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Project Pericles Releases 2026-2028 Strategic Plan: “Shaping Civic Futures”

Project Pericles has unveiled Shaping Civic Futures, our 2026–2028 Strategic Plan to reimagine higher education’s role in strengthening democracy. Through three priorities (Pedagogical Influence, Consortium Strength, and Thought Leadership) we aim to renew civic learning as a defining feature of American higher education and ensure civic agency and engagement become defining outcomes for every student.

October 6, 2025

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Periclean Student Winners Advocate for Policy Change

Project Pericles is excited to announce the winners of the Spring 2024 Debating for Democracy (D4D) Letter to an Elected Official Competition. This year, we have winners from Pitzer College in California, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, and Wagner College in New York. Student teams won $500 to advocate for policy changes addressing public safety, education rights and racial equity, and sustainability. Congratulations! The winning teams: Pitzer College: Devlin Orlin and Emily Ortiz for their letter: A Letter in support of H.R.7320: Restorative Practices in Schools Act of 2022, addressed to Representative Judy Chu (D-CA).Swarthmore College: Sylvia Myers, Evan Wang, Andrea Cheah, and Rohan Mandayam for their letter: A Letter Urging Support for The CHARGE Act 2023 addressed to Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA). Wagner College: Bianca DiMarco, Jordan Esposito, and Lillian McNally for their letter: A Letter Urging New York to Introduce a “Student Protection Act” addressed to Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-NY). About Debating for Democracy (D4D)–In collaboration with Periclean campuses, In 2006 Project

April 23, 2024

Inspiring Civic Engagement Nationally at AAC&U

The new year has started strong. Last month, Project Pericles held two compelling sessions at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Annual Meeting, making it 18 years in a row that Project Pericles has presented at this prestigious venue. Jan Risë Liss, Executive Director moderated a panel featuring the exceptional work of Periclean Faculty Leaders (PFLs) from five institutions: “Connecting Classrooms, Campuses, and Communities: Curricula and Pedagogical Strategies for the Public Good” on Thursday, January 18, 2024 Bates College, Seulgie Lim, Assistant Professor of Politics; Arthur Vining Davis PFL in STEM and Social Sciences Skidmore College, Sarah DiPasquale, Associate Professor and Department Chair, Dance; Mellon PFL in the Humanities Swarthmore College, Lei Ouyang, Associate Professor and Department Chair, Music; Mellon PFL in the Humanities Ursinus College, John Spencer, Associate Professor of Education and Department Chair, Education; Mellon PFL in the Humanities Wagner College, John Esser, Professor of Sociology, Arthur Vining Davis

February 12, 2024

Jan Liss to Retire in 2024 – Project Pericles Executive Director Search Begins

After nearly two decades of leading Project Pericles to its place of leadership in American higher education, I am announcing my intention to retire as Executive Director effective Spring 2024. Project Pericles’ influence is at a high point, and this is the right time for a leadership transition. We are at our strongest in terms of board engagement, program effectiveness, the quality of our internal staff, and maintenance of financial stability. I could not be prouder of having shaped Project Pericles into a robust organization with profound impact across higher education. During my tenure, we have secured funding from major foundations and developed nationally recognized programs that enable faculty, students, and communities to foster democratic engagement and build classroom and community partnerships. We could not have accomplished any of this without the strong and creative support of our Periclean colleges and universities and their involved faculty, staff members, students, and

January 4, 2024

2023 Highlights

Project Pericles is ending 2023 on a high note. We invite you to read about exciting updates to our programs that empower faculty, students, administrators, and their communities to advance democratic and civic engagement. Faculty and Community Partner Collaboration Creating Impactful Curricula Through the Periclean Faculty Leadership (PFL) Program™ program, faculty create a new innovative course in collaboration with a community partner to address grand challenges. Students apply academic content to solve real-world challenges, and campuses develop meaningful partnerships with their local community. Over recent years, we have supported more than 100 PFLs across all disciplines. This faculty leadership program is changing the lives of hundreds of faculty, students, campuses, and community members. We thank the Mellon Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and the Eugene M. Lang Foundation for supporting recent rounds of PFLS.Sarah DiPasquale, a Mellon Periclean Faculty Leader at Skidmore College shares: “My PFL course, Dancing Toward Success: Arts Education

December 21, 2023

Explore Our New Civic Engagement Resources

Project Pericles launched redesigned and expanded Civic Engagement Resources for faculty and staff available free on our new website. Materials include an interactive database with 100+ civic engagement syllabi and modules for deliberative dialogue, voter engagement, and addressing voter suppression. This fall we launched our newly expanded Civic Engagement Resources and Database in October. We invite everyone to explore our website and learn more about our: Newly expanded and redesigned Civic Engagement Resources including deliberative dialogue, voter engagement, and voter suppression modules. Civic Engagement Course Syllabi database with added dynamic features. This resource database will be helpful in looking for inspiration to see how real faculty members integrate civic engagement into their courses. The database includes examples of entire course syllabi and single modules, activities, or assignments that incorporate civic engagement into the curriculum. $1,000 fellowships for faculty and staff to implement modules in 2023-2025 Project Pericles thanks the Mellon Foundation, with additional support from The

October 23, 2023

“The Power of Collaborations” Presentation Featured at CLDE Meeting in Boston

A panel of Periclean faculty presented an engaging panel, “The Power of Collaborations: A Multi-Perspective Conversation” at the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) Meeting May 31 – June 2, 2023, in Boston. The room was packed with administrators, faculty, staff, students, and nonprofit partners all interested in learning how to advance and overcome obstacles to community-engaged learning in the classroom. Arielle del Rosario, Associate Director of Project Pericles moderated this panel with three faculty: Dorcas McCoy (Bethune-Cookman University), Bernadette Ludwig (Wagner College), and Lauren O’Neil Shermer (Widener University). The panelists discussed inclusive strategies for building community partnerships that enhance civic learning while addressing local challenges. Highlights include deliberative dialogue addressing Florida voting rights at an HBCU and advocating for incarcerated people in Pennsylvania, as well as tactics for demonstrating the value of this work to administrators and faculty. Project Pericles appreciates our collaboration and partnership with the CLDE Meeting network!

June 16, 2023