UToledo Institute Welcomes Civics Teachers Ahead of America’s 250th Anniversary

UToledo Institute Welcomes Civics Teachers Ahead of America's 250th Anniversary

The University of Toledo's Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership is encouraging civics teachers from across the region to dig into the country's founding principles ahead of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Institute faculty and visiting scholars are leading two simultaneous professional development programs for more than 40 middle and high school teachers this week at UToledo. The teachers will also attend a celebratory dinner and keynote address by Washington and Lee University's Dr. Lucas Morel, a professor of politics on the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, on Thursday.

The commission is tasked with planning and orchestrating events surrounding the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. Morel is one of two dozen individuals appointed to it by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Sixteen teachers representing numerous public and private schools in the region are participating in the second year of the Northwest Ohio Founding Civics Summer Institute, a weeklong program in collaboration with the Jack Miller Center. Meanwhile 28 teachers based in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York are participating in the Fundamental Principles Initiative, which launched in the spring semester as a three-year program supported by the U.S. Department of Education.

Both programs encourage participants to deepen their knowledge of the country's history and civic tradition and explore ways to translate their insights into lesson plans in line with a key goal of the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership.

"The Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership is committed to strengthening civics education across our region," said Dr. Jonathan Culp, director of the institute. "The Northwest Ohio Founding Civics Summer Institute and the Fundamental Principles Institute support this goal by enriching how teachers think about the establishment of our nation and the founding principles that continue to shape our world today, as well as to facilitate conversations about how they can share these ideas with the next generations."

UToledo established the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership as a space for diverse voices to discuss and debate key questions about society, history and politics under the direction of the Ohio Legislature in 2023.

In addition to professional development and public programming, the institute supports students with a variety of courses as well as study abroad, scholarship and research opportunities available through a collaboration with the University of Oxford.

Eleven students supported by the institute are preparing to travel to Oxford for a two-week constitutional studies symposium in late July.