School of Civic Leadership - UT Austin

05/29/2026

The National Civics Bee is only ONE week away! This annual competition inspires young Americans in middle school (Grades 6-8) to engage in civics and contribute to their communities.

Join us on June 6, 2026 at 1:00PM CT at Crum Auditorium in Robert Rowling Hall.

Learn more about the National Civics Bee: https://utexas.pulse.ly/0onmibjjfw

05/28/2026

"Whether Keynes possessed sufficient intellectual and personal authority to shape how his ideas were interpreted and implemented after WWII must surely rank as one of the greatest counterfactuals in the history of twentieth century economic thought. What is clear, however, is that nearly a century after the publication of The General Theory, debates over Keynes’ legacy continue to influence modern economic debate. The conflict between mainstream and radical interpretations of his magnum opus reflects enduring disagreements about the nature of capitalism itself, particularly over whether market economies exhibit a strong tendency toward stability or remain inherently vulnerable to crisis, stagnation, and persistent unemployment."

Josh Banerjee, Assistant Professor of Intellectual History and Economics at SCL, reflects on the many different interpretations of Keynesian economics in a new Civitas Outlook, the online journal of the Civitas Institute

Read more here:

Nearly a century after the publication of 'The General Theory,' debates over Keynes’ legacy continue to influence modern economic debate.

05/28/2026

What a year for the School of Civic Leadership! 🤘🏻🤘🏽🤘🏾

From welcoming our freshman class last fall to finishing our first full academic year at UT Austin, SCL students built a community of learning, leadership, and meaningful discussions. Over the past two semesters, students participated in Freedom & Virtue Seminars, challenging academic programs, banquets, social events, and so much more!

SCL is a place where students are challenged to think deeply, create organizations, and engage as civic leaders, but it is also a community built through shared experiences and friendships formed along the way.
These photos capture just a few moments from our first year together.

It's great to be an SCL Longhorn! 🧡

05/27/2026

"I visited [UT Austin's] School of Civic Leadership. It offers courses like “Excellence of Character: The Virtues,” “Great Thinkers in Realism and Geopolitics,” and “Truth and Persuasion.” I met faculty who had left other universities from across the country to do the sort of teaching that had inspired them to go into the profession in the first place. I was impressed by how hard they were trying to prevent this program from becoming a conservative ghetto. The students I met were all over the political map. They said they got involved in the program because they wanted to find a space on campus where they can argue things out. Some of them came from Classical Christian schools where they’ve been debating Aristotle since they were 11, and others came from normal public high schools where they had never heard of Aristotle, but they were mixing it up together now. One freshman told me, “This week alone two separate professors accused me of being a Neoplatonist.” I don’t know exactly what they meant by that, but it sounds like he’s getting a good education."

"Something Big is Happening on Campus," writes David Brooks, in a major new The Atlantic Monthly essay. In it, he explores the revival of civic and humanistic education across the country and argues that students are hungry for serious engagement with the "Great Conversation--the debate, stretching back centuries" about meaning, citizenship, character formation, and living a good life.

Read the essay here:

There’s a lot going right at universities, if you’re only willing to see it.

05/27/2026

Join us for an upcoming SCL Summer Experience at UT's School of Civic Leadership!

What does it mean and what does it take to be free? What’s worth doing with my life? How do the principles of the American constitutional tradition enable us to think differently and live together? We invite you to ask great questions with our interdisciplinary faculty at an SCL Summer Experience.

The experience begins with a Freedom & Virtue Seminar. These seminars bring together bright, motivated high school students who have a passion for Western Civilization, the American Founding, and the common good. After the seminar, enjoy a complimentary lunch while you connect with SCL faculty. Then, tour one of the research gems on UT's campus.

To close out the day, join us for an SCL Information Session to learn about our academic programs and connect with fellow attendees.

RSVP Here:

These seminars bring together bright, motivated high school students with a passion for Western Civilization, the American Founding, and the common good. After the seminar, enjoy a complimentary lunch while you connect with SCL faculty. Then, tour one of the research gems on UT’s campus. To close ...

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we remember the fallen soldiers who gave their lives in service to the nation.

05/22/2026

Hear from our Cincinnatus Fellows as they reflect on their favorite moments from their trip to Washington, DC.

05/22/2026

"Literacy is going down. Fewer young people read books every year. And the story of the academic humanities is basically a story of declining enrollment and disappearing jobs. And now comes A.I., maybe as the final destroyer, burying Plato and Aristotle in a wave of slop. Or maybe — maybe — as a weird kind of savior, creating a world where suddenly having a broad understanding of history and human nature becomes important again.”

In our AI moment, the public conversation on purpose and utility of education reveals our need for sources of wisdom about what it means to be human.

A civic education as a central part of a liberal education prepares students for professional careers—and for their work as citizens and leaders in a free society. As the University of Texas motto puts it, “Education is the guardian genius of democracy."

Read — or listen to — the fascinating conversation in The New York Times between Ross Douthat and Jennifer Frey on the future of humanities, liberal education, and how, as Frey puts it: "the humanities, when done well — real, humane learning — is an investigation into what the goal of human society is."

Making the case for a “useless” education.