6/16/2025

Last week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal features a report on the Institute for Governance and Civics at Florida State University by Mike Sabo, editor of RealClear’s American Civics portal. At RealClearEducation, Sabo highlights the work that the IGC and its director, Ryan Owens, are doing to build a distinctive culture that prizes a rigorous study of civics and social science. A faculty part of the Jack Miller Center, Owens says that the IGC “seeks to become the nation’s premier policy institute for cultivating effective citizens and responsible leaders.”

The IGC’s focus is on constitutional liberty, economic liberty, conscience liberty, and educational liberty. “Liberty is the lifeblood of America, but it flourishes only when citizens understand the ideas that sustain it,” says Owens. “We promote rigorous scholarship and teaching on the architecture of American government and the rationale for liberty,” he continues. “We conduct data-driven research to inform policy discussions. And we strengthen the fabric of our civic life by inviting intellectually diverse perspectives—fostering dialogue where others fear discussion.”

The Institute features a First Amendment Law Clinic in the College of Law, where students will litigate First Amendment cases pro bono and will learn the ins and outs of how these cases wind their way through the judiciary. And it also prizes civil discourse. The IGC has hosted Jess Bravin of the Wall Street Journal and Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist, who engaged in a fruitful discussion about the Supreme Court.

Even though it was only recently founded, the Institute for Governance and Civics is already making a notable impact in the important mission of reforming civic education across the nation.