THE WHARTON SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA has one professor who has written extensively about "the New Federalism" and federalism in Europe, and a second whose titles include "Reinventing Federalism: Governing Decentralized Institutional Experiments in Latin America."
THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT has a Latin American specialist who teaches a course titled "the Comparative Politics of Federalism and Decentralization." Another professor is executive director of the Century Foundation's Project on Federalism and Homeland Security, while a third has been a constitutional advisor to Kurdistan and a consultant to the EU-UN project on Reconstructing Somalia, with specific responsibility for sections on power-sharing, federalism, human rights, and electoral systems.
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY'S POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT has faculty who teach about federalism and U.S. policymaking.
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA AND RUTGERS-CAMDEN LAW SCHOOLS all have faculty specialists on federalism. One Temple professor's writings include "The Schiavo Litigation: A case Study in Federalism." One Rutgers-Camden scholar's titles include "The New Judicial Federalism: The States' Lead in Rights Protection." One Penn scholar has written on "Lines in the Sand: The Importance of Borders in Americans Federalism," "Federalism and Freedom," and "The New Etiquette of Federalism."
THE ACLU OF PENNSYLVANIA delves into federalism because it has emerged as an issue in the debate over immigration reform. The ACLU and other groups sued Hazleton, Pa., in summer 2006 to fight the town's crackdown on undocumented people and the landlords and firms that do business with them. Among their arguments, the complainants said Hazleton's ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause because it seeks to override federal law and the exclusive federal power over immigration.
THE 21ST CENTURY LEAGUE is a group of concerned citizens who voluntarily undertake projects that benefit Greater Philadelphia. It currently is focusing on the impact of major policy and budgetary changes underway in Washington and Harrisburg, known collectively as devolution, that shift responsibility from the national to state and local governments and in most instances, reallocate and reduce public spending.
THE COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan political watchdog organization that is committed to advancing good government in the region. The group undertakes nonpartisan research, education, litigation, advocacy, and analysis of numerous local and regional governmental topics.
THE FELS INSTITUTE was founded in 1937 from the idea that there was a need for Pennsylvania's thousands of municipalities to receive "trained leadership and access to what we now call best practices to alleviate the harm being inflicted by corrupt public management." The Institute's focus on local government was a new concept, other programs of the time focused only on state and Federal government and on international affairs. The current objectives of the program are to prepare students for leadership in government service, non-profit and social service organizations, and organizations in the public sector.
THE NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER is an independent nonprofit dedicated to increasing public understanding of, and appreciation for, the Constitution, its history, and its contemporary relevance through an interactive, interpretive facility within Independence National Historic Park and a program of national outreach, "so that We the People may better secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."
