EMU Today

YPSILANTI — As a leader in the movement to enhance civic education, Eastern Michigan University’s Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Institute for Civic Education (UICE) has received a CivXNow affiliate grant to strengthen civic education coalition work throughout Michigan. 

“We are honored to advance the MiCivics Coalition's goals for a more civically informed Michigan,” said UICE Director Brigid Beaubien. “This grant will help further the mission of the UICE by fostering a new generation of informed and engaged citizens, as well as innovative educators, for the benefit of students and teachers in Michigan and beyond.”

The MiCivics Coalition is committed to enhancing professional learning to improve content knowledge and effective teaching strategies, providing dedicated pre-service teacher education, and developing student programming, among other initiatives, to elevate civic education and civic readiness in Michigan. 

“We are pleased that EMU’s Upshur Institute will continue to raise awareness and advocate for effective and meaningful policy changes that promote lasting civic education,” said Ellen Zwarensteyn, Executive Director of the Michigan Center for Civic Education. “Civic knowledge and civic skills are essential for all of Michigan to thrive, both within and beyond the classroom.” 

CivXNow is a project of iCivics, a national organization founded by the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to advance civic education. CivXNow is a nonpartisan coalition aimed at strengthening civic education through improved state and federal K-12 civic education policies.

About the Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Institute for Civic Education

The Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Institute for Civic Education promotes innovative methods of teaching and learning in history and social studies. The UICE investigates and tests new ways to apply and adapt approaches to history and social studies teacher training courses at EMU; and helps foster a new generation of informed and engaged citizens and innovative educators at the high school and college levels for the benefit of students in Michigan and beyond. The Institute grounds itself in producing citizens who have strong civic knowledge, skills, dispositions, and capacities.

About Eastern Michigan University
Founded in 1849, EMU is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves nearly 13,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and its graduate school. National publications regularly recognize EMU for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. Visit the University’s rankings and points of pride websites to learn more. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website. To stay up to date on University news, activities and announcements, visit EMU Today.