ABSTRACT
This chapter provides insights into a citizens’ academy developed at East Carolina University as part of the civic learning and democratic engagement programming created to address the civic education crisis in the country. It begins with an overview of democratic engagement programming at the institution before providing some context for this work in the literature. The guidance and support from these organizations, along with campus administrative support and the creativity of the first Andrew Goodman Foundation ambassadors resulted in developing programs and initiatives such as a civil dialogue program. Citizen U has been in existence since spring 2018. A new session that the Citizen U graduates suggested is one that includes information on grassroots organizing, which is related to the rise in social protest movements around Black Lives Matter, gun control, and immigration, to name a few.
