[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#000000″ min_height=”28px” custom_padding=”0px|||||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” max_width=”5000px” max_width_tablet=”5000px” max_width_phone=”5000%” max_width_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_margin=”|auto|-51px|auto|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Playfair Display||||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”38px” text_line_height=”1.6em” custom_margin=”63px|||65px|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”|||38px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”|||32px|false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” text_font_size_phone=”32px” sticky_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”38px”]<\/p>\n
The “Renaissance” in Civic Education: Beyond the Salmon P. Chase Center<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”80%” width_last_edited=”on|tablet” max_width_tablet=”” max_width_phone=”70%” max_width_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_margin=”||12px|65px|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”||12px|38px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”|0px|12px|32px|false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”24px|||0px|false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding_phone=”24px||||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_padding_tablet=”24px|||0px|false|false”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Inter||||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” custom_margin=”|||65px|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”|||38px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”|||32px|false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n By Madison Wallace | Former John R. Oller Special Projects Reporter<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2026\/02\/map-with-big-cards_1@1.5x.png” title_text=”map with big cards_1@1.5x” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u201cI know of no country,\u201d historian Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, \u201cwhere there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.\u201d<\/p>\n In his 1830s work, Democracy in America, the French political thinker \u2013 a beloved figure of classical and democratic education \u2013 penned his fascinations in observation of the tyranny of majority and social conformity that can suffocate any democratic society \u2013 even the freest nation in the world.<\/p>\n The implications of his observations serve to warn all democratic constituents \u2013 political scientists, politicians, academics, entrepreneurs, military officials, blue-collar workers, immigrants and social media influencers \u2013 about the dangers of polarization and free market echo chambers.<\/p>\n It is this school of thought – launched by several advocacy organizations aiming to usher academia back to its unifying and inspiring role in civic education \u2013 such as the educational nonprofit, the Jack Miller Center<\/a><\/span>, and its \u201cRenaissance in Civic Education\u201d, or the U.S. Department of Education\u2019s MAGA-led civics education coalition<\/a><\/span><\/span> \u2013 have led to the creation of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society at Ohio State, and the subsequent policy diffusion establishing similar centers at universities in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.<\/p>\n While the Miller Center strives to achieve its founding mission<\/a><\/span> to address the critical disappearance of America\u2019s founding principles and history from our nation\u2019s classrooms, the U.S. Dept. of Education politicizes its funding power by prioritizing discretionary grants<\/a><\/span> for educational programming at institutions which \u201cpromote patriotic education\u201d, a presentation of American history grounded in an \u201caccurate, honest, unifying, inspiring and ennobling characterization of America\u2019s founding and its principles.<\/p>\n As civic knowledge declines and trust in institutions collapses, lawmakers and some scholars argue the state has a duty to reclaim the university\u2019s original civic mission of education for citizenship through reinvigorated lessons in American history, founding documents and the sociology of being an active, informed citizen.<\/p>\n Ohio State faculty warn that imposing legislative mandates, ignoring a long-held tradition of faculty input on curriculum and hiring, and channeling politicized funding threatens the very independence and democratic legitimacy higher education is meant to protect.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#000000″ min_height=”745.1px” custom_padding=”14px||47px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” min_height_last_edited=”on|phone” min_height_phone=”309.2px” sticky_enabled=”0″ min_height_tablet=”745.1px”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”36px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” width_last_edited=”on|phone” width_phone=”96%” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2026\/02\/map-with-big-cards@1.5x.png” title_text=”map with big cards@1.5x” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”-13px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Map of civic studies centers inspired by the Jack Miller Center.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n It was 2023 when state lawmakers inserted a measure into the state budget creating the Chase Center as one of five institutions at state universities intended to expand civic education programming and K\u201312 outreach across Ohio.<\/p>\n Senators who sponsored the legislation promised to restore American constitutional order and fundamental democratic society through civics education that keeps ideology from replacing history on campus, according to the Senate\u2019s website.<\/p>\n To some faculty members, this legislation errs a little too closely to that of a similar, historic bill \u2013 Senate Bill 1 \u2013 passed on Mar. 25, 2025. That bill banned diversity, equity and inclusion programming and faculty striking, limited the teaching of controversial subjects and required course syllabi to be public online, according to prior Lantern reporting.<\/p>\n “Our number one general position right now in AAUP is to remind people of the origins of the Chase Center \u2013 that it originated alongside SB1, sponsored by the same people,\u201d said Pranav Jani, associate professor of English and member of the American Association of University Professors\u2019 Ohio State chapter.<\/p>\n Much like the budget measure \u2013 sponsored by Sen. Rob McColley and Sen. Jerry Cirino \u2013 Jani said, \u201ceven though Lee Strang consistently says this is independent of SB1, it exists in the same climate as a \u2018corrective\u2019 to what they claim is faculty indoctrination of students at the university, as something they believe is going to bring balance to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee Strang \u2013 inaugural executive director of the Chase Center and former constitutional law professor at the University of Toledo \u2013 worked alongside Sen. Rob McColley to create the center<\/a><\/span>. He served as Toledo\u2019s first director of the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership located in the college of law before he was hired at Ohio State in 2024.<\/p>\n According to Strang, while academics \u2013 like all individuals in a campus community \u2013 may have political views, their role is not to work for political interest or partisan relations, but to advance civic education for their local and state communities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one sentence summary for the Chase Center\u2019s mission is \u2013 teaching and research of the American constitutional tradition in society \u2013 and I’ve never run into anybody who thinks that’s a terrible mission,\u201d Strang said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Chase Center were to actually come out against the way SB1 limits intellectual diversity, which is what they\u2019re supposed to be about \u2013 [this] kind of repression of free speech being done by the administration. If they would come out about the abuse of the legal system and political system going on in the current government, where civics seems to be simply an act of power \u2013 I think there would be areas to work with,\u201d Jani said.<\/p>\n Professors like Jani and AAUP board member, Erynn Beaton, believe a fundamental academic freedom comes from the sanctity of shared governance \u2013 a university model where faculty expertise over curriculum and hiring takes precedence \u2013 which was ignored by the mandated implementation of the Chase Center.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that mandate, I think that there was a lack of understanding about ways things happen on campus and how we protect academic freedom, and about the importance of shared governance with faculty. So, by having the center come from the outside it becomes really problematic for a lot of reasons,\u201d Beaton said.<\/p>\n Those reasons include \u2013 of debatably utmost importance \u2013 concerns about ideology versus duplicity, Beaton said, and whether or not \u201cthe Chase Center is bringing about anything new that doesn\u2019t already exist\u201d in regard to the general education requirements already in place at the university.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2026\/02\/spa_sfsco_dunk-1.jpg” height=”800px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”701px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”-13px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding_phone=”0px||||false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_margin_phone=”-73px||||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_margin_tablet=”-13px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n Lights from advertisement boards backlight the Ohio Statehouse in the early morning of February 17, 2026. Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Photo Editor<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Advocates for mandated civic centers \u2013 such as Paul Caresse, former inaugural director of The School of Civic and Economic Thought and Learning at Arizona State University, also known as SCETL \u2013 believe citizenship education is a duty to healthy democracy, fulfilling itself through the social contract between America and her universities, which has eroded since the mid-1900s.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery graduate of every college and every university in the country, private, public, large, small, every single one, should have an American civics course taught by some department or other,\u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is one of dozens of important questions addressed: the Constitution, knowing the Constitution and knowing it in a more serious way and the reasons behind it and the complexities of it and the disagreements about how to interpret it. Because this is daily life for anyone who takes seriously being an American citizen or an aspiring citizen,\u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n According to Strang, only 10-15 percent of his constitutional law students \u2013 after K-12 and four years of higher education \u2013 have read and studied the Constitution in its entirety.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing the lack of knowledge about some of the fundamental documents and some of the fundamental claims about a core aspect of our civil society, which is our constitutional system, suggested to me that there’s a real lack of knowledge about those important aspects,\u201d Strang said.<\/p>\n Polls across The Chamber of Commerce, the American Bar Association and Gallup show civic literacy is plummeting \u2013 with nearly one-third of respondents, including registered voters, unaware that there are three branches of government, the Constitution is not the supreme law of the land and even non-U.S. citizens have to pay taxes while living on American soil.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think you are going to hear from anyone on campus that civic education isn\u2019t important. We think it\u2019s incredibly important,\u201d Beaton said.<\/p>\n Jani said the issue does not lie within partisan or ideological differences; in fact, there are plenty of conservative forces across different institutions and departments at the university.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir being conservative is neither a problem nor anything new. I might argue with it, I might debate with it, but that\u2019s not why I\u2019ve been positioned against it. It\u2019s because it\u2019s riding on the back of these kinds of laws that are about suppression and limiting the freedoms that we have,\u201d Jani said.<\/p>\n Jani said he urges members of the community to understand the origins of the Chase Center so that they may understand the present moment and the current inequities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still need to remember where it came from, which helps explain why they\u2019re getting $3 million grants from the Department of Education, while other apartments are just struggling to make sure that we can teach the courses that we want, hire the people that we want,\u201d Jani said.<\/p>\n Jani said while certain other departments \u2013 such as the humanities and social sciences \u2013 are being starved of certain freedoms of excess, like hiring and teaching various curricula in abundance.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are flush with money,\u201d Jani said. \u201cThey\u2019re hiring people [with] much higher salaries coming in than even people like [me], who are in year 22 at Ohio State.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/h1>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Top-down \u2013 a method of decision-making that originates with high-level government officials \u2013 mandates for civic education have brought about questions of legislative authority over the university model, leaving questions as to whether or not bridging the educational gap takes precedence over respecting the shared governance model of the university.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of our main concerns for the AAUP is this issue of shared governance \u2013 one of the things that we as faculty feel is fundamental to our academic freedom is having faculty input into how the university is run and that is primarily done through faculty council,\u201d Beaton said.<\/p>\n Caresse said any instance of non-academics, such as a Board of Trustees or a state legislature, making demands with funding and mandates is sure to be controversial among faculty members at any university.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a deeper principle as to why it\u2019s controversial for the faculty. For about a century, the dominant model, even in public universities, has been that universities are research and teaching units. Departments are in research fields [and] faculty of expertise \u2013 even though they\u2019re publicly funded and governed \u2013 there\u2019s faculty expertise over the curriculum and faculty hiring, such that, the faculty use this term \u2018shared governance,\u2019 \u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they really mean is that faculty veto \u2013 or a substantial faculty role \u2013 in anything related to hiring and curriculum, teaching, etc… The AAUP is a sort of institutional body for this, so principles of academic freedom and shared governance are cited,\u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n Beyond shared governance, Beaton said she believes \u201cthere were other avenues for a unit like the Chase Center to appear on campus\u201d, leading faculty to question their motives even further.<\/p>\n \u201cMy response to the concern of whether this is an outrageous, anti-academic attack on universities coming from the state government or board of regents would be, well, it may be abnormal beyond the current academic norms, but they\u2019ve got a point,\u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n The School for Civic and Economic Thought and Learning at Arizona State came as a result of the 2016 mandate by Gov. Doug Ducey. The unit was the first instance of a state-mandated civic education, based on the original university model emphasizing the social contract between universities, the state and democracy itself. <\/p>\n \u201cThe governing authority said, \u2018We see an important lack \u2013 we see a need to restore the civic education mission of a public university, but we\u2019re just going to give a general mandate and general funding to the state university.\u2019 Then the state university leadership stepped forward and said, \u2018here\u2019s how we\u2019re going to build it,\u2019 \u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n After its first academic year in 2017, Caresse said the phone calls and emails came in constantly about what was going on at Arizona State, what political scientists would refer to as policy diffusion.<\/p>\n \u201cTo just \u2013 in a nice gentle way \u2013 ask: \u2018Gee! Would you do more of this?\u2019 It\u2019s not likely to have a very fast or productive response. So, the policy diffusion that occurred was to say the Arizona State government did a smart thing,\u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n Knowing candidly that the idea of state-mandated civic education reform is intellectually and academically conservative, Caresse said, it remains an important and academically valuable reform in higher education.<\/p>\n \u201cTo hear out, campus by campus, the concerns from the existing faculty who do not like to be told, in effect, from a governing authority: \u201c We disagree with your priorities. You took your research field and your discipline in this direction, we think there needs to be space for this, over here and you are a public university, and we want to restore the original public mission of the university,\u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s controversial and it\u2019s difficult, but if put forward in this academic liberal arts spirit, it can be seen not as an attack, not as threatening, but as a correction, as a reform, as a renewal,\u201d Caresse said.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Caresse said the social contract between America and her universities is one that emphasizes civic education \u2013 clearly stated under the constitutional order when the country was formed.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Paul Caresse” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” body_font_size=”25px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n “Just like Stalin and the Soviet Union said \u2013 you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you . . .You may not be interested in politics and civic affairs, but it\u2019s interested in you \u2013 means \u2013 especially for university graduates \u2013 you\u2019re primed to be leaders.”<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n <\/b>\u201cThe social contract [between America and her universities] for 80 years \u2013 since the second World War \u2013 has been that academia is going to get funding and support, all kinds of latitude and prestige, funding from the federal government as well as state governments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Academia is going to get all of that in return for academia producing STEM expertise, science, technology, engineering, math, economic development, expertise, competitiveness, preparation for careers, right? Over those 80 years, just civics \u2013 preparing citizens \u2013 completely fell out of the social contract,\u201d Caresse said.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n According to Caresse, a constructive response to the Trump administration\u2019s criticism of academia right now could include higher education admitting it recognizes the deficit in civic education and restoring it to a primary role in order to reduce concerns about ideological imbalance.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cIf we did it in a philosophically balanced way, a liberal arts kind of civic education, it would show the entirety of the country that we care. Academia would show we care and that would be part of the social bargain being renewed between federal funding and state funding,\u201d Caresse said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA renewed argument to require civics [and] to restore it to top-tier priority needn\u2019t be seen as a partisan move on higher education. It can be seen from within academia as we turned away from this, we had other priorities, we ought to restore a priority within civic education,\u201d Caresse said.<\/span><\/p>\n Caresse said some grumbling comes along with most things \u201crequired\u201d of undergraduate students, but the mission to educate them for lifelong success as democratic citizens outweighs such.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cStalin and the Soviet Union said, you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. So, the adaptation \u2013 you may not be interested in politics and civic affairs, but it\u2019s interested in you \u2013 means, especially for university graduates, you\u2019re primed to be leaders. In the public sector, in the private sector, in your profession, in your communities. Civic knowledge is going to be useful for you everywhere because government and politics and political debate are everywhere,\u201d Caresse said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Caresse said his \u201coutrageous claim\u201d comes directly from the book \u201cWhat Universities Owe Democracy\u201d by the president of Johns Hopkins University, Ronald Daniels, who would not be considered an academic conservative, according to Caresse.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery college and university in the country \u2013 private, public, large, small, every single one \u2013 they should all require at least one course in what I call American civic knowledge, he calls it \u2018democracy education\u2019. That shouldn\u2019t be a partisan issue, that\u2019s just a responsibility that higher education in America owes to this political community that provides it prosperity, security and privilege,\u201d Caresse said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#000000″ min_height=”745.1px” custom_padding=”14px||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” min_height_last_edited=”on|phone” min_height_phone=”482.8px” sticky_enabled=”0″ min_height_tablet=”745.1px”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”36px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” width_last_edited=”on|phone” width_phone=”93%” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2025\/06\/IMG_0148.jpg” title_text=”IMG_0148″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”78%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” width=”78%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”-13px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The John Glenn of Public Affairs Building. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The AAUP has been keeping a close eye on the Center since the idea was proposed in 2023. It has chronicled the origins and history and ensured that policies are being followed, such as course approval, hiring and public knowledge, according to Beaton.<\/p>\n Beaton also said the organizational body found a lot of faculty were unaware of the Chase Center\u2019s existence or that it was going through the University Senate for a vote.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hear about the Chase Center very infrequently at this point, and that\u2019s one of the main concerns \u2013 that it\u2019s unclear whether processes are being followed according to shared governance, because it\u2019s happening under the radar or behind a screen,\u201d Beaton said.<\/p>\n \u201cAn example of this would be it\u2019s really unclear how all of those faculty got hired. I mean, the legislation gave Strang permission to choose, basically, whoever he wanted. My understanding is that\u2019s pretty close to what happened, but that is not the way tenured-track faculty get hired.\u201d<\/p>\n Beaton said hiring processes are very rigorous for any potential candidate in a tenured track position with laws and university policy in place to ensure a fair, unanimous decision.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a search committee. We have to look at every single application that comes through. We have to use a rubric to grade them. We have phone interviews as a search committee, then we have to have fly-outs. Then, at the fly-outs, the prospective faculty have to give what we call \u2018job talks,\u2019 \u201d Beaton said. \u201cSo, they will give a research presentation to the entire college, then the entire faculty vote on new people added to the college. It\u2019s a very, very rigorous process because the university and the college [are] making a lifetime commitment to the scholar. To not know anything at all about how they were selected is astounding to me,\u201d Beaton said.<\/p>\n University spokesperson, Chris Booker, said in an email \u201cthe Chase Center follows Ohio law and university hiring procedures for its employees, including tenured faculty.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/projects\/files\/2026\/02\/3.png” title_text=”3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” text_text_color=”#727272″ text_font_size=”15px” width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”-14px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\nThe “Renaissance” Comes to Ohio<\/strong><\/h1>\n
THE CONTROVERSY: Social Contract Trumps Shared Governance<\/p>\n
WHAT DO AMERICA\u2019S UNIVERSITIES OWE TO DEMOCRACY<\/strong><\/h1>\n
THE CONTROVERSY: Hiring Outside Peer Review<\/b><\/strong><\/h1>\n
THE CONTROVERSY: Ideology and Duplicity (Branding Disguised as Neutrality)
<\/b><\/strong><\/h1>\n