Call for Fellows: UC Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement

The UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 Fellows Program. The Fellowship is not residential and will award up to $25,000. Applications are due by Friday, March 10th. Learn more below and on the site linked here.

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Call for Fellows: UC Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement 

About the Fellowship
Each year, the Center selects Fellows from a broad range of disciplines and backgrounds such as law, journalism, higher education, social science, technology and government. 

The Center welcomes candidates from all backgrounds to apply, and invites a wide range of innovative projects. As part of the University of California, the Center is committed to promoting diversity and equal opportunity in its education, services and administration, as well as research and creative activity. We are focused on projects that address current issues affecting students, staff, administrators and faculty and will have a direct impact on individuals and communities across campuses, particularly those from vulnerable or marginalized communities. For more information about the work of previous Fellows, click here.

As a Center Fellow, you will be welcomed into a community of practitioners, educators and students who share the common purpose of advancing the mission of the Center. Incoming Fellows are connected with former Fellows and become part of a larger UC-wide and national network of scholars, educators, practitioners and activists.

The one-year fellowship will run from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.

This year we are particularly interested in issues that explore the connections between higher education and democracy such as: 

• Higher education’s role in supporting democracy and democratic learning
• How to incorporate civic engagement and democratic learning into everyday life on campus
• Understanding what motivates civic engagement among diverse campus groups

We also welcome additional themes, topics and activities that fit within the Center’s mission which may include (not an exhaustive list):

• Effective methods to teach and build skills for dialogue across difference; encouraging robust conversation in the classroom
• How best to safeguard academic freedom in response to the national and global climate
• The pandemic's ongoing impact on free expression, activism and civic engagement
• The relationship between free speech, facts and falsehoods amid campaigns of disinformation and misinformation
• The impact of social media and other technological advancements like remote learning platforms on campus discourse
• The interface between diversity, inclusion and expression on campus
• Navigating values-based polarization and political partisanship in higher education
• The connection between international events and expression on campus

This is not a residential fellowship. Selected fellowships will be awarded $20,000 to support their work, and up to $5,000 in research funds will be available as needed.

Fellows are expected to participate in monthly meetings (virtual) and two one-day colloquia on a UC campus, at the UC Center in Washington, D.C. or virtually. Travel and accommodation will be covered by the Center if applicable.

Involvement and interaction with the UC community is critical to the Center’s mission. Over the course of the program, Fellows will be provided access to resources and connections throughout the 10-campus UC system as befits their research.

Applications are due by Friday, March 10 at midnight. If you have questions, please feel free to contact [email protected]. ​