Reason For Action
AIM Statement
Design an institutional framework that embeds civic-mindedness, intellectual integrity, and authentic dialogue into the academic and cultural fabric of Utah State University.
This work will align the Center for Civic Excellence, general education requirements, community engagement commitments, and institutional climate practices to ensure that graduates are prepared as citizen scholars equipped for thoughtful discourse, democratic participation, and the pursuit of human flourishing. The focus is not symbolic programming, but structural integration of civic principles into curriculum, co-curricular life, faculty practice, and institutional culture — supported by measurable climate and engagement indicators.
Key Requirements
Solutions must:
- Define USU’s institutional civic framework and core civic principles.
- Align with the Center for Civic Excellence and general education requirements.
- Align with Carnegie community engagement commitments.
- Develop and apply institutional structures for administering and using civic surveys and climate-based measurement systems for civic culture (transparent and repeatable).
- Clarify long-term plan for sustaining civic engagement commitments.
- Be viewpoint-neutral and grounded in academic freedom.
- Adhere to all applicable law, institutional policy, and accreditation standards.
Working Definition of Civic-Mindedness
Civic-mindedness is the knowledge, judgment, skills, and habits of mind necessary for informed participation and respectful dialogue to advance individual, family, and community flourishing.
Proposed Values
Curiosity
- Evaluate evidence; question assumptions
- Distinguish fact from opinion
- Open-mindedness and open inquiry
- Intellectual humility; acknowledge uncertainty
- Ability to change one’s mind
Respectful Dialogue
- Engage diverse perspectives
- Create learning in which difficult questions are examined
- Articulate another person’s argument fairly before criticizing it
Civic Engagement
- Join the University's knowledge and resources with those of the community
- Educated, engaged citizens who contribute to the public good
- Responsibility and stewardship
Multi-Year Initiative Roadmap
Year 1
- Communication Plan
- One Standard of Conduct – policy alignment
- Professional Development
- Hanover + CDI (assessment project)
Year 2
- OFaculty: measuring civic-mindedness in promotion & tenure and program review
- Recognition & awards
- Integrate values into employee onboarding
- Institutional Day of Service
Year 1 Initiatives (Design Events)
The summit identified three Year 1 design events, each with a draft charter, plus one project.
| Initiative | Problem Addressed | Aim |
|---|---|---|
| Communication Plan | USU does a lot of civic work, but it isn’t cohesive: people don’t know what others are doing, storytelling is underused, and civic-mindedness is “hiding in plain sight” rather than front-of-mind. | Communicate what it means to be civic-minded and how to get involved – “at USU we do this” – include students in the design, with the goal of reaching students, employees, alumni, and communities, and building the values into job postings, search processes, job descriptions, and promotional materials. |
| One Standard of Conduct | Accountability for how employees treat each other is inconsistent with varying levels of expectations, progressive discipline, and standards. | Align policy and practice around a single accountability standard for how ALL USU employees treat each other. |
| Professional Development | There are too few opportunities for experiential learning and professional development to build civic-mindedness skills. | Develop and enhance offerings that build civic knowledge, soft skills, and abilities, accessible to all of USU – including values in leadership classes employee and faculty certificates, and student certificates. |
Meet the Team
Executive Sponsors
Facilitators
- Design Summit Facilitator: Nicole Schrubb, Executive Director of Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness
- Design Events Facilitator: Susan Young, Organizational Development and Training Specialist
Team
| Name | Title | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Amanda DeRito | Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications | Logan |
| Becca Seamons | Associate Director HR - Employee Relations | Logan |
| Damon Cann | Department Head - Political Science | Logan |
| David Francis | Executive Director of Youth Programs - Extension | Salt Lake |
| David Anderson | Associate Vice Provost - Community Engagement | Logan |
| Hannah Lewis | Professional Practice Associate Professor - Mathematics & Statistics | Price |
| Matt Sanders | Associate Vice Provost — Center for Civic Excellence | Logan |
| Ryan Knowles | Associate Professor - School of Teacher Education & Leadership | Logan |