The IOP looks for people who are not only politically active, but who are passionate about a certain issue, officials say. This trait is important because Fellow usually run small study groups at the IOP.

"We look at people who have been associated with certain issues for their whole life," Phillips said. "The sense that if they lose and we go and grab them is unfair. We are looking for people who have made a significant contribution to public service."

The most important thing, IOP Director Alan K. Simpson says, is to find people who are truly dedicated to inspiring undergraduates to enter the realm of public service and political life.

Simpson, who had retired as a Republican Senator from Wyoming when he came to the KSG, says that unless IOP Fellows and those like them inspire today's Harvard students, the students will be "eating grit with the chickens in 65 years" instead of leading the country.