All disciplines belong at campus civics conference

An inaugural professional development event for ISU employees, broadly on civics instruction, is taking shape for February, and organizers invite proposals from faculty and staff for either a 45-minute workshop or a 30-minute roundtable discussion. "Civics Across the Curriculum and Co-curriculum" will be held Wednesday, Feb. 19 (noon-4:30 p.m., Memorial Union).

The conference is part of a new multi-year effort, Cyclone Civics, which addresses the state Board of Regents' 2023 directive #9 that each university establish a "widespread initiative that includes opportunities for education and research on free speech and civic education." The board approved the directives following its six-month review of diversity, equity and inclusion programming and efforts at Iowa's three public universities.

Catt Center director and professor of political science Karen Kedrowski is director of Cyclone Civics, and teaching professor of political science Kelly Shaw is associate director.

"We'd like people to understand that civics and public policy skills can be taught and reinforced in a wide variety of disciplines. Understanding government, influencing government, touches all of us, irrespective of our background," Kedrowski said. "If you're in engineering, you might encounter it in building codes or zoning regulations. If you're in business, it could be taxation policy or fair labor standards."

Employee-facilitated sessions

Workshop or panel discussion proposals from faculty and staff should address the broad theme of "the university's role in civic literacy and skills development." Examples might include:

• Best practices for teaching civic skills in a classroom
• Teaching strategies and methods for integrating civic literacy across disciplines
• Curriculum development
• Strategies to embed civic responsibility in student organizations, volunteer programs and extracurricular activities
• Ideas for impactful service-learning experiences, community partnerships and other experiences outside the classroom
• Civic education practices that respect students' needs in a pluralist society

The last component of the conference, 30-minute roundtables, will be time reserved for participants to exchange ideas and strategize around a specific theme.

Shaw said one of the purposes of this first conference is to "take stock of where we're at." That includes gauging students' understanding of civics and seeing how comfortable faculty, instructors and non-teaching staff are with the topic. "When do we see enthusiasm? Where do we see hesitancy?" he said.

Guest-led sessions

After an opening keynote, the conference's first 45-minute breakout session will feature workshops led by professional facilitators. Kedrowski invited representatives of these groups to lead these sessions:

• Union of Concerned Scientists, an organization that advocates for using science to solve the world's challenges
• The Lyceum Movement, a Midwest organization that advocates for public conversations that lead to understanding and building community
• Unify America, which aims to "replace political fighting with collaborative problem-solving"

"These national partners demonstrate there are many organizations that focus on building civic skills and making civics relevant across disciplines," Kedrowski said. "They bring expertise, resources and a broader perspective to our campus conversation."

Submit your proposal

Session proposals in a PDF are due by Friday, Jan. 10, via email: cyclonecivics@iastate.edu. Presenters selected for the conference will be contacted by Jan. 20. A proposal should include:

• Session title
• Session description (300 words or less), including content, purpose and methods for audience engagement
• Key learning outcomes or skills
• Presenters: Name, title, affiliations and contact information for each presenter