Iowa State students will have more opportunities to develop their civics knowledge and skills as part of a new universitywide initiative led by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). President Wendy Wintersteen announced the program -- Cyclone Civics -- at the state Board of Regents meeting on Nov. 7.
Cyclone Civics addresses the regents' 2023 directive 9 for each university to establish a "widespread initiative that includes opportunities for education and research on free speech and civic education."
Benjamin Withers, LAS college dean, leads the Cyclone Civics initiative with assistance from the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. Catt Center director Karen Kedrowski is director of Cyclone Civics, and Kelly Shaw, teaching professor in political science, is associate director.
"The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences welcomes the opportunity to lead Cyclone Civics," Withers said. "With our diverse academic majors, interdisciplinary programs and innovative centers and institutes, the college is well prepared to equip faculty, students and staff with civics and free speech education, leadership and guidance."
Education on campus and beyond
Cyclone Civics has a three-pronged approach: education, research and outreach. The education component emphasizes curriculum instruction, forums, debates, lectures and other public events for students and the public. The research facet includes calls for proposals from faculty to support research on civic education, free speech and related areas. Keeping with its land-grant roots, the university will lean on expertise from ISU Extension and Outreach to spread civic education to all Iowans.
"The purpose of Cyclone Civics is to help faculty and staff across disciplines and across different functions be able to think about how they can incorporate civics into what they are teaching, whether it's in the classroom or outside the classroom," Kedrowski said.
Details evolving
While the broad brushstrokes of Cyclone Civics are evident, the details are still coming into focus. One of the first steps is to determine how well Iowa State students understand civics. The initiative's inaugural year will focus on assessing the civic literacy of university seniors through a survey that gauges awareness of the U.S. Constitution and other key civic knowledge areas.
"Current data indicates many college students, including those at Iowa State, lack a foundational understanding in these areas," Shaw said. "In the end, the initiative is designed to give students the skills and understanding needed to fill these critical gaps in knowledge."
Iowa State faculty and staff will be introduced to Cyclone Civics at a campuswide professional development conference on Feb. 19, 2025, aimed at integrating civics education across the Iowa State curriculum.
Also in the spring, the Cyclone Civics leadership team will begin to develop events and activities for the 2025-26 academic year focused on the 250th anniversary of American independence. These events will reflect upon the ideals of American democracy and delve into whether the United States is accomplishing those ideals or still working to fulfill them.
A civic culture
Through education, research and outreach, this program will weave civics into the fabric of the university, allowing students to discover and grow their own interests in civic engagement.
"We hope that we are creating a civic culture on campus, where across disciplines and across different parts of the university we are talking about civic responsibility and civic opportunities," Kedrowski said. "We want our students to understand that no matter what they are studying, they should be prepared to be active and engaged in the community in whatever way they choose."
Faculty and staff interested in collaborating on Cyclone Civics are welcome to join. Contact Kedrowski for more information.
