Wright State receives $3 million grant to strengthen civic literacy and engagement across Southwest Ohio

From left, Wright State’s Center for Civics, Culture and Workforce Development staff members Adam Reiman, deputy director; Jason Anderson, executive director; Diane Vitas; and Mike Jacobs, deputy director. (Photo by Erin Pence)

Thousands of teachers and students will benefit from a new Wright State University initiative supported by a $3 million U.S. Department of Education grant to expand civic literacy, leadership and participation.

The project — Civic Foundations: Equipping K–12 for America’s Next 250 Years — will empower educators and students to better understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens and to apply those lessons in their classrooms, communities and daily lives.

Serving a 16-county region in Southwest Ohio, the project will build a sustainable regional network of civic educators and leaders while ensuring equitable access for rural, underserved and diverse communities through hybrid and accessible programming.

“As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, civics education must be prioritized to ensure the republic’s future,” said Jason Anderson, Ph.D., executive director of Wright State’s Center for Civics, Culture and Workforce Development, which is overseeing the project. “Each teacher trained will impact hundreds of students across their career. Each student inspired may become a civic leader or community catalyst.”

Lessons will connect history to current-day events, helping educators and students see the connection between the United States’ founding principles and documents, modern Supreme Court rulings, laws and everyday rights.

Participants will learn about understanding their rights and responsibilities as citizens and how those rights are rooted in the traditions and customs that shaped the nation’s constitutional order.

“Civic education is crucial for fostering informed citizens who actively participate in our system of shared governance and community life,” said Mike Jacobs, Ph.D., deputy director of the Center for Civics, Culture and Workforce Development. “This grant enables us to invest in our local teachers and students to make this happen.”

The three-year program includes:

• 48 in-person civics seminars for up to 8,640 K–12 educators and affiliates
• Credentialing of 1,080 teacher-leaders in civics education
• Immersive summer camps for 1,800 students focused on civic knowledge, leadership and civil discourse
• An interactive Civic Quest online platform projected to serve 920 educators and 500 students annually
• Mentorships, leadership development and certification of 30 Train-the-Trainer fellows
• 12 full-tuition scholarships for exceptional student civic ambassadors

The program will be open to public and private school teachers as well as homeschool educators.

The civics center plans to recruit a diverse group of experts — including political historians and theorists, constitutional law scholars, retired judges and law enforcement professionals — who can help translate civic principles into real-world application.

Training and programming are expected to begin in summer 2026, with many in-person activities held on Wright State’s Dayton Campus.

As the only civic center in Ohio founded voluntarily by a university, Wright State’s Center for Civics, Culture and Workforce Development brings a mission-driven, innovative approach to this project.

“With a governance of ‘we the people,’ rights are only protected so long as we understand them,” Anderson said. “By building knowledge, engagement and infrastructure, this project lays the foundation for a citizenry capable of sustaining democracy over the next 250 years.”