Civics PlaybookJack Miller Center
- Mission: Invest in college professors as force multipliers for teaching America’s founding principles and history.
- Geographic Focus: National
- Audience: Academic scholars who focus on teaching the American political tradition to undergraduates, graduate students and K-12 civics and history teachers; thought leaders and philanthropists
- Budget: $9.9 million
- Focus Areas and Core Competencies:
- University talent pipeline for scholars of American history and politics
- Scholar-led training for K-12 civics and history teachers
- Collaboration and movement building
Scholars are Essential to Teaching America’s Founding Principles at all Levels of Education
Impact: Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is leveraging its network of 1,400 university professors to drive innovative reforms in higher education through the American Political Tradition Project, to transform professional training for K-12 civics and history teachers through the Founding Civics Initiative and grow the national movement for civic education.
A Conversation with Hans Zeiger, President of the Jack Miller Center, and Tom Kelly, Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer
Q: What is the mission of the Jack Miller Center? What problem(s) in civics education is your nonprofit working to solve?
The Jack Miller Center exists to supercharge the educational movement for America’s founding principles and history, starting in our universities. Two decades ago, entrepreneur Jack Miller and enterprising group of college professors of American political thought and history set out to address the generations-long neglect of the American political tradition in higher education.
The neglect of civics in higher education has consequences in our K-12 classrooms as well, since teacher training primarily takes place in universities. The recovery of civic knowledge and purpose must be the central cause of our generation and the primary rally point for America’s 250th birthday.
Q: Does your organization have any upcoming programs or events planned in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States?
We have several major programs and events planned in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
On May 18-19, we will host the National Summit on Civic Education at Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, centered on the “Words that Changed the World.” The summit will convene approximately 500 civics leaders, funders and educators to celebrate the Declaration of Independence while advancing concrete solutions to the nation’s civics crisis. Highlights include a naturalization ceremony for 13 new U.S. citizens, an all-star lineup of speakers and Shark Tank-style presentations of catalytic civics projects designed to generate lasting impact well beyond 2026.
Another major initiative is our America250 campus grants program, which supports campus centers in the Jack Miller Center network as they develop innovative America250 programming for undergraduates. Funded projects will include lectures, student reading groups, debates and other events centered on the Declaration of Independence.
We are also launching the Teaching America250 Awards, which will honor one teacher from each of the 50 states with a $5,000 award to develop and implement engaging educational projects focused on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Supported projects may include field trips to historic or cultural landmarks, guest lectures and student competitions that bring America’s founding principles to life.
Q: How do you describe the big goals the Jack Miller Center is working to achieve? How do you measure impact?
We are intensely focused on three objectives: creating a talent pipeline of scholars who teach the American political tradition, empowering those scholars to help prepare the nation’s K-12 civics and history teaching force and forging a coalition of civics-focused organizations and funders to galvanize an enduring movement for America’s founding principles and history.
Our first measure of success is the size of our scholarly network, which now includes approximately 1,400 scholars. A second benchmark is the number of schools of civic thought at public universities, currently represented by 17 centers and schools across 12 states. These institutions exist largely because of our strategic, long-term support for key scholars and leaders over the past two decades, including our backing of scholar-led campus centers dedicated to the study of the American founding.
Our final benchmark is our engagement in the K-12 space through the Founding Civics Initiative, where we are driving innovation in how future teachers receive their formative university training in civics and history, creating the potential for ripple effects throughout American education. In 2026, we are working with faculty at 25 universities on K-12 teacher preparation programs, with 11 universities participating in our consortium of graduate programs and courses for teacher education.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges the Jack Miller Center has experienced in working to accomplish its mission? How did your organization overcome those challenges?
Often when people hear the word “civics,” they picture kids in a middle-school classroom memorizing facts about how our government works. But as George Washington talked about in his first State of the Union address, we need a thinking citizenry that’s grounded in our Constitution, in the ideas of liberty and in an understanding of the dangers of tyranny. So the main problem we’re overcoming is the neglect of civics education broadly, but especially at the higher education level.
Q: What is the Jack Miller Center’s biggest need where philanthropy can help your organization achieve its goals?
In recent months, there has been a new openness to reform in higher education. Donors are making new decisions about whether and how to give to their alma maters. While those choices matter, we would challenge donors to also consider the talent-pipeline investments needed as the next generation of scholars and leaders rises within our institutions of higher education, especially in critical fields like American history and politics. That is the work of the Jack Miller Center.
Our theory of change begins there. If we are going to transform how the American political tradition is taught at every level, we must invest in rising college professors and program directors who will shape teaching and scholarship for decades to come. We are looking for investors to come alongside us in this work.
Q: Beyond the Jack Miller Center, where should philanthropists who care about advancing civic knowledge invest their charitable dollars?
We host the National Summit on Civic Education every year. We convene civics organizations and funders from across the nation to foster collaboration, generate new ideas and build a movement for stronger civic education grounded in our nation’s founding principles. The Summit is a great opportunity for donors to think strategically about their giving as they consider investments across the field.
Q: If you received an increase in funding, how would your organization expand its programming?
America250 offers a once in a generation opportunity to reach college students with substantive programming on the American founding and our political tradition. With additional funding, the Jack Miller Center could expand both the number and scale of activities offered by campus centers in our network, educating undergraduates nationwide about the Declaration of Independence and its enduring significance.
At the same time, we urgently need to scale our investments in early- and mid-career professors they are equipped to build new civics programs across higher education. New schools such as the Hamilton School at the University of Florida, the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin and the School of Civic Life and Leadership at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill present game-changing opportunities for our scholar network. But realizing their full potential requires sustained investments in the academic talent pipeline.
Additional funding would also enable us to fully leverage our network of professors to support civics and history teachers. Our goal is for every campus center in our network to offer annual teacher programming, and for every network professor with the interest and capacity to work regularly with K-12 educators. We are currently halfway toward fully engaging our scholar network in this critical effort to strengthen civics instruction nationwide.
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