The annual Higher Education Forum took place in Aspen, CO on June 12-15, which convened leaders from the Academy’s Affiliate institutions and other key college and university stakeholders to discuss the role of higher education in protecting, supporting, and reimagining American democracy. As one of the featured speakers, Ben Vinson, Provost and Executive Vice President, Case Western Reserve University and co-chair of the Academy’s working group on Building Democratic Citizens in Higher Education, shared the Academy’s efforts in advancing democratic citizenship at colleges and universities across the country. Listen to Ben Vinson’s remarks here. 

David French argues that the Supreme Court's ruling in Allen v. Milligan, which struck down an Alabama redistricting map, was an acknowledgement that the nation has yet to fully address its legacy of racism. The first strategy of Our Common Purpose focuses on achieving equality of voice and representation and proposes measures aimed at limiting gerrymandering. Read the op-ed here. 

A citizen journalist in a small Alabama town took matters into their own hands to hold local government to account. Read the full story here. Strategy 5 of Our Common Purpose calls for supporting local and regional investigative journalism. 

As part of her new series, America at a Crossroads, Academy Member and member of the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship Judy Woodruff profiles people who are working to reverse America’s dramatic rise in partisan animosity. Learn more about the new series here. 

Service Year Alliance and AmeriCorps announced a multi-year partnership to identify and scale effective solutions to building bridges through service. Read about the new partnership here. Our Common Purpose calls for expanding civic bridging capacity and establishing a universal expectation of service. 

New Pluralists announced a $10 million grant to support local leaders, networks, and community groups who are addressing divisive forces in their neighborhoods. Read about the powerful work these local leaders are doing to advance pluralism in their communities. Strategy 4 of Our Common Purpose focuses on supporting civic leaders and building civic bridging capacity.  

For at least the next three years, Carnegie Corporation of New York, as part of its Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program, will commit $6 million annually to develop a body of research around the root causes of political polarization. Read more about the commitment here. 

The Center for Democracy Innovation released a Civic Engagement Scorecard, a new tool to help residents rate public meetings and local democracy overall. Learn more about the scorecard here. Strategy 3 of Our Common Purpose focuses on improving government responsiveness.  

The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative published a guide that equips mayors and city officials with strategies and tools to promote civic engagement. Read the guide here. 

The City of Cambridge is hiring a participatory budgeting specialist to assist in the planning and operations of the City’s Participatory Budgeting (PB) process. Strategy 3 of Our Common Purpose would expand the breadth of participatory opportunities at municipal and state levels for citizens to shape decision-making, budgeting, and other policy-making processes. Learn more about the job opportunity here.