Late night comedians conduct “man-in-the-street” interviews to make fun of average citizens’ lack of knowledge about American history. The 2010 national civics test revealed that only 24% of high school students are proficient in their knowledge of our unique American system of government that has secured our liberty and prosperity for more than two centuries. A recent national survey of college students uncovers the shocking fact that after four years of “instruction,” graduating seniors – including those from our elite universities – have less knowledge about our Founding Principles than they had as incoming freshmen.
The Ashbrook Center is working to stop this erosion of civic understanding in future generations of Americans.
Since its dedication in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University has become one of the nation’s leaders in restoring and strengthening the capacities of the American people for constitutional self-government through its undergraduate, graduate, and civic education programs.
The Ashbrook Center transforms the lives of students by inviting them into a true liberal education – an education for freedom. Ashbrook Scholars join one another as friends, studying the best that has been thought and done in the hope of understanding what is good and noble and just. From their Ashbrook education, our students learn why America is worthy of their study and love, and they become better equipped to take a leading role in their country’s civic life.
The Ashbrook Center offers teachers the opportunity to study with some of the best history and government scholars in the country. Bringing together teachers and scholars from across America, the Ashbrook Center has become, in effect, a national university with unrivaled capacity for deepening teachers’ understanding and appreciation of America.
The Ashbrook Center also offers programs and resources to help citizens understand important public policy questions in light of the principles and practice of constitutional self-government.