Public universities are also taking steps to promote civic education and robust civil discourse. States are investing in programs designed to promote respectful and productive dialogue across political, cultural, religious and socio-economic lines.
Arizona State University’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, founded in 2017, was an early example of this model. It has since been joined by the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida; the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin; the Institute of American Civics at the University of Tennessee Knoxville; the School of Civic Life and Leadership at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at The Ohio State University; and the Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse at the University of South Carolina. The University of Michigan recently announced that it is building such a program.
