School of Civic Life and Leadership

The School of Civic Life and Leadership provides a home for the study and practice of public discourse, civic life and civic leadership.

Give Now Contact Us
Students gather in a grassy area, some sitting and some standing, in front of a large brick building flanked by two trees with and American flag on a flag pole in the center.

Your support of the School of Civic Life and Leadership matters.

Established in 2023, the School of Civic Life and Leadership (SCiLL) was created to meet one of the defining challenges of our time — the decline of civic knowledge and civil discourse. SCiLL educates citizens and leaders for constitutional self government through free inquiry and civil discourse. We equip students with the knowledge, judgment and habits to lead wisely, deliberate across differences and live with purpose in a pluralistic American democracy.
 

Cards
A professor wearing a blue jacket stands at the front of of a classroom with students seated in desks facing him.

Distinguished professorships

Recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty members will continue to position SCiLL as the preeminent institution for scholarly civic life and leadership.

Students gather around a stone firepit roasting marshmallows.

Residential college

An immersive living and learning community will foster civic engagement and intellectual growth.

A student archer draws a bow and aims an arrow at a practice target.

Student support & experiential learning

Support will enable merit-based aid, mentoring and access to transformative, hands-on educational experiences for students.

Jed Atkins speaks on stage at a SCiLL event

Bringing civil discourse to college classrooms

Private philanthropy supports initiatives like faculty seminars that train college and university faculty from across the country in how to teach civil discourse in their own classrooms. 

Read about faculty training

Fostering civic engagement and intellectual growth

Your support helps the School of Civic Life and Leadership educate reflective citizens and leaders who can listen, speak, think and lead across differences in their lives and careers.

Research shows…

More than 50% of all American college students say they self-censor and 25% of faculty feel they can’t express their views.

20

faculty recruited to teach SCiLL courses

659

students enrolled in SCiLL courses in 2025

30

SCiLL courses offered in 2025

Support the School of Civic Life and Leadership

Donor support is essential for recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, establishing a residential college and providing student support and experiential learning opportunities. Make a gift today to advance the work of the School of Civic Life and Leadership. 

A $10 million matching gift from the National Endowment for the Humanities presents a rare and time-sensitive opportunity to generate immediate and enduring impact. This investment will allow UNC-Chapel Hill to recruit and retain world-class scholars and teachers by creating permanently endowed professorships. Contact us if interested in learning more.

See Related Funds

The School of Civic Life and Leadership Course Enhancement Fund

Strengthen SCiLL's distinctive curriculum by funding guest lecturers, debate and dialogue programming, experiential learning and other enhancements that deepen students' understanding of civic life and leadership.

The School of Civic Life and Leadership Libertas Scholarship

Provides support for the next generation of civic leaders by providing merit scholarships and enrichment opportunities for outstanding students pursuing a minor in the UNC School of Civic Life and Leadership.

Fund for the School of Civic Life and Leadership

The Fund for the School of Civic Life and Leadership is created to provide expendable resources for the general support of the School of Civic Life and Leadership.

Your support in action

See Related Stories
John Preyer standing in front of the Old Well with South Building in the background
4 min read

New Fund Brings Visiting Scholars to Carolina

A new fund honoring John Preyer, former member and chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, will support visiting scholars at the School of Civic Life and Leadership.

South Building at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Democracy, Ethics & Civic Engagement
3 min read

In SCiLL pilot, students to exercise free expression, civil discourse

New Tar Heels will move through issues, literally, in a half-hour program led by School of Civic Life and Leadership faculty.

A view of the Old Well framed through the doorway of South Building
Democracy, Ethics & Civic Engagement
3 min read

Gift establishes first endowed professorship for faculty of the new School of Civic Life and Leadership 

The $1 million gift will support faculty whose work will equip students with the rhetorical and deliberative capacities to serve as citizens and future leaders.

Contact us

Have questions or want to explore how your giving can make the greatest impact? We welcome the opportunity to connect and learn more about what inspires you. Reach out to start a conversation about your philanthropic goals and how you can support the School of Civic Life and Leadership’s mission.

A person with medium length blonde hair wearing a light blue shirt and black jacket smiles at the camera.

Karissa Grasty

Chief Development Officer
kgrasty@unc.edu
“It has been incredible to be a part of SCiLL. While politics, civics, ethics and philosophy are often separated in the humanities, SCiLL provides a rigorous curriculum discussing questions of meaning, political theory and citizenship, all underpinned by civic discourse.”
Four people speaking on a panel at an event are are seated in gray chairs on a stage.

Nadège Sirot

First-Year Student, Classics major, from Gastonia