This month, the Academy released Preparing Students for Civic Life: A Guide for Higher Education Leaders, a new publication designed to help colleges and universities address a defining academic and societal challenge: preparing young people today with the knowledge, skills, and habits to sustain a healthy constitutional democracy.

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** Preparing Students for Civic Life: A Guide for Higher Education Leaders
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This month, the Academy released Preparing Students for Civic Life: A Guide for Higher Education Leaders ([link removed]) , a new publication designed to help colleges and universities address a defining academic and societal challenge: preparing young people today with the knowledge, skills, and habits to sustain a healthy constitutional democracy.

The publication, developed by a working group of university presidents, faculty, and civic experts, led by David E. Campbell (University of Notre Dame) and Ben Vinson III (Case Western Reserve University; Harvard University; National Humanities Center), outlines eight institution-wide strategies to embed democratic learning across curricula, culture, and community.

“In an age when democracy can feel abstract or inaccessible, higher education has a profound opportunity to make it real,” said Academy President Laurie L. Patton. “This guide helps institutions do just that: by preparing students to listen, deliberate, work across differences, and lead in their communities. These are not soft skills; they are durable skills that are essential to democratic life and the workforce students enter.”

Read the report and order print copies here ([link removed]) .


** Stories from the Field
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** Reflections on Unrest in Minneapolis.
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Two U.S. citizens were killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis this month, prompting a national reckoning. OCP cochairs Danielle Allen and Eric Liu offered reflections on these developments:
* Danielle Allen ([link removed]) : “We need to heal the barrier of constitutionalism and the rule of law that both protects us in our private, personal rights and also ensures that government of the people is both by and for the people. Or to put it another way: treatment of the people by federal agents should be carried out to standards established by the people through our Constitution.”
* Eric Liu ([link removed]) : “Whether in local or national politics, the struggle against anyone who is concentrating and abusing power requires getting a critical mass of bystanders to agree that the breach is a breach and to shift from that’s not my problem to I can be part of the solution. That requires an invitation to awaken the conscience.”


** New Report: Democracy Trends in 2025.
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Democracy Notes released Democracy Notes 2025 Trends ([link removed]) , a new report that reveals 10 trends that were prevalent in the democracy reform space in 2025.


** Poll: Americans Favor Curbs on Campaign Spending.
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A new Ipsos survey conducted for OCP Champion American Promise shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans are concerned about money in politics, reject the idea that political spending should be treated as free speech, and support restoring the ability of Congress and states to set reasonable limits. Learn more about the poll and its key findings here ([link removed]) .


** More in Common Report: Beyond MAGA - A Profile of the Trump Coalition.
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A new report ([link removed]) released by More in Common provides an in-depth analysis of the 77 million Americans who voted for President Trump in November 2024. The report, which draws on surveys, interviews and group conversations conducted with over 10,000 Trump voters, describes four distinct types of Trump voters: MAGA Hardliners, Anti-Woke Conservatives, Mainline Republicans, and the Reluctant Right.


** Wallace B. Jefferson Elected President of the American Law Institute.
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Wallace B. Jefferson (Alexander Dubose Jefferson; former Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court; Member of the Academy’s Our Common Purpose Commission) was elected the next President of the American Law Institute (ALI) ([link removed]) , the nation’s leading nonprofit organization producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law.


** Bridge Alliance and Civics Unplugged Launch Council for Young Democracy Leaders.
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Bridge Alliance and Civics Unplugged announced the launch of the Democracy Architects Council ([link removed]) , a one-year program that will bring together leaders ages 18 to 28 to articulate a vision for American democracy in 2035 and beyond.


** Protecting Voting Rights with Proportional Representation.
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Lakeisha Steele (FairVote), G. Michael Parsons (NYU School of Law) and Rachel Hutchinson (FairVote) describe how proportional representation ([link removed]) would provide durable representation to communities of color and what it would look like if PR were adopted nationwide. An Academy publication released last year, Expanding Representation: Reinventing Congress for the 21st Century ([link removed]) , makes the case for proportional representation.


** Documentary Underscores Challenges for Election Administrators.
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The Officials ([link removed]) , a 26-minute documentary produced by Margo Guernsey, followed election administrators in rural and urban areas of OH, FL, WI and MI as they fought to hold the line against organized efforts to undermine their preparation for the 2024 election.


** Kevin Johnson: Loving Democracy Means Wanting its Rules to Change.
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Kevin Johnson (Election Reformers Network) writes that what American democracy needs most are reforms ([link removed]) that reduce the power of political insiders and enable citizens to reassert their right to self-government.


** America at 250
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** Opportunity for Student Journalists to Report on the 250th.
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The Academy invites student journalists to submit community or feature journalism projects that report on local celebrations of the 250th or explore community members’ ideas about key topics from the Declaration of Independence. A selection of these projects will be highlighted on the Academy’s website, and a panel of expert journalists, historians, and civic engagement practitioners will select students to join a civic journalism convening in Cambridge, Mass, in the fall of 2026. Learn more about this opportunity and view a sample assignment module for journalism professors here ([link removed]) . The deadline for submissions is May 15.


** NEA Awards $16M in Grants to Support A250 Celebrations.
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The National Endowment for the Arts ([link removed]) (NEA) announced more than $16 million in grants to nonprofit arts organizations across the country to support projects that engage communities through the arts while celebrating the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary.


** NYT Guide to 250th Festivities.
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The New York Times has begun compiling a calendar of events ([link removed]) commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary, which will continue to be updated throughout the year.


** In the News
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** House FY26 Appropriations Bill Includes $45M for Election Administration.
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The House of Representatives passed a FY2026 appropriations bill ([link removed]) that includes $45 million to support election administration, a $30M increase from FY25.


** Reviewing OCP Progress at the State Level in 2025
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Last year saw both continued progress and new challenges in the effort to adopt OCP’s recommendations at the state level. While some states advanced measures to expand ranked choice voting at the local level or restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated people, others moved to limit ranked choice voting or override independent redistricting commissions in favor of partisan gerrymandering. These events underscore the contested nature of democracy reform in a polarized political environment. You can read a summary of state policy news related to OCP recommendations here ([link removed]) .


** Get Involved
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** Attend the Edward M. Kennedy Institute's Open House.
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Visit the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for a free open house to explore EMK’s exhibits, family-friendly activities, and programming in the Senate Chamber. Learn more and register here ([link removed]) .

DATE: February 17, 2026 | 10AM-4PM ET | Register Here ([link removed])

** Read the Report
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Learn more about the Academy's current efforts to advance reforms to reinvent American democracy and read the Our Common Purpose report here ([link removed]) .
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