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.

The Civitas Institute is part of the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin.

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, 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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A Doctor In Full

The goal is not a doctor who has eliminated the contradictions of pain, caring, and death — that is impossible — but one who at least comprehends it.

Ronald W. Dworkin
Pursuit of Happiness
Oct 17, 2025

Racing Earnhardt

This is what American greatness looks like, and in our strange, chaotic, anger-filled world, Altman’s documentary is like an oasis.

Emina Melonic
Pursuit of Happiness
Oct 17, 2025

Why Reagan Crushed the PATCO Strike

A new book demonstrates why Reagan made the decision he did and, in doing so, helps advance the current-day understanding of why Reagan was such a successful president.

Tevi Troy
Politics
Oct 16, 2025

The Reign of the Greenback

The dollar is the world's overwhelmingly dominant currency, but it suffers from endemic consumer price inflation and recurring asset price inflation.

Alex J. Pollock
Economic Dynamism
Oct 16, 2025

Dallin Oaks: From Legal Giant to Leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Oaks decided not to be “a lawyer who had been called as an apostle,” but rather “an apostle who used to be a lawyer.”

Aaron L. Nielson
Pursuit of Happiness
Oct 15, 2025
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