After a slow start last year, five Ohio public universities say they are ramping up programming and are seeing increased student enrollment at the civic education centers established by Republican state lawmakers.
Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino (R-Kirkland) also introduced a bill in June, Senate Bill 461, that would beef up requirements around the centers, including a requirement that all students take at least one three-credit-hour civics course through the centers to graduate. The centers, meant to promote "intellectual diversity," were created by a Cirino-sponsored bill in 2023 in a bid to combat alleged liberal bias on college campuses. Cirino also sponsored Senate Bill 1, which outlawed campus diversity, equity and inclusion programs last year.
The five universities with the civic centers said they have added courses related to civics, politics and western history for the fall 2026 semester along with new degree programs housed at the centers.
Miami University reported the largest increase in enrollment in its civics center courses, according to statements from the five universities, from 350 in spring 2026 to 1,272 students in the fall. Cleveland State University had just 28 students taking courses at its Center for Civics, Culture and Society last spring. Now, it has 452 students enrolled. Despite the increases, student enrollment in these courses is still a small fraction of universities' total enrollment, around 3.47% in Cleveland State's case.
According to emailed statements from each school, they've either added, or will add, a host of new programs at their civics centers:
- Cleveland State University: The Center for Civics, Culture and Society added a new civics general education course this fall, and will offer four electives spanning “American and Western history, literature, and economics.” CSU is in the process of approving an additional new course.
- The Ohio State University: The Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society added a new major in "Civics, Law and Leadership," and many of the courses at the center now count as general education credits. It has 488 students enrolled in courses this fall, up from 131 in the spring.
- Wright State University: The university's Center for Civics, Culture, and Workforce Development is unique in that it also houses its aviation program. A spokesperson said the university is developing new civics-related courses, along with a bachelor's degree program for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base personnel. For the fall 2026 semester, it also introduced its "Raider Immersion Program," an internship which "pairs Wright State students with defense contractors."
- Miami University: The Center for Civics, Culture, and Society has added new courses on "The Art of Statesmanship" and "Rhetoric and Civic Life," along with multiple sections of civics-related courses it introduced in the spring.
- The University of Toledo: The Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership is now offering seven course sections of its civics course, up from five in the spring. It has approximately 100 students enrolled now, up from just 12 in the spring.
Jennifer Tisone Price is executive director of the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). The Ohio Conference of the AAUP is the umbrella organization for faculty unions in the state. She said the centers represent an attack on academic freedom at the institutions.
"These were clearly an effort to use taxpayer dollars to create indoctrination centers. I mean, the legislators who have supported this have pretty much been really clear that these are ideological centers and that they have worked with conservative organizations, and not just conservative organizations, but very right-wing organizations to create civic centers that can push a certain political viewpoint," Tisone Price said.
The centers are funded by $24 million in the current budget. Spokespeople for the universities said they have used that money to hire staff and create new programming. Tisone Price said taxpayer money being used to create these "indoctrination centers" should "infuriate every Ohioan."
"These are taxpayer dollars that are paying for these directors who have been handpicked to lead these civic centers to ensure that they only push one ideology, which ... quells discussion and debate," she said.
Cleveland State University provided a statement from Peter Koritansky, the executive director of the Center for Civics, Culture and Society, in lieu of an interview.
“This is work I care deeply about. I'm honored to help renew our commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship and public service, and to carry forward the Center's mission — exploring 'the ideas and traditions that have shaped the American constitutional order' through courses, programs and events for our CSU community," he said.
Cirino in an Aug. 10 email said Senate Bill 1, and its follow-up, Senate Bill 461, are meant to refocus the mission of higher education in Ohio to "one education instead of the woke levels of indoctrination that had infiltrated the faculty and their classrooms."
"These civic centers aren't 'conservative' or 'liberal.' They're simply providing an open forum where multiple opinions are welcomed and discussed and where no student should be afraid that their political opinion will hurt their grade," he wrote.
Senate Bill 461 would also create a new statewide civics board that would be granted "sole authority" to approve all civics-related curriculum at all Ohio higher education institutions.
The bill has not yet been assigned to a committee in the Ohio Legislature.
