Civics in Higher Education

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University and the Alliance for Civics in the Academy (ACA), with support from GBH, are proud to host a one-day national summit on the state of civics in higher education on Friday, April 10, 2026 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tufts University’s Medford/Somerville campus. 

The summit will convene practitioners, faculty, administrators, and students from across the United States to explore, discuss and compare models of civic practice in higher education.

Summit speakers and panelists will include Amy Binder, Mary Clark, Michael Clune, Dayna Cunningham, Andrew Delbanco, Fonna Forman, Bryan Garsten, Leslie Garvin, Caroline Attardo Genco, Tetyana Hoggan-Kloubert, Jessica Kimpell Johnson, Peter Levine, Marisol Morales, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Josiah Ober, Mindy Romero, Jenna Silber Storey, and more.

Summit Content and Themes

The summit will bring together three categories of university-based centers and programs—including diverse representatives from each—that are influential and widespread:

1. Colleges or programs of Civic Thought or Civic Studies. These entities offer civic education courses within a liberal arts curriculum. At least 13 are new initiatives at public universities. They may also produce research and public programs related to civic life. 
    
2. Centers and initiatives that engaged higher education with communities in part to enhance their students’ civic skills and knowledge. These initiatives have roots in the Land Grant tradition (including the HBCU Land Grants) and the “Wisconsin Idea,” and many are ambitious and innovative today.
    
3. Democracy research centers and institutes based in universities that aim to improve democracy or civil society by generating research, tools, and events for the public. 

Panel sessions will explore these three categories, while plenary discussion will compare them and provoke reflection on questions like:

• To what extent should college-level civic education be about reading and discussing texts?
• To what extent should civic education be experiential, and which kinds of experiences are most valuable?
• Should colleges and universities be embedded in and accountable to local communities, to states, to the nation, to transnational communities, or to the globe?
• What does it mean to promote viewpoint diversity in each type of program? Are there other dimensions of disagreement that are also (or more) relevant than ideology?
• Is the goal of civic education to build support for the constitutional order, to subject the system to critical scrutiny and improvement, or both?

We anticipate rich discussions and constructive disagreements that will enrich participants’ views of these issues while also strengthening the intellectual community.

This information will be updated as the conference develops. The full agenda and list of speakers will be added soon. 

Register for the Summit

Logistics and Questions

• Tickets to the summit are free, but participants are responsible for their lodging and transportation.
• Hotel block information will be added in the coming days. However, if you wish to book lodgings now, 51 Winthrop Street, Medford, MA can be used as a point of reference.
• Please note that parking at 51 Winthrop Street will not be possible for summit participants. Metered street parking is available along Boston Avenue, and paid parking is also available at the Dowling Hall Parking Garage, located at 419 Boston Avenue in Medford. It's an 8 minute walk from the Dowling Garage to 51 Winthrop. Information about visitor parking passes and daily rates for the Dowling Garage can be found on the Tufts Parking website.
• 51 Winthrop Street is a 10 minute walk from the the MBTA Green Line (subway system), Medford/Tufts Station.
• A light breakfast and full lunch will be provided for attendees.
• ACCESSIBILITY: The building is equipped with accessible bathrooms and a step-free entrance with buttons to open doors. If you have questions concerning access or wish to request a disability-related accommodation, please contact Violet Johnson two weeks before the event. Please visit this interactive map to locate our accessible parking spots and other campus accessibility information.
• Questions? Please email Violet Johnson.