Schwarzenegger announced to become a professor and to establish the University of South California, Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy; a university will be named after him, where he will be the Governor Downey Professor of State and Global Policy. He will also serve as the chairman of its board of advisers.

With an eye towards the leadership responsibility and transcending partisanship, the institute will be focusing on five core research areas: education, energy and environment, fiscal and economic policy, health and human wellness and political reform.