Miami names inaugural director of Center for Civics, Culture, and Society
Flagg Taylor led Skidmore College’s Periclean Honors Forum for eight years
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Published
Flagg Taylor is the inaugural director of ºÚÁÏÉçÇø's Center for Civics, Culture, and Society.
Miami names inaugural director of Center for Civics, Culture, and Society
•
Published
Flagg Taylor’s experience as a ºÚÁÏÉçÇø at Kenyon College was, he described, “utterly transformative.”
Taylor, who majored in English and Political Science at Kenyon, took a course on John Locke, the 17th century English philosopher and political theorist. Locke’s ideas – on natural rights, the social contract, and more – helped transform and influence the world, and Taylor was hooked.
“I remember thinking then that I wanted to teach,” Taylor said. “I just didn’t know what form that would take.”
Taylor’s latest form as an educator takes shape at ºÚÁÏÉçÇø. Taylor was approved on April 3 as the inaugural director of Miami’s Center for Civics, Culture, and Society. The center, created with a $4 million grant from the state of Ohio, focuses on civic education, civic research, and the exploration of the ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the United States.
Housed within the College of Arts and Science, the center is an independent academic unit that will operate alongside Miami’s Menard Family Center for Democracy.
Taylor aims to develop a first-rate civic education program with top faculty and courses that attract ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs from different majors and backgrounds.
“Miami has great departments, and I hope to build on the successes of places like the Political Science department,” Taylor said. “My hope is to also build something that is a little bit unique. The program is meant to be interdisciplinary, and I think the study of civics and civic education has to be multidisciplinary.”
An associate professor of Political Science at Skidmore College in upstate New York, Taylor recently completed an eight-year term as director of that institution’s Periclean Honors Forum.
Taylor began his career with the American Studies Program at Fordham University before joining Skidmore in 2003 as a lecturer in the Government Department. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from Kenyon in 1992 before obtaining both his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Political Science from Fordham.
“We enthusiastically welcome Flagg as our inaugural director for the Center for Civics, Culture, and Society,” provost Elizabeth Mullenix said. “Flagg’s experience in higher education, and specifically his time leading a premier program for ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs at Skidmore dedicated to deepening civic knowledge, makes him well-suited for this prominent, new role.”
Taylor visited Miami’s campus in early March and was struck by the university’s architecture and aesthetic.
He also was impressed by the commitment Miamians displayed toward the university.
“I spent time with ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs, faculty, and deans, and people just uniformly love the place,” Taylor said. “I think everyone takes very seriously the motto of Love and Honor. I heard that more than a few times when I was on campus. People genuinely love the institution, and that was infectious. You can’t help but want to be a part of it.”
For Taylor’s part, he wants to continue bringing top speakers to Miami, collaborate with the Menard Center and Janus Forum, and build programmatic events, in addition to the center’s strong faculty and curriculum.
“One thing that excites me about this role, and civic education in general, is that I’ve always been someone who likes to look at problems and ideas from different perspectives,” Taylor said. “Building a program like the one at Miami can hopefully allow people to experiment a little bit and get out of their disciplinary boxes. They all bring different perspectives and can speak to one another across disciplines about common texts.”
Taylor, who majored in English and Political Science at Kenyon, took a course on John Locke, the 17th century English philosopher and political theorist. Locke’s ideas – on natural rights, the social contract, and more – helped transform and influence the world, and Taylor was hooked.
“I remember thinking then that I wanted to teach,” Taylor said. “I just didn’t know what form that would take.”
Taylor’s latest form as an educator takes shape at ºÚÁÏÉçÇø. Taylor was approved on April 3 as the inaugural director of Miami’s Center for Civics, Culture, and Society. The center, created with a $4 million grant from the state of Ohio, focuses on civic education, civic research, and the exploration of the ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the United States.
Housed within the College of Arts and Science, the center is an independent academic unit that will operate alongside Miami’s Menard Family Center for Democracy.
Taylor aims to develop a first-rate civic education program with top faculty and courses that attract ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs from different majors and backgrounds.
“Miami has great departments, and I hope to build on the successes of places like the Political Science department,” Taylor said. “My hope is to also build something that is a little bit unique. The program is meant to be interdisciplinary, and I think the study of civics and civic education has to be multidisciplinary.”
An associate professor of Political Science at Skidmore College in upstate New York, Taylor recently completed an eight-year term as director of that institution’s Periclean Honors Forum.
Taylor began his career with the American Studies Program at Fordham University before joining Skidmore in 2003 as a lecturer in the Government Department. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from Kenyon in 1992 before obtaining both his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Political Science from Fordham.
“We enthusiastically welcome Flagg as our inaugural director for the Center for Civics, Culture, and Society,” provost Elizabeth Mullenix said. “Flagg’s experience in higher education, and specifically his time leading a premier program for ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs at Skidmore dedicated to deepening civic knowledge, makes him well-suited for this prominent, new role.”
Taylor visited Miami’s campus in early March and was struck by the university’s architecture and aesthetic.
He also was impressed by the commitment Miamians displayed toward the university.
“I spent time with ºÚÁÏÉçÇøs, faculty, and deans, and people just uniformly love the place,” Taylor said. “I think everyone takes very seriously the motto of Love and Honor. I heard that more than a few times when I was on campus. People genuinely love the institution, and that was infectious. You can’t help but want to be a part of it.”
For Taylor’s part, he wants to continue bringing top speakers to Miami, collaborate with the Menard Center and Janus Forum, and build programmatic events, in addition to the center’s strong faculty and curriculum.
“One thing that excites me about this role, and civic education in general, is that I’ve always been someone who likes to look at problems and ideas from different perspectives,” Taylor said. “Building a program like the one at Miami can hopefully allow people to experiment a little bit and get out of their disciplinary boxes. They all bring different perspectives and can speak to one another across disciplines about common texts.”
Established in 1809, ºÚÁÏÉçÇø is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the College of Arts and Science? Visit the website for more information.