Why the School of Civic Leadership?

The School of Civic Leadership was founded in 2023 to create a new model of excellence in American higher education.

The School of Civic Leadership (SCL) brings together a unique faculty of leading educators, intellectuals, and practitioners devoted to exploring the great ideas of Western civilization, the enduring lessons of history, and the great cultural, moral, and political challenges of the modern age.

SCL is dedicated to the proposition that enlightened self-government depends on educated leaders. The American project is fragile. The effort to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness depends on citizens who can think and act for the common good. SCL equips students to steward our shared institutions and to meet the challenges of our era with practical wisdom. Students develop the ability to engage enduring texts of the ancient world, modernity, and the American story. These texts—and the wisdom they convey—become resources for students as they prepare to take responsibility for their lives and their communities.

SCL is also rooted in the proposition that education ought to prepare students for lives of virtue, purpose, and moral courage. SCL seeks to immerse students in the great inheritance of Western civilization—including the moral and religious vision of Jerusalem, the philosophical spirit of Athens, and the civic and judicial heritage of Rome.

Through this rigorous training of human beings and citizens, SCL prepares its graduates to act with shared purpose for the good of their communities. Our program offers unparalleled training for students to lead lives of significance and rise to successful callings and careers in education, government, business, the arts, medicine, culture, law, diplomacy, the military, and other fields.