Ideas for
Prosperity

Tomorrow’s leaders need better, bolder ideas about how to make our society freer and more prosperous. That’s why the Civitas Institute exists, plain and simple.

Through research, commentary, and public outreach, we explore all aspects of a free and vibrant society, including economic dynamism, individual flourishing, civic virtue, and constitutionalism.

Independent thought, civil discourse, free speech, reasoned deliberation and intellectual curiosity are central to our ethos.

The Civitas Institute takes its name from The University of Texas at Austin motto,  Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis, a condensed Latin rendering of Mirabeau Lamar’s famous statement that a “cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy.”

This origin reflects both the university’s institutional heritage and the Institute’s interest in the link between knowledge and liberty.

Our history

July 2022
  • Following its formation by the University of Texas System Board of Regents, the Civitas Institute launches with Justin Dyer as founding director
July
2022
May 2023
  • Civitas becomes part of UT Austin’s newly established School of Civic Leadership
May
2023
September 2023
  • Ryan Streeter joins Civitas as executive director
September
2023
March 2024
  • Following a national search, Justin Dyer becomes dean of the School of Civic Leadership
March
2024
March 2024
  • In partnership with UT Austin’s College of Liberal Arts and the University of Austin (UATX), Civitas hosts Civil Discord, a series of moderated arguments featuring some our nation’s best scholars and writers
March
2024
May 2024
  • Civitas hosts The Austin Symposium, a gathering of top scholars interested in increasing dynamism in America and reversing stagnation wherever it is found
May
2024
December 2024
  • Civitas launches its online magazine, titled Civitas Outlook, and begins publishing commentary for a general readership
December
2024
Our team

We are dedicated to exploring the ideas and institutions that create flourishing societies.

Meet the team
The latest from

Civitas Outlook

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The Court's Obscenity Jurisprudence Is Due for Revision

Will the Supreme Court revisit its expansive protections for pornography?

GianCarlo Canaparo
Multiple Contributors
Constitutionalism
Dec 18, 2024

The Future of Conservatism in America

Steven F. Hayward
Multiple Contributors
Politics
Dec 18, 2024

Ending Campus Antisemitism

Shut off the federal spigot, and we might see universities suddenly become bastions of religious tolerance.

Paul J. Larkin
Multiple Contributors
Politics
Dec 18, 2024

Trump’s Department of Labor Needs a Pro Growth Leader

Pro-labor isn't Pro-worker and officials in the incoming Trump administration should know the difference.

Mark Pulliam
Multiple Contributors
Economic Dynamism
Dec 17, 2024

The Right and Wrong Way to Regulate AI

We should regulate AI as if innovation is the primary goal.

Rachel Lomasky
Multiple Contributors
Economic Dynamism
Dec 17, 2024
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