USC forms state’s first Center for American Civic Leadership

USC is starting a new academic center to promote broad understanding of the core ideals and values that shaped American government and history.

The Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse will generate scholarship and new academic programs exploring democratic self-governance, rule of law, and unalienable rights, while also promoting bipartisan discussion of the critical issues facing our nation and state.

Housed in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, the center will support existing academic programs — such as the minor in Law and Society and courses on America’s founding documents. Christopher Tollefsen, a USC philosophy professor who studies ethics and natural law, will serve as the interim executive director.

“Studying the American civic order and teaching our students to be good citizens should be a core function of higher education in America,” USC Board Chair Thad Westbrook said. “Over the past few years, we have strengthened our policies supporting free speech on campus, and we believe this center will elevate that work with a renewed focus on civil discourse.”

“The value this new academic center brings is its focus on equipping students with the knowledge, perspectives, and reasoning skills for meaningful interactions as citizens and community leaders,” USC President Michael Amiridis said.

The center, which received key approval from the S.C. Commission on Higher Education’s academic affairs committee, is planning additional programming to coincide with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, emphasizing South Carolina’s pivotal role in the birth of the United States.