Heterodox Academy (HxA), a non-partisan, non-profit organization that advocates for open inquiry in higher education, announced today the release of The New Landscape of “Civics Centers” in Higher Education: An Analysis of Missions, Structures, and Legislative Origins Across U.S. Colleges and Universities, a research brief and first-of-its-kind public dataset mapping the rapid growth of civics centers across U.S. colleges and universities.

The analysis identifies 45 civics centers across 41 institutions in 25 states, including both longstanding programs and a wave of newly created centers since 2021. The report documents significant shifts in how these centers are being structured, funded, and justified within higher education.

Key findings include:

• A sharp acceleration in growth: Half of all identified civics centers were founded in 2021 or later, with 13 new centers announced since 2023.
• Legislative mandates driving expansion: Of the 22 centers founded between 2022 and 2025, 59% were created through state legislation, all in Republican-controlled states.
• Divergent institutional models: Public institutions tend to house autonomous, “civic thought” focused centers, whereas private institutions more often host semi-autonomous centers emphasizing “civic discourse.”
• Centers created by legislative mandate, in states such as Ohio, Florida, and Tennessee, raise new issues around faculty governance, academic freedom, and institutional autonomy.
• Centers cluster around two major themes: “civic thought” (classical liberalism, American founding, Western civilization) and “civic discourse” (dialogue across difference, viewpoint diversity).

The report outlines trends to watch as these centers mature, including faculty hiring patterns, impacts on student learning, and the relationship between civics centers and broader debates over academic freedom, political polarization, and viewpoint diversity.

"As civics centers proliferate, higher education leaders, policymakers, and researchers need visibility into what these centers are, how they operate, and how they differ,” said HxA Executive Director Michael Regnier. “This dataset and report provides the first comprehensive look at a fast-evolving sector.”