National Spotlight on Civic Education: Secretary of Education Visits SCiLL

July 16, 2026

The U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this week. The School of Civic Life and Leadership (SCiLL) was honored to welcome her to campus to meet with students and faculty.

Secretary McMahon’s visit underscored what Dean Jed Atkins has called a greater need than ever “for civic discourse and a deeper understanding of the rights, responsibilities, and institutions that support our republic.”

Her visit coincided with the launch of SCiLL’s inaugural Summer Civics Institutes, a program funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education under its American History and Civics Seminars Program. The Institutes brought 20 North Carolina high school teachers to campus from July 6–9, followed by 20 high school students from July 12–16. The program will grow over three years to enroll 240 teachers and 240 students.

Participants spend the week closely reading primary texts in the American political tradition: the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and other foundational works that have shaped American political life. The Institutes cultivate social and intellectual friendship not only among participants but also between them and Carolina.

For students, McMahon's visit offered an opportunity to share their perspectives with a member of the President’s Cabinet. Former SCiLL student Cara Allen '26 reflected on the experience: “I was encouraged to see the recognition from the national level of the need and value of what SCiLL cultivates: students who don’t just memorize, but seek to understand, citizens who can disagree respectfully, and leaders who listen with humility.”

SCiLL leadership thanks Secretary McMahon for her visit and the opportunity to demonstrate the School’s work renewing higher education’s public purpose—educating citizens and leaders through free inquiry and civil discourse.