Three Programs Join ACTA’s Oases of Excellence Network

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is delighted to welcome the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas (UT)–Austin, the Institute of World Politics (IWP), and the Stanford Civics Initiative into its Oases of Excellence network.     

Oases of Excellence are outstanding programs at colleges and universities across the country that are dedicated to educating students for informed citizenship in a free society by maintaining the highest academic standards, introducing students to the best of the foundational arts and sciences, teaching American heritage, and ensuring free inquiry into a range of intellectual viewpoints. ACTA’s Oases of Excellence network includes over 90 programs at a wide range of institutions. The network is a forum for sharing ideas and best practices for running an independent liberal arts program and serves as a valuable resource for donors who are committed to supporting academic excellence.    

The School of Civic Leadership offers a major in civics honors as well as minors in civics and philosophy, politics, and economics. Its Civitas Institute hosts lectures, debates, and other events and supports research on constitutionalism, economics, and politics. Undergraduate students can participate in the Summer Honors Symposium, the Society of Fellows, and an Affiliate Fellows Program. The School of Civic Leadership also offers courses for high school students and teachers.

The Institute of World Politics is an accredited, independent graduate school in Washington, DC, focused on cultivating ethics in national security, intelligence, and international affairs. It offers postgraduate education with a foundational curriculum in national security, intelligence, statecraft, history, American political philosophy, and economics. IWP has a robust internship program and seminars for undergraduate students. The institute aims to “to create moral leaders with a dedication to the pursuit of truth, the ethical use of national power, and the development of personal and civic virtue.”  

The Stanford Civics Initiative (SCI) is dedicated to offering students “an education that will promote their flourishing as human beings, their judgment as moral agents, and their participation in society as democratic citizens.” SCI provides an interdisciplinary set of courses focused on the ideas and practices of democratic citizenship at home and abroad, economic thought, political theory, and democracy and disagreement. SCI also co-sponsors workshops for students and faculty who study political theory.

Justin Dyer, dean of the School of Civic Leadership, remarked, “The American Council of Trustees and Alumni is an important partner in advancing excellence in higher education, and we are honored to have UT Austin’s School of Civic Leadership included among its Oases of Excellence network.” Ambassador Aldona Z. Woś, president of IWP, shared, “It is an honor for IWP to be included in ACTA’s Oases of Excellence initiative and to join this distinguished network of schools committed to academic rigor and freedom. We deeply appreciate ACTA’s devotion to cultivating informed citizenship, something that has been a part of IWP’s mission from the beginning.”

ACTA is proud to recognize these programs and the faculty who lead them. Their work is restoring the legacy of higher education, one student at a time. ACTA President Michael Poliakoff commented, “A strong liberal arts education has become all too rare at a time when students need it the most. These centers’ efforts to prepare students for an informed and engaged life of the mind are vital for the strength of our civil society and the health of our nation.”   
    
A complete list of ACTA’s Oases of Excellence can be found here.