On Monday, April 1, Harvard Law School and the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools present an all-day conference on Civics Education, including a noon-time conversation with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Justice David Souter, and other special guests. The conference will include moderated discussions throughout the day.

We will recognize the extraordinary work led by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in iCivics and explore ways to advance the way we prepare young people to participate in democracy.

Please note: This event is open to the press, however, videography and photography will not be permitted inside the conference room. Media requests for interviews with panelists must be made in advance through Mavis Baah at mbaah@washingtonmedia.com or at (O) 202-628-1280 or (C) 703-625-3379.

Bags will be prohibited; please plan accordingly.

Civics Education: Why it Matters to Democracy, Society and You

Co-sponsored by: HLS Dean’s Office, The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, and Harvard Graduate School of Education

Monday, April 1, 2013
8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Harvard Law School
WCC 2036 Milstein East
1585 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA

8:45 a.m. Welcome

  • Martha Minow (Dean, Harvard Law School)
  • Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (former Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States)
  • Gene Koo (Executive Director, iCivics)
9:00- 10:15 a.m. Knowledge: What should young Americans know about democracy?

  • State Senator Richard Moore (Massachusetts State Senator)
  • Howard Gardner (Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education)
  • Peter Levine (Professor, Tufts University and Director of CIRCLE)
  • Robert Gallucci (President, MacArthur Foundation)
  • Romero Brown (Vice President of Program & Youth Development Services, Boys and Girls Club)
  • Moderator: Tomiko Brown-Nagin (Professor, Harvard Law School)
10:30-11:45 a.m. Practice: What barriers stand in the way of better civic learning?

  • Under Secretary Martha Kanter (Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education)
  • David Hiller (President & CEO, McCormick Foundation)
  • Gene Koo (Executive Director, iCivics)
  • Kathleen McCartney (Dean of the Faculty of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education)
  • Mabel McKinney-Browning (Director, Division for Public Education at American Bar Association)
  • Moderator: Chief Justice Margaret Marshall (former Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court)
12:00- 1:00 p.m. What’s at stake? Why civic matters to me, and to you

  • Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (former Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States)
  • Justice David Souter (former Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States)
  • Judge Kenneth Starr (President, Baylor University)
  • Larry Tribe (Professor, Harvard Law School)
  • Moderator: Martha Minow (Dean, Harvard Law School)
1:00- 2:00 p.m. Brown Bag Discussions
For those who registered for the lunch discussions and received a ticket at check in, please pick up your brown bag lunch outside of Milstein 2019 West. The discussions will take place inside the Milstein West Conference Room.If you did not register for lunch, please feel free to purchase lunch at the Harkness Cafe located on the second floor of the Caspersen wing in the WCC.

Discussion Moderators:

  • Paul Baumann (Director, National Center for Learning & Citizenship, Education Commission of the States)
  • Chuck Baumberger (American Board of Trial Advocates)
  • Erin Braun (Outreach Director, iCivics)
  • Gregg Croteau (Executive Director, United Teen Equality Center)
  • Jon Gould (HLS Student, Member Steering Committee, Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools)
  • Trey Grayson (Director, Harvard’s Institute of Politics)
  • Susan Griffin (Executive Director, National Council for the Social Studies)
  • Helen Haste (Visiting Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education)
  • Diana Hess (Spencer Foundation)
  • Joe Kahne (Professor, Mills College & Research Director, Civic Engagement Research)
  • Dr. Sheila Kennedy (Professor, Indiana University)
  • Carline Kirksey (Intern, United Teen Equality Center)
  • Gene Koo (Executive Director, iCivics)
  • Ted McConnell (Executive Director, Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools)
  • Mabel McKinney-Browning (Director, Division for Public Education at American Bar Association)
  • Elisabeth Medvedow (Executive Director, Discovering Justice)
  • Cheryl Miller (American Enterprise Institute)
  • Fernando Reimers (Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education)
  • Molly Schen (Director of Program and Growth Operations, Facing History and Ourselves
  • Sue Sieter (American Board of Trial Advocates)
  • Scott Warren (Generation Citizen)
  • Connie Yowell (Director of Education, MacArthur Foundation)
2:15-3:30 p.m. Engagement: How can we encourage youth to participate in democracy?

  • Meira Levinson (Professor & Co-convener, HGSE Civic and Moral Education Initiative, Harvard Graduate School of Education)
  • Diana Hess (Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  • Scott Warren (Executive Director, Generation Citizen)
  • Justin Reich (Director of Online Community, Practice and Research at Facing History and Ourselves, Harvard University)
  • Richard Freeland (Commissioner of Higher Education for Massachusetts)
  • Carlos Rojas (Education Policy Associate, Youth on Board)
  • Moderator: Richard Weissbourd (Lecturer in Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education)