The search committee for the inaugural executive director of the Institute of American Civics has presented three finalists to Chancellor Donde Plowman of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The institute is housed in UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy. 

The three finalists are:

• Elizabeth Busch, co-director of the Center for American Studies and Laura and Pete Walker Professor in American Studies at Christopher Newport University
• Daniel Klinghard, professor and co-director of the Charles Carroll Program at the College of the Holy Cross 
• Joshua Dunn, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and director of the Center for the Study of Government and the Individual at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs

The legislated purpose of the institute is to:

• Foster a deeper understanding of the structures and institutions of federal, state and local government
• Further the understanding of the principles and philosophies that contributed to the foundation and development of the United States and the state of Tennessee
• Promote civil discourse and constructive debate
• Enhance education in the fields of politics, economics, philosophy, American history, American government and other related fields as appropriate, with a focus on the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship, fundamental democratic principles, and the ways in which those principles are expressed in and through our federal, state and local institutions
• Provide nonpartisan resources to students, faculty, state government agencies, educators and the general public regarding civic affairs
• Foster civic engagement through full and fair discussions that promote civil dialogue among those holding conflicting points of view
• Assist in ensuring that the University of Tennessee serves as a robust marketplace of ideas for all students and faculty

Plowman will name the executive director after a series of on-campus interviews with members of the campus community.

The search committee is composed of members of the institute’s Board of Fellows: 

• Danielle Allen, Professor of Government and Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
• A B. Culvahouse, Of Counsel at O’Melveny & Myers
• Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University
• Bill Haslam, former governor of Tennessee
• Glenn Reynolds, Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law in the UT College of Law
• Marianne Wanamaker, ex officio, executive director of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, UT