AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas System Board of Regents announces a transformational $100 million investment in a permanent home for the School of Civic Leadership at The University of Texas at Austin.
The funds will pay for the renovation of UT’s Biological Laboratories building as the school’s future home, enabling its expansion and helping it become the national leader in civic education.
“The elected leaders of our state, as well as the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System, have long seen a need for programs in higher education that prepare future leaders to safeguard freedom,” said Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife. “We have needed a place where civic education is focused on the foundational principles of our constitutional democracy. The School of Civic Leadership at UT Austin is that place, and today we are giving it a permanent home.”
Regents created the school in 2023 to equip the next generation of leaders with the philosophical, economic and historical understanding needed to preserve constitutional democracy. The school is built on free speech and free inquiry, bringing together scholars from across disciplines and perspectives to encourage the exchange of different viewpoints and ideas.
“We are incredibly grateful for Chairman Eltife and the Board of Regents’ support along with our state leadership to advance our University and the important mission of the School of Civic Leadership,” said UT Interim President Jim Davis. “This investment will bring renewed purpose to one of our most historic campus buildings as home of the top civics program in the country. It will be exciting to see how our students and faculty use this building to impact our state, nation and the world.”
Faculty members from UT’s business, economics, government, law, philosophy and public affairs programs are affiliated with the school. It offers courses that explore foundational knowledge and core skills that connect to a variety of career paths including law, business and entrepreneurship, public service, national security, and health professions.
The school will welcome the first 100 freshmen to its new Civics Honors major this fall. It is on pace to meet its goal of hiring 20 dedicated tenured or tenure-track faculty members by Fall 2026.
“This is a bold investment that empowers the School of Civic Leadership to fulfill its mission to prepare leaders committed to the principles of freedom, self-government and civic responsibility,” said Justin Dyer, dean of the School of Civic Leadership. “We are profoundly grateful for the board’s commitment to our mission and its investment in the future of our country.”
Skills developed in the School of Civic Leadership are in demand in today’s workforce. Employers who recruit and hire UT students value the importance of civic knowledge, strong communication and analytical skills, intellectual breadth and the ability to consider a wide range of viewpoints.
The school, which has been housed temporarily in UT’s Littlefield House, is expected to move to its renovated home in 2028, once renovation of the 101-year-old Biological Laboratories building, known as “BIO,” is complete. Select programs in the College of Natural Sciences and the Jackson School of Geosciences, which are currently housed in BIO, will move to more modernized lab facilities elsewhere on campus.
