ACF and Jewish Alumni Strong Convene Higher Education Leaders at FSU for Inaugural Campus Foundation Project Summit
 

On Monday, October 5, 2026, Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) and Jewish Alumni Strong (JAS) hosted the inaugural Campus Foundation Project Summit: Revitalizing Western Civilization and Civic Higher Education at Florida State University, co-sponsored by FSU’s Institute for Governance and Civics (IGC). About 35 university leaders, faculty members, and civic thought leaders from across the Southeast attended the invitation-only convening.

The Campus Foundation Project is a joint initiative of ACF and JAS dedicated to advancing rigorous humanities education, civic literacy, intellectual pluralism, and the study of Western civilization in higher education. The summit’s purpose was to share what is working, examine how these programs were built, and explore how similar models can be implemented across higher education.

The first panel, “Leading Models: Western Civilization and Civic Education in Action,” was moderated by Melanie Phillips. It featured Justice Charles T. Canady, Director of the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida; Yonatan Green, Director of The Ackerman Program on Jewish and Western Civilization at the School of Civic Leadership at The University of Texas at Austin; and Rev. Johnnie Moore, PhD, Vice Chancellor and Managing Director of Middle East Studies at Pepperdine University’s Washington, D.C., campus. Panelists described how their programs were established and identified university leadership and structural independence as decisive. Each program reports at the president or provost level, which allows it to make hiring and curricular decisions directly.

Over lunch, Dr. Ryan J. Owens, Director of the IGC, and Dr. Zach Goldberg, IGC research faculty member, presented new survey research on Western civilization in American public opinion. Among the findings: 67% of respondents value the achievements of Western civilization; “neither agree nor disagree” was the most common response on most questions; and pro-West attitudes correlate with rejecting antisemitic tropes and higher civic knowledge.

The second panel, “Beyond the Classroom: Building a Culture of Civic Leadership and Intellectual Engagement,” was moderated by Jonathan Sacerdoti. It featured Dr. Todd H. Green, Senior Director of Campus Partnerships at Interfaith America; Dr. Jason Merchant, Dean of the College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University; and Dr. Justin Vaughn, Director of the Center for Applied Civic Leadership at Coastal Carolina University. Panelists shared practical approaches, including a first-year core course at Vanderbilt taught by more than 100 faculty, civic discourse events at Coastal Carolina designed to reach students who would not otherwise attend, and Interfaith America’s faculty grants for bringing pluralism into courses. Attendees highlighted the panelists’ respectful disagreement as a model of civil discourse in action.

Throughout the day, speakers named alumni as one of the most influential forces for institutional change, a role central to ACF’s and JAS’s missions.

“The Summit brought together leaders from across the Southeast for thoughtful discussion, great questions, and strong engagement throughout the day,” said Dr. Rebecca Pinchevsky, ACF’s Southeast Regional Director. “Our goal was to give attendees resources and actionable ideas they could bring back to their own institutions. Several participants have already reached out asking about the next Summit, which is a great sign that there’s an appetite to continue and grow this work.”

ACF and JAS thank FSU’s Institute for Governance and Civics for hosting and co-sponsoring the event.

About ACF: Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) leverages the unique power of alumni to combat antisemitism on college campuses. ACF helps organize and cultivate alumni chapters for colleges and universities across the country, equipping members with tools, tactics, and training to proactively engage with administrators. Learn more at www.campusfairness.org.