success of “motor voter” policies. The Review had 12 staff members and a publisher based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Over the past 20 years, successive generations of the Review have continually built upon this solid foundation. Today, we stand on their shoulders as we operate the largest, most prolific, and most innovative student-run policy review in the world. Just this week, we published articles on the impacts of ethnic studies courses on racial minorities’ educational outcomes; systemic risk in the financial system; and access to school-based healthcare and its impacts on teen pregnancy and school completion. These articles were published on our website and distributed to thousands of subscribers all over the world. We maintain a staff of 80 and have been a wholly online and paperless publication since 2012.

We still view our publication as a constantly evolving project. I am eager to see what future generations make of the Review. Just as nobody in 1996 could have predicted what the Review would look like in 2016, I am sure the next 20 years will yield an evolution every bit as dramatic and exciting as our history to this point. Even so, I can express my confidence that the Chicago Policy Review will still be doing its part to bridge the gap between research and the real world. And we hope to work with all of our stakeholders—the University of Chicago and the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy, Chicago Policy Review staff and alumni, and most importantly, our readers—to continually find ways to improve upon our efforts.

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