National Leaders Descend on New Brunswick for Rutgers Democracy Lab Convening on Civic Studies

From April 23 to April 25, Rutgers Democracy Lab convened nearly 100 scholars, practitioners, and students to map the changing landscape of civic education and chart a path towards renewing democracy.

One might not know it from following the news on higher education and democracy, but there is a growing movement for civic renewal underway across the United States at colleges and universities. Whether under the moniker of “civic engagement,” “civic thought,” or “civic dialogue,” a growing number of campuses are creating institutes, centers, and labs dedicated to studying and advancing the principles and practice of American democracy.

To respond to renewed focus and energy in the field of civic studies, Rutgers Democracy Lab (RDL) gathered nearly 100 leaders representing initiatives from across the country for its three-day Centers, Institutes, and Labs of Democracy: Supporting Civic Learning and Engagement on College Campuses and Beyond national convening. Organized by RDL in partnership with Campus Compact, the Democratic Knowledge Project at the Harvard Graduate Student of Education, and the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, the convening spurred discussion to explore the field’s central tensions, illuminate practical engagement strategies, and develop common paths for the shared work of democracy-building.

To ensure a breadth of perspectives, the group included a diverse range of perspectives and institutional types, with representatives from community colleges, regional publics, private liberal arts institutions, and public research universities, as well as funders and national nonprofits. In addition, students from diverse academic institutions, the central drivers of civic education programming, provided first-hand insights to match high-level observations from initiative leaders.

The convening drew attention from beyond the Rutgers community, with Joanna Kenty’s recent Civic Education News Roundup in The Renovator lauding Rutgers’ role in vocalizing a “basic commitment to nonpartisanship joined with American values: pluralism, civic friendship, individual agency, and constitutional government of, by, and for the people.” 

A Spirit of Improvisational Co‑Creation

The convening’s centerpiece was an interactive Friday, April 24 agenda built around the knowledge and experiences of participants. Dr. Nicholas Longo began with introductory remarks, emphasizing the convening’s “spirit of improvisational co‑creation.” He explained the convening’s purposeful design to offer a unique opportunity for shared learning, intellectual exchange, and relationship-building. This vision was realized through a format combining expert presentations and faculty and student panels with interactive breakout room discussions and joint field mapping exercises. 

Working sessions included: Exploring the Ecosystem of Campus-Based Democracy Centers, Institutes, and Labs, which focused on holistic pro-democracy advocacy across civic disciplines; Three Dimensions of Democracy: Civic Dialogue, Civic Thought and Knowledge, and Civic Engagement, which encouraged attendees to bring alive robust civic thought, engagement, and dialogue while centering civic imagination; and The Student Experience panel to source insights from the active beneficiaries of civic education programming. 

Friday’s program culminated with a reception and dinner at the Rutgers Club, an atmosphere fit to reverberate the forward-looking insights of democracy scholars, public leaders, and civic luminaries in attendance. Such figures included Rutgers–New Brunswick Chancellor Francine Conway, who discussed civic engagement as a central component of Rutgers’ academic master plan and Lt. Governor Dale G. Caldwell, who connected his work as a United Methodist pastor at Covenant United Methodist Church to advocate for the necessity of community engaged work. 

Danielle Allen, Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, noted that this convening helped to elevate the work of centers across higher education. She delivered a keynote address calling on attendees to recognize civic education’s role in empowering citizens to engage as co-creators of an evolving social contract, and to expand that prerogative beyond the gates and walls of the university.  

Next Steps

Several key takeaways for the future of civic centers and areas for heightened focus emerged from the convening, including that:

1. Field building starts with building relationships and sharing resources and ideas as part of a growing network.
2. Strategically embedding engagement and Interdisciplinary collaboration can help  engage students not traditionally involved in politics. 
3. Civic frameworks and practices of centers must work to transcend partisan divides in a toxic political ecosystem. 
4. Sustained student empowerment and impact happens when students lead, and not just participate, in civic work.
5. Rebuilding trust in a public that is skeptical about higher education and government institutions more broadly is a role civic centers should take seriously. 

Ultimately, the convening demonstrated the power of gathering scholars, practitioners, and students to identify tensions and build a shared vision for the future of civic studies. A forthcoming white paper will capture the convening’s key lessons and takeaways.