Civic-Mindedness

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.