CCS and CTLI host first-ever Summer Civic Institute at UVU in May 2025

Students focused on writings and ideas that contributed to the crafting of the Declaration of Independence 

Story and photos by Hank McIntire

See photos.

The first-ever session of the Summer Civic Institute was held May 20–23, 2025, at Utah Valley University (UVU) and sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Studies and the Civic Thought & Leadership Initiative.

Twenty-one students from universities across Utah, as well as Baylor and New York University, enrolled in the one-week seminar to study and discuss the American political and constitutional traditions.

Given the impending 250th birthday of the United States in 2026, this year’s session focused on the philosophical, political, and historical significance of the Declaration of Independence.

Participants received a $1,000 stipend, meals, and lodging during seminar week and took part in activities outside the classroom such as hiking and film screenings. 

Over the course of the seminar, faculty members led discussions on the writings of philosophers and leaders to include Plutarch, Cicero, Montesquieu, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John C. Calhoun, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Woodrow Wilson, John Dewey, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Russell Hittinger, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Presenters came from institutions across the U.S. Among the facilitators were Dr. Matthew Brogdon, senior director of the Center for Constitutional Studies at UVU; Dr. Daniel Zoumaya, tutor at Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, Calif.; Dr. Michael Promisel, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.; and Dr. Michael Zuckert, professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame.

Instructors were impressed with the preparation and passion of the students for the material and with their willingness to hear and engage with multiple perspectives from the assigned readings and their peers.

“From the moment of my first dinner conversation with the students, I was struck by their curiosity, rigor, and commitment to investigate the founding principles of American democracy,” said Promisel. “Our discussions were serious yet practical, and the students did a fantastic job connecting ideas from the readings to contemporary politics, their work, and their faith.”

“It was wonderful to participate in this unique setting for students to deepen their knowledge and to be mentored in their academic careers,” added Zoumaya. “I greatly enjoyed discussing important aspects of our American heritage such as the importance of the Declaration of Independence in the American political tradition with an excellent group of students. They were intelligent, engaging, and a joy to get to know.”

For their part, students also had some powerful takeaways, which they shared in their end-of-course survey responses:

• “It was an academically rigorous and challenging week of interpreting complex texts and evaluating large ideas.”
• “A wonderful and dynamic experience to meet new people and learn a little more about constitutional government and history.”
• “A great opportunity to study American political philosophy, the roots of American virtues, and the basis for civil law.”
• “I learned more about the founding principles and evaluate my own beliefs about being a citizen of the United States.”
• “I appreciated that the presenters undertook the roles of mediating conversations and providing feedback on the views expressed, rather than just lecturing.”
• “I loved conversing with my peers about the meaning of the Declaration of Independence and comparing and contrasting ideas about why and how philosophical practice and moral reasoning can be applied to govern people.”
• “I left with a stronger admiration for our Founders and their political writings.”
• “I was most impacted by conversations surrounding civic virtue. This idea is rarely discussed, so to consider it in an academic setting was so valuable.”

Organizer Dr. Robert Burton, director of the Civic Thought & Leadership Initiative at UVU, was pleased with the results of this maiden effort and saw great potential in the students who attended the seminar.

“By all accounts, this inaugural Summer Civic Institute was a huge success,” he said. “Students prepared by reading the thinkers whose ideas went into the Declaration, studying the document itself, and exploring other sources that illustrate impact on the American constitutional tradition since 1776. Given that we're one year away from the 250th anniversary of the Declaration, I can't think of a better topic of study for Utah's future citizens and civic leaders.”