The Kids Are Alright – Vol. 5
Jessica Sutter , Chief of Civic Learning Initiatives Young entrepreneurs from Dent Education showcasing their products in Baltimore last winter. (Photo courtesy of Dent Education) Excerpt crossposted from The Kids Are Alright, an occasional Friday afternoon email newsletter written by Jessica Sutter featuring three stories of youth voice, youth leadership, and adult allies supporting youth efforts to […]
Everyone’s a Civics Teacher
Rajiv Vinnakota , President The Institute for Citizens & Scholars president Raj Vinnakota delivered a “Spark Talk” at Independent Sector’s 2023 Upswell Summit. I’m Raj Vinnakota, the president of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, an organization founded in 1945. Some of you may know us by our previous name, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Or the 27,000 […]
Civic Learning is More Than One-and-Done Events
Debi Ghate , Executive Fellow Last week, a headline caught my eye: “Researchers Say High School Civics Test Doesn’t Boost Voting. They’ve Lost the Plot.” This immediately struck a chord with me—it’s a sentiment not often expressed so plainly in the civic learning field. While our field places significant emphasis on voting as a hallmark of […]
In Memory of Walter Buckley
The Trustees, leadership, and staff of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars are deeply saddened by the passing of Walter W. Buckley, Jr. Mr. Buckley served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the organization, then known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, from 2012 to 2015; he was a Trustee from 2009 […]
Inaugural Class of Youth Civic Impact Fellows Announced
Ten Youth Civic Impact Fellows will join the Institute for Citizens & Scholars’ network of young adults who are passionate about civic engagement, well-informed about civic issues, and committed to democracy. The inaugural cohort consists of outstanding individuals who are already active in their communities and aiming to level up their impact as effective civic leaders. Fellows […]
C&S Field Trip: Terhune Orchards & Civic Heroes
Jeannemarie Halleck , Senior Program Officer, Civic Spring Fellowship During a week of on-site meetings at the Institute for Citizens & Scholars office, our team spent a gorgeous fall morning touring a local farm, winery, and community gathering space. Terhune Orchards, located on the outskirts of Princeton, NJ, is owned and operated by three generations of the […]
Young People + Voting: A Guide to Participating in the 2023 Elections
Election Day 2023 is fast approaching, and it’s important to recognize that young people hold substantial influence as a voting bloc. In 2022, the national youth turnout reached 23%, marking the second-highest youth turnout rate for a midterm election in the past 30 years, according to research from the Center for Information & Research on […]
Rajiv Vinnakota on the Power Station Podcast
Citizens & Scholars President Rajiv Vinnakota was a guest on the Power Station podcast, hosted by Anne Pasmanick, which features conversations with nonprofit leaders about how they build community, advocate for policy change, and make an impact in overlooked and underinvested communities. In this episode, Raj talked about the revealing insights of our national survey The Civic Outlook […]
Takeaways from UChicago Forum for Free Inquiry & Expression
As I settled into my seat at the University of Chicago’s Inaugural Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, I held the weight of the country in chaos: McCarthy ousted as speaker of the house, looming government shutdown, Israel and Hamas at war, democracy and freedom of expression at risk and questions surrounding the value of higher […]
PBS, CNN, Forbes, and More Showcase Campus Call for Free Expression
PBS NewsHour’s “America at a Crossroads” series is the latest news outlet to shine a spotlight on The Institute for Citizens & Scholars Campus Call for Free Expression, a flagship project of our College Presidents for Civic Preparedness initiative. Campus Call convenes an ideologically diverse group of college presidents from a broad array of institutions, including Martha Pollack, President of Cornell, […]