Civic Thought and Leadership Initiative
CTLI Vision for 2023 and Beyond
In 2022, CTLI accomplished numerous objectives in mentoring UVU students, supporting
K–12 teachers, conducing civics research, and facilitating public civic dialogue.
We constantly strive to learn, improve and innovate on our past accomplishments. At
the same time, 2022 is a good guide to what we will accomplish with our current resources
in 2023.
Were the Utah Legislature to grant significant additional funds to CTLI, we would
build on our 2022 accomplishments by—
- Advocating for and developing a Civic Thought and Leadership Minor, building on existing
courses and funding the development of additional ones for a comprehensive, yet focused,
civics minor. The minor would be oriented towards, and marketed to, all majors, especially
those focused on public service.
- Significantly growing our partnership with Utah’s “We The People: The Citizenship
and the Constitution” Program,” including K-12 professional development with hands-on
instruction in America’s founding principles.
- Expanding our “Civics Education Throughout Utah” project, with the goal of taking
civics professional development training to every school district outside the Wasatch
Front.
- Building a Civics Survey Center at UVU that would conduct all civics-related surveys
and research. A dedicated survey center would greatly enhance CTLI’s ability to address
the causes of the “gap problem” identified in our research. It would also allow the
research conducted by CTLI to impact regional and national conversations on civics
education.
- Creating a “Tocqueville Fellows Program” for UVU students. Tocqueville Fellows would
have the opportunity to work with CTLI’s Civic Research Fellows on civics research,
conferences, and other projects. Students would also receive a scholarship for their
services. This would provide hands-on civics experience and wonderful mentorship opportunities
for students.
- Developing a “Civics Endorsement” program for Utah social-studies teachers. We are
just beginning a protype project with Granite School District. The endorsement would
provide a financial and career incentive for teachers to gain significant professional
training in constitutional literacy and civic participation to enhance their teaching
abilities.
- Implementing and expanding our “Economics for Civics Educators” project in conjunction
with UVU’s Woodbury School of Business. This would provide opportunities and incentives
for social studies teachers to gain solid training in foundational economic principles
and apply them throughout their curricula.
- Building a substantive master’s degree program in “Government, Civics, and Law” specifically
tailored to secondary teachers. In their quest for career advancement, too many teachers
feel compelled to complete nonsubstantive or administrative degrees because they have
no substantive options. Our master’s degree would be one year and would prepare teachers
to better teach American history, constitutional law, and founding principles.
Read about CTLI's Mission and Charter and its Impact.