Student Coffee Hour - Fall 2026
2026-09-01 12:00 - 13:30, 2026-09-08 12:00 - 13:30, 2026-09-15 12:00 - 13:30, 2026-09-22 12:00 - 13:30, 2026-09-29 12:00 - 13:30, 2026-10-06 12:00 - 13:30, 2026-10-13 12:00 - 13:30, 2026-10-20 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) and 6 more dates | Law School Building, 2nd Floor, Carl Levin Center, Detroit, 48202, United States
Join us every Tuesday during the semester from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. for our Levin Center Student Coffee Hour during the fall semester 2026. Free coffee and tea and stick around for a chat with Levin Center staff if you have any questions about our student programs!

Pushing the Purse: Congressional Budgeting as a Tool of Oversight
2026-09-10 12:15 - 13:30 | Webinar
Join us for a seminar featuring the Levin Center’s 2025/26 Elise J. Bean Oversight Fellow, Kevin Angell, as he presents his research on the relationship between congressional budget processes and legislative oversight.
Kevin’s project, “Pushing the Purse,” examines how Congress uses its budgetary authorities to shape executive branch behavior and respond to instances of presidential non-compliance. Drawing on interviews with congressional and executive branch staff, as well as original quantitative data on committee reports, hearings, and budget activity, his research explores how oversight functions in practice within the appropriations process.
This seminar offers an opportunity to engage with original research on the intersection of congressional budgeting, oversight, and executive accountability.
RSVP HERE

Could Rebooting Congress Help Save American Democracy?
2026-09-17 16:00 - 17:30 | Patrich Auditorium, 471 West Palmer Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48202, United States
Could Rebooting Congress Help Save American Democracy?
The case for strengthening Congress as an institution of deliberation,
accountability, and compromise
Join the Levin Center and Wayne Law for a Constitution Day conversation on the challenges facing Congress today and the opportunities to revitalize its role in American democracy. As public trust in government has declined and political polarization has deepened, some observers point to the long-running erosion in congressional performance and capacity as a driving force in this dysfunction.
This panel will explore both the causes and consequences of that decline and consider what it would mean to reinvest in Congress. Drawing on perspectives from practice, scholarship, and policy, the discussion will examine ways Congress might better support meaningful debate, strengthen its oversight responsibilities, and rebuild public confidence in democratic institutions.

Panelists:

Hon. Barbara Comstock
Former U.S. Representative

Philip Wallach
Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute & Author of Why Congress

Professor Steven Winter
Walter S. Gibbs Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, Wayne State University Law School

RSVP: Constitution Day 2026 – RSVP – Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy

The event is part of the Levin Center’s Congress 250 campaign and Wayne Law’s 100th anniversary celebration. Students, faculty, and members of the broader community are welcome. The panel will be followed by a reception in the Partrich Auditorium lobby.

Levin Center Student Open House
2026-09-29 12:15 - 13:30 | Law School Building, 2nd Floor, Carl Levin Center, Detroit, 48202, United States
Join us for lunch on September 29 during the Levin Center’s Student Open House. The Levin Center provides many opportunities for Wayne Law students from internships in Washington, D.C., to Research Assistantships and career panels. Come find out more over lunch and coffee!
