The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosted "What's New in Civics for 2026? " with Jenna Silber Storey, William Howell, and Roosevelt Montas on September 10, 2026, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. PT.
To inaugurate the second season of Civics in the Academy, we explore some of the new civics-related programs emerging across American institutions of higher education. ACA Executive Committee member Jenna Storey talks with Roosevelt Montas (Chang Chavkin Center on Liberal Education and Civic Life, Bard College) and William Howell (School of Government and Policy, Johns Hopkins University) about their respective endeavors and assesses with them the broader movement to strengthen civic education in higher education.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Jenna Silber Storey is a Senior Fellow in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies Division of the American Enterprise Institute and a co-chair of the Civic Thought Project, a joint endeavor of scholars from AEI and Johns Hopkins University. She was previously Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. Her writing has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, National Affairs, First Things, and Humanities. She is the co-author, with Ben Storey, of Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment (Princeton University Press, 2021), and is currently working on a book titled The Art of Choosing: How Liberal Education Should Prepare You for Life.
William Howell is inaugural Dean of the School of Government and Policy at Johns Hopkins University, where he also holds an appointment in the Department of Political Science. William has written widely on separation-of-powers issues and American political institutions, especially the presidency. He currently is working on research projects on separation of powers issues, the institutional foundations of effective government, and emergent threats to democracy.
Roosevelt Montás is the John and Margaret Bard Professor in Liberal Education and Civic Life at Bard College. He holds an A.B. (1995), an M.A. (1996), and a Ph.D. (2004) in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University. He was Director of the Center for the Core Curriculum at Columbia College from 2008 to 2018.
