About The IAC
The Institute of American Civics is a new opportunity to strengthen civic engagement and combat political polarization in our state and nation.
The Institute is a natural extension of the work the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs has done since its beginning, and the Institute is designed to build on the University of Tennessee’s capabilities in politics, economics, philosophy, American history, and American government. The legislated mission of the Institute is to provide a comprehensive civic education for University undergraduates and the state at large, including America’s founding principles, the economic and political institutions that maintain American democracy and the basics of civic engagement.
Since its founding in 2003, the previously named Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy, now Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, has served as the Knoxville campus’s hub for civic engagement and education.
In 2022, legislation creating the Institute of American Civics received strong bipartisan backing in the 112th Tennessee General Assembly.
Lawmakers from both parties spoke in favor of the Institute’s mission to strengthen civic education and participation while reviving thoughtfulness, civility and respect for opposing viewpoints in national discourse. Senator Baker’s legacy of conciliation and respect for opposing viewpoints, along with his deep patriotism and commitment to public service, provide an ideal foundation for the Institute’s activities.
IAC BOARD OF FELLOWS
By statute, the Board of Fellows must consist of 13 members, of which: At least nine members must be, or have been, tenured professors or administrators or professors of practice at an institution of U.S. higher education; two members must be distinguished former elected or appointed U.S. officials, and, while serving in their former elected or appointed position, must have been affiliated with different political parties; and two members must be members of the Baker School board.
Elected/Appointed Member from Different Political Parties
The Honorable Philip Bredesen Jr.
Former Governor of Tennessee and Mayor of Nashville, TN
Bill Haslam
Former Tennessee Governor
Members from the Baker School Board
Ambassador AB Culvahouse
Former US Ambassador to Australia, White House Counsel to President Ronald Reagan alongside then Chief-of-Staff Howard H. Baker Jr.
Dr. Marianne Wanamaker
Dean, The Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs
Tenured Professors / Administrators / Professors of Practice in US Higher Education
Danielle Allen
Professor of government and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
Arthur Brooks
William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School; Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School
Daniel Diermeier
Chancellor of Vanderbilt University
Amy Elias
Chancellor’s Professor, Distinguished Professor of English, and director of the UT Humanities Center, the University of Tennessee
Robert George
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University
Claudia Williamson Kramer
Probasco Chair of Free Enterprise, Professor of Economics, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Jon Meacham
Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in American Presidency and co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, Vanderbilt University
Glenn Reynolds
Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law, the University of Tennessee
Paul Stumb
President of Cumberland University
COURSE OFFERING PLAN
Through the institute’s courses, the University of Tennessee will be able to live more fully into its land grant mission, addressing the pressing problem in the state of political polarization, low civic participation, and retreat from civil discourse and constructive civic engagement.
UNHO 347 Leading with Courage (Spring 2023)
Leading with courage is not always easy, particularly when faced with ethical and moral dilemmas. Such situations call for leaders with integrity, compassion, and fortitude. Students in this course will define and learn the theoretical and practical application of courageous leadership by paying particular attention to character, conscience formation, receiving and seeking constructive feedback, decision-making, and taking calculated risks. The intended outcome of the course is to help students with the self-awareness and skills to lead with purpose, bravery, and a bold visionary outlook— ultimately embodying a courageous approach to leadership.
Taught by two respected leaders, former Governor Bill Haslam and Chancellor Donde Plowman, this course will be facilitated primarily through moderated discussion, assigned readings, case studies, and insights from influential, courageous guest speakers. BCPP 495 • Constitutional Foundations of Public Policy (Spring 2023) IAC 201 • Construction & Reconstruction of the American Republic (Fall 2023)IAC 202 • Civil Society and the State (Fall 2023) BCPP 495/POLS 410 • American Democracy and the Role of the Military (Winter 2023)
BCPP 495 Constitutional Foundations of Public Policy (Spring 2023)
Will transition to an IAC course upon university approval.
Focusing primarily on constitutional amendments and landmark legislation, as well as judicial interpretation thereof, this course examines how a series of policy challenges have been addressed through the American constitutional framework. Topics include voting rights and other civil rights issues, privacy and reproductive freedom, economic regulation, gun rights and gun control, immigration, criminal justice, foreign policy and military policy, etc.
IAC 201 Construction & Reconstruction of the American Republic (Fall 2023)
This course examines the founding of the United States, the adoption and ratification of the Constitution, the challenges facing the new republic, and concludes with an examination of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. It weaves together history, political philosophy, and constitutional law and theory. The course surveys the history of the American experience from the colonial era through the Revolution, the framing of the Constitution and the battle over its ratification, the establishment of the new republic, the Civil War and Reconstruction. The course examines the major ideas that influenced the Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution, in particular classical republicanism and the political theories of the Enlightenment era.
IAC 202 Civil Society and the State (Fall 2023)
This course examines the role that culture plays in the relationship between civil society and the state. Using an international perspective, students will interact with a wide variety of cultures throughout the world in order to investigate whether cultural norms and social capital are necessary for producing and sustaining democratic political systems. The course is designed to intersect with and draw insights from a variety of disciplines including Anthropology, Geography, Economics, History, Literature, Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, and Psychology.
BCPP 495 / POLS 410 American Democracy and the Role of the Military (Winter 2023)
Will transition to an IAC course upon university approval. Offered at the request of Military Science/ROTC
This course will explore civil-military relations, including such issues as civilian control of the military, changing roles for the military, military service, interagency cooperation, military effectiveness, and operational challenges. Throughout, the course will consider the complex relationships among policy, politics, and society focusing on the constitutional underpinnings and ethical issues of defense. The course will be offered by Dr. Priscilla Zotti, formerly Dean of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences at the U.S. Naval Academy.
TOCQUEVILLE SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The Tocqueville Scholars program is a 4-year scholars program dedicated to the ideas of Alexis de Tocqueville, with the goal to educate exceptional students in America’s constitutional, economic, and political foundations. The Tocqueville Scholars program prepares students to become civic leaders in government, law, business, and public affairs through an in-depth curriculum.
Students in the program will receive an $1,250 scholarship each semester they are active in the program.
Application Process: The process includes a completed online application with short essay questions and two required letters of recommendation (one letter of recommendation should be from a current teacher or faculty member). Following the application review, students will interview with the Program Review Committee. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 3.
TENNESSEE CIVICS ACADEMY
A premier annual collaborative conference for k-12 government, history, and social science teachers.
June 25–26, 2024 • Knoxville, TN
Registration information will be shared in January 2024. If you have questions, you can email InstitutePrograms@utk.edu
About the Academy
Housed within the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, the Institute of American Civics (IAC) engages the school’s mission by helping teachers to “be part of the solution.” Today’s political climate poses serious challenges to educating America’s youth on civic values. Yet, educators can cultivate democratic citizenship by teaching civic knowledge and encouraging students to become civically engaged through fostering critical thinking, media literacy, public service, civil discourse, and other practices associated with a free society.
The IAC TN Civics Academy provides a space for educators to discuss ways to foster and teach topics in civic education and to nurture civic engagement and viewpoint diversity among Tennessee’s youth. The multiple-day conference provides discussion panels led by experienced teachers from rural, urban, and suburban districts to discuss student engagement strategies, classroom challenges, and opportunities faced in promoting healthy discussion, viewpoint diversity, and civil discourse, and to share cross-disciplinary project-based learning activities. Also, attendees learn from UT scholars through content-rich presentations highlighting American founding principles, history, U.S. Constitutional rights, economics, Supreme Court decisions tied to American education, and the legacy of Senator Howard H. Baker Jr.