Inaugural leader and new minor for School of Civic Life and Leadership

The College of Arts and Sciences’ School of Civic Life and Leadership, launched last fall with the appointment of nine faculty, has an inaugural director and dean in place and has created a new minor in civic life and leadership.

Jed Atkins began his new position in late March as director and dean. The school, which goes by the acronym SCiLL, is housed within the College and its classes are part of the general education curriculum.

“By having a very wide-based audience, you bring people together to investigate deeply human questions about liberty, justice and equality,” Atkins said. “And wrestling with these questions helps us transcend the very different places from which we start.”

Atkins comes to Carolina from Duke University, where he was the E. Blake Byrne Associate Professor of Classical Studies. He is a scholar of Greek and Roman political and moral philosophy, the history of political thought and contemporary debates on tolerance, civility and civil discourse. Before joining the Duke faculty in 2009, he earned his M. Phil. in political thought and intellectual history and Ph.D. in classics, both from the University of Cambridge.

At Duke, Atkins directed the Civil Discourse Project, which sponsors scholarly activities that promote engaged discourse to create intellectually diverse communities. He also oversaw the Transformative Ideas Program for sophomores, which includes an initiative on civic life and thought.

SCiLL is designed to foster a culture of reflection and intellectual curiosity that helps democracy thrive. The minor in civic life and leadership is set to launch in fall 2024. The minor was created to appeal to students of all majors, providing them with interdisciplinary training in the humanities and civic and scientific literacy.

The civic life and leadership minor will consist of three core courses and two electives. The core courses will teach the foundations and practice of civic life and leadership, and a culminating capstone will involve a service-learning or original project that will allow students to put the interdisciplinary skills they have developed into practice.

The two required elective courses can be chosen from more than 30 offerings grouped into three categories: scientific evidence and engagement, intellectual history and humanities, and civics and political institutions. The two electives must come from different categories.

One new elective created especially for the minor is “Science and Society.” This course explores the role of the sciences in the polity in general and in American democracy specifically.

“One of the strengths of this minor is that it draws from a multitude of disciplines across campus, exposing students to a range of courses that will help them to understand the historical roots and future repercussions of contemporary debates,” said Matthew Kotzen, a faculty member in the school and chair of the philosophy department.

In all, nine academic departments spanning the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences will offer courses that meet the elective requirements.

“We are predicting strong student interest in the civic life and leadership minor. It speaks to the polarization of our times,” said Jim White, Craver Family Dean of the College. “A strong democracy depends on engaged citizens who are committed to open inquiry and working with others to embrace challenging topics. This new minor will equip them with these skills.”

Learn more at civiclife.unc.edu.