I
The Inheritance
Western Political Thought
From Athens and Rome through the Enlightenment — the ideas of liberty, natural law, and the well-ordered society that the American founders drew upon.
A Semiquincentennial Initiative
The American Civic Tradition at 250
West Texas A&M University and Texas Southern University are renewing the study of American history, civics, and self-government — for the nation's 250th year, and for the generations who will carry it forward.
West Texas A&M University
Texas Southern University
Supported by the American History and Civics National Activities program · U.S. Department of Education
The Nation's 250th Year
In commemoration of the United States Semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of American independence, 1776 to 2026.
The Charge
Preparing citizens, not only careers.
In advance of the nation's 250th anniversary, WT and Texas Southern have jointly won a nearly $2 million federal grant to rebuild the way civics and American history are taught — for the undergraduates who will lead, and for the teachers who reach thousands of students every year.
Awarded through the U.S. Department of Education's American History and Civics program, the initiative supports a new, jointly developed university curriculum and a series of summer seminars that bring college students and classroom teachers into the same room.
The need is plain. In 2022, only about 22 percent of the nation's eighth graders reached proficiency in civics. This partnership treats that as a civic problem, not merely an academic one — and answers it where the need runs deepest: across the rural Texas Panhandle and urban Houston alike.
~$2M
Federal grant
U.S. Dept. of Education
U.S. Dept. of Education
4
Sequential
undergraduate courses
undergraduate courses
150
Teachers across
rural & urban schools
rural & urban schools
100
Undergraduate
Civics Fellows
Civics Fellows
3
Years of
collaborative work
collaborative work
The Coalition
From the Panhandle to the Third Ward.
Two universities, two communities, one inheritance. WT anchors the work in the rural Panhandle through its Hill Institute and Region 16 Education Service Center in Amarillo. Texas Southern, a historic HBCU in Houston's Third Ward, carries it into the urban classrooms of Houston ISD. Together they model the civil discourse the curriculum teaches — across geography, and across difference.
Lead · The Hill Institute
West Texas A&M University
Curriculum, Civics Fellows, and teacher seminars serving the Texas Panhandle.
Partner · Houston
Texas Southern University
Co-developed curriculum and Civics Fellows based in Houston's Third Ward.
Regional · Amarillo
Region 16 Service Center
Host and convener for the program's summer teacher seminars.
District · Houston
Houston ISD
Urban classrooms reached through the Texas Southern partnership.
The Course of Study
Four articles of a civic education.
Developed jointly by WT and Texas Southern faculty, the sequence moves from the ideas the founders inherited to the responsibilities of leadership today. Each course builds on the one before it.
II
The Design
American Founding & Constitutional Government
The Declaration, the Constitution, and the deliberate architecture of a republic built to govern itself.
III
The Compact
Citizenship, Rights & Civic Responsibility
The rights a free people hold, and the duties that keep those rights alive from one generation to the next.
IV
The Charge
Constitutionalism & Civic Leadership in the 21st Century
Carrying founding principles into the public questions — and the leadership — of our own time.
Fellows & Seminars
One classroom, teachers and students together.
For Undergraduates
100
Civics Fellows
One hundred undergraduates — fifty from WT and fifty from Texas Southern — study the four-course sequence and work beside classroom teachers, becoming a new generation fluent in the country's founding ideas.
For Educators
150
Summer Seminars
One hundred fifty primary and secondary teachers, drawn evenly from rural and urban schools, gather for short summer seminars at Region 16 in Amarillo — deepening their command of founding principles and sharpening how they teach them.
What's built here won't stay here. Teachers keep sharing resources and lessons long after the seminars end, and the project publishes a full suite of curricular materials free for any school to use.
Voices
Why this work, and why now.
Education should not only prepare students for careers but also for citizenship.
Dr. Walter V. WendlerPresident, West Texas A&M University
I hope this grant contributes to bringing people from across the political divide in this country back together, at least in its own small way.
Dr. Timothy BowmanHead, Department of History · Grant Administrator
These efforts to improve civic literacy have never been more important. They will help lay the foundation for the American experiment for the next 250 years.
Dr. James W. Crawford IIIPresident, Texas Southern University
Civil discourse viewed through the lens of fact-based history and civics is such a worthy endeavor, and we are excited to find ourselves on the cusp of that exercise.
Jamie AllenProject Manager
The Symposium Series
A recurring forum for civil discourse.
The Hill Institute convenes the Civil Discourse and Civics Education Symposium as a continuing series — gathering educators, students, scholars, and community members to model the respectful, fact-based dialogue the initiative teaches. Past convenings and their recordings are archived below; future symposia will be added here as they are scheduled.
Past Event · Recordings Available
Inaugural Symposium
Welcome
Welcome & Overview
Welcome and Symposium Overview
Dr. Walter Wendler — President, West Texas A&M University
9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Morning Session I
The Impact of the Core Curriculum on Civil Discourse and Civics Education
Dr. Tom K. Lindsay — Higher Education Policy Director for Next Generation Texas, Texas Public Policy Foundation
11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Morning Session II
The Intersection of Civility and Faith in Contemporary Society
Dr. Howie Batson — Pastor, First Baptist Church Amarillo
12:30 – 2 p.m.
Lunch Lecture
Civil Discourse and the Impact of the Future of Higher Education in Texas
Brandon Simmons — Director of Institutional Policy and Oversight (Ombudsman), Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board & The Honorable Richard A. Johnson III — Texas Southern University Board of Regents
2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Afternoon Session
The Importance of Civics in a Contemporary Society
Aaron Kinsey — Chairman, Texas State Board of Education & Dr. Tanya Larkin — Executive Director, Region 16 Education Service Center
3:45 – 5:15 p.m.
Afternoon Panel Discussion
Civil Discourse and Public Life
Aaron Kinsey (Texas State Board of Education), Dr. Tom K. Lindsay (Texas Public Policy Foundation), Josh Green (Senior Vice President, Daniels Fund Scholarship Program), and Jamie Allen (Project Manager, ACT at 250, West Texas A&M University)
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Dinner & Evening Keynote
The Intersection of Civil Discourse and the Study of Civics: The Impact on a Republican Form of Government
The Honorable Richard A. Johnson III — Keynote Speaker, Texas Southern University Board of Regents
Upcoming
The Next Symposium
The next convening in the series will be announced here, with its full program and recordings added after the event.
Every session from past symposia is also archived on the Hill Institute’s symposium page.
The Hill Institute
Named for a builder of this university.
The initiative's home at WT is the Hill Institute (opens in a new tab), named for Joseph A. Hill — the university's second and longest-serving president. Approved by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in 2022 and funded entirely through philanthropy, the Institute grounds its work in ten enduring values.
The Hill Institute is an interdisciplinary academy of researchers, teachers, and students devoted to the timeless values Joseph Hill championed — among them personal responsibility, self-reliance, and the founding principles of Texas and the nation. Its aim is to stimulate thought about the role such values play in addressing the human condition, and in shaping the Panhandle and the world.
This effort advances a founding principle of the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
Ten Enduring Values
- 01Trust
- 02Family life
- 03Hard work
- 04Regard for others
- 05Personal responsibility
- 06Compatriotism & patriotism
- 07Virtue
- 08Faith
- 09Personal & civic loyalty
- 10Rugged individualism
Take Part
Join the work of civic renewal.
Whether you study, teach, or support the mission, there is a place for you in this work.
i.
Undergraduates
Become a Civics Fellow at WT or Texas Southern and study the four-course sequence alongside working teachers.
Explore the History Department →
ii.
Educators
Join a summer seminar at Region 16 in Amarillo and bring founding principles back to your classroom.
Fine Arts & Humanities →
iii.
Partners & Supporters
The Hill Institute is sustained by philanthropy. Support civic education through the One West campaign.
Give to WT →
Administered by Dr. Timothy Bowman & Jamie Allen
Department of History · Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities
Contact the department