From public art and cultural policy to classroom-ready civic learning, this year’s Conference on Civic Studies and Democracy brings national voices and hands-on sessions to campus, and we want faculty, staff, and students in the room. Please invite your classes, share widely, and register today.
National-caliber speakers with immediate classroom relevance.
- Thursday Fred Meyer Lecture: Michael Greer — President & CEO of ArtsFund, a cross-sector arts leader advancing community cohesion through culture.
- Friday Keynote (Lunch): Trygve Throntveit, PhD — architect of Third Way Civics, a nationally adopted undergraduate civic-learning initiative grounded in William James’s pragmatism and active, student-centered learning. He has trained faculty across multiple states to embed civic purpose in general education.
Bridge to National Partners
Sessions connect with work by the Jack Miller Center (higher-ed and K–12 civics programs, national convenings) and the Sphere Education Initiatives (nonpartisan, viewpoint-diverse PD and classroom resources for grades 5–12). These are practical pipelines for syllabi, PD hours, and student projects.
Program highlights (bring a class!)
Thu, Sept 25 (5-8pm - L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom )
- Opening Reception
- President Geoffrey S. Mearns - Opening remarks and speaker introduction.
- Michael Greer (ArtsFund): “Arts and Culture as Community Cohesion: The power of the sector beyond the stage and studio.”
- Awards Ceremony honoring civic-arts and community leaders (excellent case studies for courses in civic engagement, journalism, arts administration)
Fri, Sept 26 (9am - 4pm - L.A. Pittenger Student Center)
- Lunchtime Keynote: Trygve Throntveit — “What Does ‘Civics’ Mean? William James and the Civic Renewal of Contemporary American Education.”
- Concurrent sessions span media & community identity, lateral reading + AI for misinformation, civic virtues in the classroom, opera & public voice, rural storytelling, land use and civic participation, and more.
Sat, Sept 2 (9am - 1pm - L.A. Pittenger Student Center)
- Creative Cartography with Melissa Gentry
- Whitely-Opoly civic game lab
- Panel Discussion -
Featured scholarly talk: Luciano Cheles (Italy): “Civic Murals in America, 1910–1940: the Italian Connection” — a fresh look at how U.S. public murals drew on Renaissance models to advance democratic, didactic art in civic buildings (Capitols, courts, and New Deal programs). Strong fit for art history, public humanities, and policy courses.
Please Register Today