Leading Lives of Purpose
In August 2025, more than 100 freshmen stepped foot onto the Forty Acres as the first cohort of a new school aiming to build the nation’s best civics program — the School of Civic Leadership.
The School of Civic Leadership (SCL) at The University of Texas at Austin is home to a community of scholars and students who draw on ancient questions — What is justice? What is liberty? What is true? — to prepare for lives of significance and for successful careers. Supported by a $100 million investment announced in 2025 by the UT System Board of Regents, the University is renovating the Biological Laboratories Building to provide a permanent home for the school that will open in 2028.
“We are building something significant at UT that will introduce students to the founding principles and great debates of the American political tradition, and prepare them for civic leadership in the 21st century,” said inaugural SCL dean Justin Dyer, who holds the Rex W. Tillerson Endowed Dean’s Chair. “Philanthropic support is a critical component helping us continue to build on this momentum. Together, we can shape a generation of civic leaders prepared to strengthen our communities, our state, and our nation.”
The school’s offerings are expanding quickly. New majors in Great Books and Strategy and Statecraft will be available to undergraduates in 2027 — adding to the Philosophy, Politics and Economics minor launched in 2024 and the Civics Honors major in 2025. By studying the greatest achievements and enduring challenges of the American tradition, students will graduate from the new school ready to lead the way in preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and for others.
Faculty Spotlight
Here, we talk with three professors to find out what drives their pedagogical and research approaches.
Alex Duff, Associate Professor
Research Focus: History of political philosophy and political thought
“I want students to see that their greatest fulfillments will come from a mission informed by self-exploration and seeking self-knowledge, where humility chastens and intellectual daring leavens their curiosity. This exploration leads to illumination and a love of justice. When this happens, their explorations of the enduring interplay of virtue and freedom in the human soul can blossom as mature civic judgment.”
CAROLA BINDER, Associate Professor
Research Focus: Monetary policy, inflation expectations and economic history
“I bring a macroeconomic perspective to the School of Civic Leadership. The Federal Reserve is one of the country’s most powerful institutions, and its policies have large implications for stability and prosperity. The Fed is ‘politically independent’ — its policymakers are not elected and are largely insulated from the political process. I think it is important for future civic leaders to understand how the Fed fits into the American system and how to hold it accountable to its Congressional mandate.”
Research Focus: Labor economics, economics of public education and public economics
“The hardest part of translating research into policy is that research often takes years to get right, while policymakers need quick, actionable insights. In my experience, the key is to create short summaries or policy briefs that distill complex findings into something digestible to policymakers and members of their staff. These shouldn’t oversimplify complex issues, but they should include clear policy recommendations that are grounded in research, as well as the expected effect of those recommendations. Clear, concise write-ups can make a huge difference in communicating research to decision-makers.”
Supporters of Civic Leadership
A group of outstanding civic leaders and generous donors have helped to provide the resources for SCL to hire its inaugural class of 20 faculty members.
“Young Americans are inheriting a world that is more complex, more divided, and more demanding of character and integrity than the world I stepped into as a young roughneck in West Texas. They need a serious grounding in our history, our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and free‑enterprise economics. But they also need formation in humility, courage, integrity, and a commitment to caring for and serving others. That’s why I believe it is important for students to be trained in civic leadership.”
The Honorable Don Evans, BS ’69, MBA ’73, Life Member Former Secretary of Commerce
“I hope students at the School of Civic Leadership gain a deep understanding of ethics and decision-making, especially within bureaucracies. Smart people are adept at rationalizing, so leaders must learn to recognize when clever arguments stray from ethical principles. By studying historical examples—both successes and failures—they can build the moral resilience to stand firm, even under pressure. Ultimately, I want them to leave prepared to be principled leaders and great citizens.”
James Truchard, BS’64, MA ’67, PhD ’74, Life Member Co-Founder of National Instruments
“The basis of a civics education is learning the foundations of something and then learning how to work through those foundations to navigate them in the real world. It struck my wife and me that we could make an impact on young people’s lives and help them contribute not only to their own betterment, but to the growth and development of our country. Young people must be able to have cogent discussions without emotion that lead to solutions for problems that, in some cases, are existential and in other cases just need to be resolved.”
Bill Johnson, MBA ’74 Former Chairman, President and CEO, H.J. Heinz Company
“I believe it is critical to understand the definition of civics in our society and our current educational system. Civics should be a profound understanding of the freedoms we uniquely enjoy as American citizens and the underlying responsibilities they imply that should be extended to both friends and neighbors. My conviction is that the UT School of Civic Leadership will inspire its students to not only a profound understanding of those freedoms, but also the courage to live lives of purpose and conviction in the light of that understanding.”
J.P. Bryan, LLB ’65, BA ’80, Life Member Chairman, Torch Energy Advisors Inc.
“The Still Water Foundation is very pleased to support the School of Civic Leadership because we care deeply about the next generation of engaged, equipped, and committed citizens. By understanding our shared civic institutions and exercising civil discourse across the curriculum, students at the school are poised not only to build their communities, but also to thoughtfully guide them into the future. We are honored to invest alongside The University of Texas at Austin in tomorrow’s exceptional leaders.”
Ellen Ray CEO of the Still Water Foundation
Endowments Supporting Civic Leadership
- J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan Endowed Professorship
- Don L. Evans Family Endowed Distinguished Professorship
- Larry R. Faulkner Endowed Distinguished University Professorship (created with a gift from The Still Water Foundation)
- Joe and Faith Gutierrez Distinguished Professorship
- Susan and William R. Johnson Chair for the School of Civic Leadership
- Susan and William R. Johnson Distinguished Professorship for American Freedom
- Susan and William R. Johnson Distinguished Professorship for Economic Liberty
- Rex W. Tillerson Endowed
Dean’s Chair - James and Marcia Truchard Chair
- Ronald and Tara Krolick Professorship
- Ellen and John Bender Endowed Excellence Fund
- Bitsy and Harold Carter Endowment
- Stephanie and Jonathan Carson Endowment
- Blake Johnson Endowment
- Chris Madrid Memorial Scholarship (created with a gift from Carolyn Madrid)
- Kimberly and Scott Martin Disputed Question Program Endowment
- David and Shelby Marquardt Endowed Scholarship
- Arnold S. Chaplick Professorship in Israel and Diaspora Studies (created with a gift from The Pearlman Family Foundation)
- Joel and Linda Robuck Endowed Scholarship
Texas Leader Magazine
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