In early February, the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina voted unanimously to develop a new school of civic life and leadership. Inspired by Arizona State University’s highly successful School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, the trustees sought their own great civics program and more protection for campus free expression.
Similar initiatives are under way elsewhere, but this initiative has received considerable attention because it drew a public rebuke from the president of the university’s accreditor. According to the Wall Street Journal, the president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) stated publicly that either “we’re gonna . . . get them to change it, or the institution will be on warning.” People who want great civics programs to succeed may wonder why such apparent intimidation tactics are being used against a new one. Some may also wonder whether such tactics are linked to a growing effort by accreditors to promote an alternative civics on college campuses — one centered on “equity-mindedness.”
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