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The University of Colorado Boulder announced today that the Center for Western Civilization in the College of Arts and Sciences is now the Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy (CWCTP) and incorporates CU-Boulder鈥檚 successful Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy program.

The expansion will bolster the center by inviting more visiting scholars who can help create a more extensive set of community programs and classes with the Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy 鈥� formerly an at-large position within the College of Arts and Sciences.

鈥淭his transformation will elevate the profile of both the center and the Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy,鈥� said Robert Pasnau, chair of the CWCTP and a professor of philosophy at CU-Boulder.

鈥淏y sponsoring symposia and special events and also by attracting a larger roster of visiting scholars we want to elevate research, discussion and debate about the role of Western civilization in the development of American ideas and institutions,鈥� Pasnau said.

Pasnau said the center鈥檚 academic mission is to 鈥減romote analysis of the historic, social, political and economic modes of thought rooted in the Western tradition, and to encourage faculty and student scholarship around these modes of thought.鈥�

The center鈥檚 mission, said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano, serves the campus鈥檚 larger mission of cultivating diversity in all its forms.

鈥淚 applaud the work of Professor Pasnau and his colleagues to bring their vision of the center to fruition.听Their innovative approach for the center and commitment to the CTP Visiting Scholar program will make scholarship and robust debate even more accessible to more members of our campus community.听I am excited to see how this partnership will expand our tradition of promoting intellectual diversity on the campus.鈥�

Among other initiatives, the CWCTP plans to develop a course modeled on a successful and popular class at Princeton University that was co-taught by liberal professor Cornel West and conservative professor Robert George. Developed in 2007, the team-taught course tackled the development of Western intellectual thought through contrasting perspectives.

鈥淲e are expecting to see some lively and engaging classes and public lectures come from the expansion of the Center for Western Civilization into the CWCTP,鈥� said Steven Leigh, dean of the CU-Boulder College of Arts and Sciences.

The CWCTP also plans to:

• Award four visiting fellowships 鈥� one of which is the VSCTP 鈥� two CU fellowships, four postdoctoral appointments and two PhD student fellowships each year to support scholars of diverse political, intellectual and philosophical thought from various academic fields. The fellows will conduct research, teach, present papers and provide outreach to the larger community;
• Promote civic education by sponsoring conferences, lectures, seminars and colloquia;
• Offer a certificate program for undergraduate students consisting of eight classes, including two within their own major and six other classes, including some taught by visiting fellows;
• Provide opportunities for undergraduates to informally interact with faculty, visiting fellows and speakers,听and participate in other center-sponsored activities;
• Offer educational opportunities under the auspices of the center to alumni, friends and potential donors to the program.

The CWCTP will be governed through a two-fold structure: a Board of Advisors and an Executive Committee. The Board of Advisors will be composed of 10 to12 members from areas such as law, business, politics, philanthropy and the academy 鈥� including one or more former Visiting Scholars in Conservative Thought and Policy. It will work to maintain the center鈥檚 role and mission and provide programming guidance.

The Executive Committee is composed of the center鈥檚 director, as well as the current Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy and CU-Boulder faculty representatives. The Executive Committee determines the academic merits of program offerings.

Both the Board of Advisors and the Executive Committee will be appointed by the CU-Boulder chancellor initially, in consultation with the provost, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the president of the university.

The Board of Advisors for the CWCTP is initially chaired by current University of Colorado President Bruce Benson, who will spearhead fundraising for the program. Subsequent appointments of the board chair will be made by the Board of Advisors in consultation with the chancellor. The center is supported by gifts from individuals and foundations and by university operating funds.

鈥淎mong my goals as chair are to find the financial resources to support that process and this unique program and to foster an intellectually diverse environment,鈥� Benson said. 鈥淢y career has been built and strengthened by working with people from across the political spectrum 鈥� people with whom I both agree and disagree, sometimes strongly. The CWCTP exposes students directly to that same range of diverse ideas and challenges their critical thinking and understanding in the process.鈥澨�