UNC-Chapel Hill School of Civic Life and Leadership adds faculty to enhance student experience and campus initiatives

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Aug. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's new School of Civic Life and Leadership will welcome 11 new faculty to the Carolina community this upcoming academic year.

With Jed Atkins, a nationally recognized leader in civic education at the helm, the school aims to lead the nation in providing a student experience that fosters intellectual curiosity and reflection on civic life in our present polarized political climate. 

"UNC-Chapel Hill is ideally positioned to provide a civic education that equips students to flourish in a pluralistic democracy," said Atkins. "Our faculty are committed to cultivating a free-speech culture inside and outside the classroom. Our curriculum will provide a rigorous, holistic education that encourages the human search for meaning and helps students develop the capacities for civil discourse and wise decision-making."

The nationally recognized faculty will help students consider the constant questions of human and civic flourishing and cultivate respectful dialogue and informed decision-making skills. They will also encourage exploring civic engagement and public discourse beyond the classroom. This group of new Carolina faculty represents a diverse range of disciplines and specializations; however, it is particularly strong in political theory.

"I am extremely excited about the high caliber of faculty who are coming to join the School of Civic Life and Leadership. Attracting a team like this so quickly and outside the normal hiring cycle affirms both the vision for this school and its leadership," said Carolina Provost Chris Clemens. "These new faculty are impressive teachers and scholars who will inspire our students in the classroom and enrich our community of scholars."

The new faculty includes:

Danielle Charette is an assistant professor who studies the history of political economy, slavery, and economic thought. She focuses her research on political theory and the emergence of political economy during the Scottish Enlightenment, especially in the work of David Hume. At the University of Virginia, she served as associate director of the Program on Constitutionalism and Democracy. Charette earned a doctorate from the University of Chicago.

Flynn Cratty is a professor of the practice and historian of early modern Europe, including French and British history. His interests include the development of secularism; academic freedom of expression; religion; cultural history; intellectual history; the Reformation; and the Enlightenment. He was the founding executive director of Harvard University's Council on Academic Freedom and served as associate director of the Human Flourishing Project. Cratty received a doctorate from Yale University.

David Decosimo is an associate professor specializing in ethics, religion and politics. His research explores Christian and Islamic political thought and ethics, especially on liberty; religion and politics; and academic freedom. At Boston University, he directed the Institute for Philosophy and Religion and was chair of the university's Academic Freedom Committee. He is the author of "Ethics as a Work of Charity: Thomas Aquinas and Pagan Virtues." Decosimo earned a doctorate from Princeton University.

Connor Grubaugh is an intellectual historian and political theorist whose research centers on hope in the history of liberal political thought from Locke to Rawls. He will begin his appointment as an assistant professor in SCiLL on July 1, 2025, after a 1-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Kenan Institute of Ethics at Duke University. He obtained a doctorate from Oxford University.

Melody Grubaugh is an adjunct assistant professor and a political scientist whose work focuses on constitutional studies, political theory and politics and literature. In addition to her teaching experience, she previously served as a senior reader at the Canterbury Institute in Oxford. She earned a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.

Michael Hawley is an assistant professor who is an expert in Catholic and Islamic political thought; political rhetoric; and contemporary just war theory. During his time at the University of Houston, his research examined classical and modern republicanism and liberalism. He is the author of "Natural Law Republicanism: Cicero's Liberal Legacy." Hawley earned a doctorate from Duke University.

Rita Koganzon is an associate professor who works in the history of political thought. Her research focuses on civic and childhood education and the family's role in historical and contemporary political thought. At the University of Houston, she was associate director of the Tocqueville Forum on American Ideas and Institutions. She is the author of "Liberal States, Authoritarian Families: Childhood and Education in Early Modern Thought." Koganzon obtained a doctorate from Harvard University.

Jose Maria Andres Porras is an assistant professor with extensive knowledge of the intellectual, cultural and social history of Western Europe in the late Middle Ages. At the University of Oxford, he focused his research efforts on how natural philosophy, medicine, theology and political thought shaped conceptions of human personhood and society. Porras received a doctorate from Oxford University.

John Rose is a professor of practice who is a nationally known expert on teaching civil discourse. He will also direct the Morehead-Cain Scholarship Foundation's Dialogue and Discourse Program. At Duke University, he served as the associate director of The Civil Discourse Project. His course "How to Think in An Age of Political Polarization" has helped hundreds of students learn to disagree better and has inspired similar courses at 70 colleges and universities across the country. His public-facing publications include "How I Liberated My College Classroom." Rose received a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Dustin Sebell is a professor and a leading expert on classical political philosophy. His recent work focuses on religion and science in modern political philosophy.  At Michigan State University, he served as director of the LeFrak Forum on Science, Reason, and Modern Democracy. His most recent book is "Xenophon's Socratic Education: Reason, Religion, and the Limits of Politics." He obtained a doctorate from Boston College.

Lauren Brown Sebell is an adjunct assistant professor and a political scientist whose interests include ancient and modern political philosophy; French political thought; and constitutional law and jurisprudence. Her previous role was at Michigan State University. She earned a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.

These faculty will be joined by two new adjunct associate professors who hold primary appointments in other academic units at Carolina including: Li-ling Hsiao, associate professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and Michael Morgan, associate professor of History. Hsiao is a leading scholar of Chinese literature, music and art. Morgan is an expert in the Cold War, international history and grand strategy.

Inger Brodey, professor of English and comparative literature will serve as associate dean for Faculty Development and Curriculum, and Decosimo will serve as associate dean for Research and Strategy. Each brings a wealth of administrative experience to back their robust commitments to cultivating the culture or free inquiry needed to provide a first-rate civic education to Carolina students.

A new SCiLL Visiting Scholars Series will bring leading scholars and practitioners of civic life, thought and leadership to campus for multi-day visits. The first confirmed visiting scholar is Angel Adams Parham, associate professor of sociology, a senior fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia and co-founder and executive director of Nyansa Classical Community.

Launched last fall with the appointment of nine inaugural faculty, the school fosters a culture of reflection and intellectual curiosity that helps our democracy thrive. The faculty began articulating a vision for the school and designed the curriculum for SCiLL's minor in civic life and leadership, which is set to launch in the fall semester. The interdisciplinary minor is designed to appeal to students of all majors, providing them with interdisciplinary training in civics, the humanities and scientific literacy. Additional initiatives including enhancing the Abbey Speaker Series are in development to expand a culture of reflection on civic life and intellectual curiosity on campus ahead of the upcoming election.

SOURCE University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Office of Communications