JMU receives $2.72 million nationwide civic discourse grant

James Madison University has received a $2.72 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support civic discourse and dialogue across institutions of higher education nationwide.  

The grant enables other colleges and universities to learn from JMU's best practices in civic discourse from the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement’s Better Conversations Together program. 

JMU is one of only 16 universities and colleges selected – and the only institution from Virginia – for the civil discourse funding from a highly competitive and deep pool of applicants.  

In September 2025, JMU received more than $2.1 million from the department – making both grants the largest competitively awarded grants in the university’s history – to expand its national leadership in civics education. That funding is part of a historic $153 million federal investment in American History and Civics education.  

Kara Dillard, the project’s director and executive director of the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement, said these two grants represent a nearly $5 million investment into JMU's civic discourse programming, firmly cementing the university as the national leader in civic engagement and civic discourse.  

"This nearly $5 million investment affirms JMU's position as the national leader in civic education and deliberative discourse," said Dillard. "James Madison himself championed deliberation as the cornerstone of democratic self-governance – the belief that through reasoned debate and careful consideration of diverse perspectives, citizens can reach sound decisions for the common good. This grant allows us to honor that founding vision by embedding deliberation as a way to engage across differences and address civic problems together. The skills students develop through Better Conversations Together, such as listening deeply to different views and values, being intellectually humble, and deliberating constructively, are essential to sustaining democracy. This is the most consequential work we can do in higher education."  

“The two grants together represent a unique opportunity to create a comprehensive kindergarten through college learning environment where from day one until they graduate from college students learn and practice deliberation-based civic discourse skills,” added Dillard.  

The Madison Center also serves as the campus lead for JMU’s VA250/America 250 efforts, aligning with statewide and national commemorations of the nation’s founding.  

The Better Conversations Together initiative is managed by the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement, a JMU academic center devoted to civic engagement, teaching civic discourse, and the history of the U.S. Constitution.  

The program will reach 10 universities, eight to 12 faculty, and 7,500 college students annually. Across the lifetime of the grant, the program will target 40 campus anchor universities (at least one per state) and about 40 faculty fellows and 30,000 students, including students of two- and four-year colleges. 

Program activities include:  

• Develop a national network of anchor campuses that will embed deliberation in both individual classrooms and across campus. 
• Revise and update the current catalog of National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) issue guides for use by college faculty and students. 
• Develop a national faculty fellows program for researching and implementing deliberative pedagogy. 
• Host biannual issue guide writing and deliberative pedagogy seminars and workshops. 
• Establish a rigorous evaluation process of civil discourse understanding and skills spanning K-16. 

Program goals include improvements in students’ abilities to deliberate across political differences, improvements in faculty technical abilities and confidence to facilitate deliberative conversations in their classrooms, and working to develop a vertically integrated K-16 deliberative civic discourse pathway for improving civic discourse skills and competencies across a student’s academic career. 

David C. Kirkpatrick, vice president and chief of staff at JMU, who oversees the Madison Center, reflected on this exciting achievement for the university and nation.   

“At James Madison University, we believe that civil discourse is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy and a vibrant academic community,” said Kirkpatrick. “This grant empowers us to share our model for constructive dialogue – rooted in critical thinking, curiosity and intellectual diversity – with campuses across the nation. By equipping students and faculty to engage thoughtfully across differences, we are investing in the next generation of civic leaders and setting a national example for the future of higher education. We are honored to help lead this national movement for better conversations, together.”