UNC School of Civic Life and Leadership to become independent academic unit

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced Wednesday that Carolina's School of Civic Life and Leadership will become the University's 15th independent academic unit in August.

"Creating a dedicated academic home for SCiLL strengthens our ability to integrate civic learning into the broader educational experience," said Magnus Egerstedt, executive vice chancellor and provost. "It enables innovation in teaching and research while reinforcing our mission to prepare students to contribute constructively to society."

Originally established within the College of Arts and Sciences, SCiLL has recruited more than 20 faculty members and expanded its academic offerings and campus programming over the past two years. The school's growth reflects increasing student demand for civic education rooted in free inquiry and civil discourse.

Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said the transition to independent school status will support the school's continued development and broaden its reach across the University.

"This is an important step in strengthening Carolina's commitment to preparing students for thoughtful engagement in civic life," Roberts said. "By establishing SCiLL as an independent unit, we are ensuring it has the focus and support needed to continue expanding its impact."

This year, nearly 1,000 students enrolled in SCiLL courses, while the number of students declaring a SCiLL minor increased by more than 90% in a single semester. SCiLL has also expanded programming beyond campus, including a civil discourse residential community, a summer civics institute for high school educators and students, and a growing public fellows program. One of its signature courses is now taught at 35 institutions nationwide.

"I've had the unique privilege of seeing programs within SCiLL that emphasize intellectual rigor and respectful dialogue," said Student Body President Devin Duncan.

SCiLL student Nadège Sirot said inaugural SCiLL Dean Jed Atkins has helped foster an environment that encourages students to engage in discussion and debate across differing viewpoints.

"He has cultivated an environment where students are encouraged to grow intellectually, engage in meaningful disagreement and critically examine their beliefs," Sirot said.

Former University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles '68 said the school's mission aligns closely with the University's broader civic responsibilities.

"I've spent much of my life working with people I disagree with to get things done, and I know how important that skill is," Bowles said. "The UNC School of Civic Life and Leadership has the opportunity to help prepare students to think critically, exercise judgment and work across differences in service to their communities, the state and the nation."

The school has also drawn attention from scholars and higher education leaders focused on civic education and democratic citizenship.

Ruth Wisse of Harvard University said SCiLL offers hopeful news in the current state of higher education and that the school "has proven its intellectual independence and its impressive faculty, under the leadership of Jed Atkins, will help to educate a strong new generation of citizens and young scholars."

SCiLL was launched within the College of Arts and Sciences to benefit from existing administrative structures.

"The College was tasked with launching SCiLL in 2023, and we did so quickly," College of Arts and Sciences Dean Jim White said. "This transition reflects its growth into an independent unit, and the Dean's Office will work over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition."

SCiLL Dean Jed Atkins said the move will allow the school to expand partnerships and opportunities for students across the University.

"SCiLL has built a strong foundation in faculty, courses, programs and partnerships," Atkins said. "Independence allows us to broaden our impact and equip more students with the habits of civil discourse, sound judgment and civic leadership."

Additional Quotes:

Peter Nielsen, UNC-Chapel Hill student, SCiLL minor and Libertas Scholar

"I've loved every single class I've taken with the department and their amazing faculty. Nowhere else on campus have I found such breadth, depth, and approachable faculty. As a neuroscience major on the premed track, I don't often get those one-on-one experiences with faculty. At SCiLL I've gone to coffee with and had lengthy office hour discussions with multiple professors. I've taken classes I could never dream of, had amazing conversations, engaged with incredible speakers, and even gone on trips through the scholarship program. When I look back on my college experience, I have the feeling SCiLL will be the crown jewel of it."

Florence Dore, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, UNC-Chapel Hill

"One of the things I find most refreshing about SCiLL is that discussions there are rooted in ideas rather than ideology. I participated in a faculty search at SCiLL, and although discussions often involved questions with political ramifications, no one treated them as partisan positions to defend. Instead, the focus stayed firmly on ideas; successful arguments stood or fell on evidence and reasoning, not grandstanding. What emerged was an inclusive process of genuine discovery. I watched SCiLL faculty rigorously challenge candidates' ideas and then continue those conversations over meals, with no loss of rigor - indeed, the spirit of engagement was as alive at dinner as it had been during the lecture. At the same time, I felt real warmth and conviviality around the table. I left the dinners energized by the experience. It is truly encouraging to see an institutional culture take shape in which intellectual rigor and civility not only coexist but reinforce one another. I am lucky to be a part of it."

Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University

"James Madison observed that 'only a well-instructed people can be permanently a free people.' If that's true - and it is - there is cause for alarm. Schools, colleges and universities have failed to transmit to young people the knowledge of American ideals and institutions they need to be responsible and effective citizens. Boldly into the breach, however, has stepped UNC's School of Civic Life and Leadership, offering to students civic education of the highest quality and equipping them to be stewards of the great experiment in self-government bequeathed to us by our nation's founders."

Rob Iliffe, Professor and Chair in the History of Science, University of Oxford

"Universities are better placed than any other institution to exemplify free enquiry, with the primary goals those of rigorous scholarship conducted in the pursuit of truth. More than any other field of research, the humanities disciplines offer the best model for promoting the core values essential for continuing the vitality and purpose of higher education. In an era presented with extraordinary new opportunities for campus life, but also one that contains serious threats to its existence, the stated mission of the School of Civic Life and Leadership represents the best qualities of higher education generally, and of the humanities specifically."

Devin Duncan, Student Body President

"Carolina should always be a place where students are encouraged to engage ideas thoughtfully, wrestle with complexity, and learn from people with different perspectives. I've had the unique privilege of seeing programs within SCiLL that emphasize intellectual rigor and respectful dialogue. It is those experiences that strengthen not only individual students, but our broader university community, shaping how we lead, listen, and engage with one another every day."

Ruth Wisse, Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Comparative Literature Emerita at Harvard University

"Given the current state of higher education, there's no more hopeful news than the elevation of the School of Civic Life and Leadership as the newest school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. SCiLL has proven its intellectual independence and its impressive faculty, under the leadership of Jed Atkins, will help to educate a strong new generation of citizens and young scholars."

Mark Harrison, Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Oxford

"In a political world shaped more by algorithms than earnest debate, it's more important than ever to talk to those with whom we disagree and to acknowledge their humanity. SCiLL has bravely taken on this challenge and seeks deeply and openly to examine some of the most controversial issues of our times, many of which revolve around our health and the precarity of our existence. This is an initiative which deserves our encouragement and wholehearted support."