For Institute hours and closures, please refer to the “Plan Your Visit” page.

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Read about the latest news and events from the Institute

The Institute will be open Tuesdays through Sundays. Check out the “Plan Your Visit” page for hours and details on scheduled closures.

The Kennedy Institute hosted an engaging panel discussion on what a shared home place means to Ireland’s diaspora and for the island of Ireland, past, present and future. Moderated by Prof. Mary Murphy, Director of the Irish Institute at Boston College, the panel will explore how these diaspora experiences continue to shape connections to Ireland, to one another, and to Ireland’s evolving future. Panelists will include Boston City Council President Liz Breadon; Niall Worn, Board Member of the Boston Irish Business Association; Dawn Morrissey, Director of the Irish Film Festival, Boston; and Colleen Kelly, Board Member of the Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston.

The Kennedy Institute hosted the 2026 Stone Social Impact Forum, featuring a timely conversation with Tracy Palandjian, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Finance, on the role of finance in expanding economic opportunity and building pathways to upward mobility. The discussion was moderated by David M. Rubenstein—investor, philanthropist, author and Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group. Click on the image to watch the video.

On October 1, 2025 the Edward M. Kennedy Institute hosted a special conversation with the 48th Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, on the challenges of governing in a polarized era, the importance of civic dialogue in sustaining democracy, and the future of the Republican Party. The discussion was moderated by Meghan McCain, host of the “Citizen McCain” podcast. Watch here.

The first cohort of Kennedy-Breyer Civic Scholars summer program came together with educators from the Kennedy Institute, the JFK Presidential Library, and the Breyer Center at the Moakley US Courthouse to learn about legislation, the Executive branch, and our judicial system.

The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics have announced their landmark report, “Bolstering Funding and Practices for Resilient Elections: Sustainable Funding and Models of Success at the State and Local Level.”

The latest Senate Project between Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and David McCormick (R-PA) was hosted on Monday, June 2, 2025 in the Kennedy Institute’s full-scale Senate Chamber replica in Boston, MA. The discussion was moderated by Shannon Bream, anchor of Fox News Sunday, and broadcast on FOX.