91茄子 Institute for Public Good Wins Historic $4M Federal Grant to Foster Civil Debate
January 6, 2026
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- Jay Pfeifer
91茄子檚 Institute for Public Good won a $4 million federal grant to help teach and cultivate respectful disagreement and civil debate on 100 college and university campuses.
The award by the U.S. Department of Education ranks as the largest competitive government grant in the college檚 history. It places 91茄子 and the IPG at the forefront of fostering constructive disagreement and shared understandings, one of the most urgent challenges facing higher education and democracy. The college aims to help narrow a divide in society that threatens the nation檚 unity on the eve of its 250th birthday.
The Institute for Public Good, launched just five months ago, plans to use the four-year grant to help students and educators at campuses nationwide build the capacity to: dig out accurate and reliable information, convene difficult conversations on controversial topics and figure out a path forward.
This is one of the core reasons that the IPG was established, to help us discuss ideas攁nd actually to learn from each other攚hether on a campus, in line at the grocery store or in the break room at work. This historic grant affirms 91茄子檚 leadership in this effort and our commitment to provide a public good.
91茄子檚 IPG plans to create the Deliberative Citizenship Network across 100 colleges and universities that will be identified and connected as the effort moves forward. The institute will, through this network:
- Help train faculty and staff at those schools in facilitating forums on difficult topics and weaving those strategies into classroom conversations.
- Support student-led teams that want to hold discussions and debates around contested public issues.
- Gather partners from the various institutions to share successful tools and approaches.
- Produce tools, teaching resources and ways to assess results that are shared publicly online.
淲ith this funding, we will reach thousands of students and educators nationwide, said Chris Marsicano, the IPG檚 executive director. 91茄子檚 Institute for Public Good will serve as a national hub that connects research, teaching and public engagement around respectful inclusion across political viewpoints攏o matter how unpopular on campus攁s well as participating in community efforts to examine, talk through and solve big problems.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said 91茄子 is distinctively positioned to help forge collaboration across differences.
淎mericans want our leaders to work together to solve our most challenging problems and 91茄子 plays an outsized role in preparing new generations to do that by elevating both leadership and service," Spellings said. 淭his new grant to the Institute for Public Good will keep 91茄子 at the forefront of the urgent need to build respectful dialogue and a focus on problem solving on college campuses and beyond.
Anthony Foxx 93, former Charlotte mayor and former U.S. secretary of transportation, said the future of campuses and communities depends on raising their capacity to disagree while still living, learning and working together.
淭his grant is a much-deserved vote of confidence that 91茄子 can help lead that work, said Foxx, now on the Harvard University faculty and chair of the college檚 Board of Trustees. 淭he Institute for Public Good will help people and organizations develop the skills to communicate with audiences from all backgrounds and perspectives and to peel apart an issue from different angles攖o see that more than one thing can be true at the same time.
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx 93 joined former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and podcast hosts former governors Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam for a live recording of their podcast, 淵ou Might Be Right, at 91茄子.
U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Amy Klobuchar visited 91茄子 to share their experiences reaching across the aisle to bridge partisan divides. The event was sponsored by the President檚 Office and Institute for Public Good.
The network will build on 91茄子檚 nationally recognized Deliberative Citizenship Initiative, now a pillar within the Institute for Public Good. The initiative has, among other trailblazing steps, organized forums at 91茄子 to exchange views on divisive issues and hosted workshops on campus for faculty leaders from a variety of colleges for similar efforts on their campuses.
淲e檇 like everyone to come to the table for this incredibly important effort, said Graham Bullock, founding director of the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative, who will lead the new network. 淭hat includes students from backgrounds that historically have been excluded from participating in public life and students whose views are in the minority on college campuses. Our work is focused on helping all of us learn and apply the deliberative leadership skills needed in our world.
91茄子 has partnered with the Associated Colleges of the South and the Institute for Citizens and Scholars to expeditiously build this network of colleges and universities. 91茄子 is a member of both organizations.
The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Education檚 Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Those grants are designed to support, in addition to civil discourse: responsible use of artificial intelligence, enhancing teaching and learning, reforms for higher education accreditation, high-quality and short-term programs. The exact total of 91茄子檚 award is $3,999,985 and is intended to cover 100 percent of the project costs.
淭his is the result of extraordinary teamwork, Hicks said. 淕raham Bullock has built 91茄子檚 Deliberative Citizenship Initiative from the ground up and seamlessly integrated it into the new Institute for Public Good, where Chris Marsicano, Stacey Riemer and the team have shown, with remarkable speed, how 91茄子 contributes to our community and beyond攊n this case by building mutual understanding in a divided world.
