Fall Civic Educators Conference 2026
The Center for Constitutional Studies (CCS) and the Civic Thought & Leadership Initiative hosts its Fall Civic Educators Conference Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Clarke Building (CB), Young Living Alumni Center (YA), and Fulton Library (FL) on UVU campus.
Registration for the conference is now closed.
About the Conference
The theme of the conference is From Revolution to Self-Government: Forging Citizens and Institutions.
After declaring independence from Britain, the former American colonists were suddenly no longer subjects of an empire, but citizens of independent states. As such, they needed to decide how to govern themselves as individuals and as communities.
Given that scenario, the conference considers these questions:
- What habits or virtues should free citizens possess?
-
What kind of governing institutions should those citizens develop?
Through a study of primary-source documents, middle- and high-school teachers will examine Founding Era debates about the quest for self-government.
Highlighted texts will include the letters between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on human nature and the future of the new republic, the Articles of Confederation, and Washington's "Farewell Address."
Master teachers and the National Constitution Center will provide training on how to utilize these primary sources in the classroom.
This conference is part of the Center for Constitutional Studies' ongoing celebration of America at 250.
Dr. Adam Seagrave, Director of Academic Affairs for Teacher Programs at Teaching American History, will keynote the conference luncheon.
The event is co-sponsored by the National Constitution Center.
Conference Schedule | Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026
- 8:30 a.m.
-
- Welcome and Introductions
- 9 a.m.
- Discussion | Virtues in Tension: The Jefferson–Adams Letters
- 10:30 a.m.
- Discussion | Cultivating Virtues in Institutions
- 11: 30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Luncheon and Keynote Address | Adam Seagrave, Teaching American History
- 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- Breakout Sessions in Clarke Building and Fulton Library
- 3 p.m.
- Closing Remarks and Adjourn
Presenter Bio
Adam Seagrave is Director of the Teaching American History programs at the Ashbrook
Center. He was previously an associate professor of Civic and Economic Thought and
Leadership at Arizona State University, where he was also the inaugural associate
director of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. He received his
PhD in political theory from the University of Notre Dame and a BA in Great Books
from Thomas Aquinas College (CA).
He is co-author (with Stephanie Shonekan) of Race and the American Story (Oxford University Press, 2024). His first book, The Foundations of Natural Morality: On the Compatibility of Natural Rights and the
Natural Law, was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2014. He has also published
Liberty and Equality: The American Conversation (University Press of Kansas, 2015) and The Accessible Federalist (Hackett Publishing Co., 2017), in addition to numerous articles in academic and
popular outlets.
Dr. Seagrave served on the Executive and Steering Committees, and co-chaired the Political
Science Task Force, for the Educating for American Democracy project from 2019-2021. He was awarded the American Legion National Education Award
in 2021 for his achievements in K–12 civics education. He also spent seven years as
the inaugural managing editor of the academic journal American Political Thought.