Dr. Nancy Thomas, AAC&U

Description of Workshop

Educating students for democracy, which has always been central to the mission and purpose of American higher education, is, arguably, more important today than ever before. Yet, today’s highly partisan political climate and the ongoing erosion of academic freedom are producing a chilling effect across the sector. While restrictions on what can be taught, neutrality mandates, and anti-DEI legislation have been enacted in many states, fear, exhaustion, and self-censorship have taken hold among faculty and staff nationwide. Based on more than a decade of studying campus political climates and working directly with faculty, Dr. Thomas will offer imaginative strategies for educators across disciplines and departments who are committed to educating for democracy in this difficult moment.

Speaker Information

Biography

Nancy Thomas is Senior Advisor to the President for Democracy Initiatives at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and Executive Director of the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE). IDHE is an applied research center that studies campus climates for political learning; dialogue and discussion teaching on campus; speech, inclusion and academic freedom; and higher education’s role in a democracy in question. 

Dr. Thomas has authored and edited many articles, book chapters, special issues of journals, discussion guides, and a guide for training facilitators to manage politically charged discussions, as well as the monograph, Educating for Deliberative Democracy, part of Jossey-Bass New Directions for Higher Education series. From 2015–2020, she served as an associate editor for the Journal of Public Deliberation. She currently serves on several advisory boards and committees, including the University of California’s National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement, the Andrew Goodman Foundation, the Conflict Transformation Collaborative at Middlebury College, and the Faculty Engagement Network at the Scholars Strategy Network.

Dr. Thomas attended St. Lawrence University (BA), Case Western Reserve University School of Law (JD), and the Harvard Graduate School of Education (EdD). In 2023, she received the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Alumni Council Award for Innovation in Education.

LinkedIn: Nancy Thomas | BlueSky: @TheIDHE