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Director, Financial Responsibility and Economic Education (FREE) Program | Affiliated Faculty
Charity-Joy Acchiardo is an associate professor of instruction in UT’s Department of Economics. She is the faculty lead for UT’s OnRamps microeconomics course for high school students and is director of the Financial Responsibility and Economic Education program, both joint projects of the Civitas Institute and the Department of Economics. She is an economic educator fellow at the Fraser Institute, Canada’s top-ranked think tank, and has served as the executive director of the Journal of Economics Teaching. Her websites econkahoots.com and econshark.com are dedicated to making the economics classroom more engaging. Acchiardo’s passion is sharing her joy about economics with others, and she is a frequent speaker at workshops for educators and students. She completed her Ph.D. in economics at George Mason University.
Executive Committee | Affiliated Faculty
Daniel Bonevac is Professor of Philosophy and Human Dimensions of Organizations in the College of Liberal Arts, where he teaches and does research in logic and ethics, especially organizational ethics. His book Reduction in the Abstract Sciences received the Johnsonian Prize from The Journal of Philosophy. His other books include Deduction (Blackwell), Simple Logic (Oxford), Worldly Wisdom (Mayfield), and Historical Dictionary of Ethics (Rowman and Littlefield). Among his edited volumes are Today’s Moral Issues (McGraw-Hill, seven editions) and World Philosophy (Oxford, with Stephen Phillips). Professor Bonevac’s articles have appeared in such journals as Philosophical Review, Mind, Noûs, The Journal of Philosophy, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Synthese, Journal of Philosophical Logic, Ethics, Philosophical Studies, and Erkenntnis. He was Chairman of the Department of Philosophy from 1991 to 2001. He earned his PhD at the University of Pittsburgh.
Executive Committee | Professor
Scott Carrell is professor of economics in the College of Liberal Arts where he writes and teaches on public and labor economics. His early work focused on ways to improve military retention through local labor market forces, while his recent work specializes in the economics of education. At Civitas, he leads a new undergraduate program on leadership and research. He previously served as an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and as the senior economist for public finance and labor economics on the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President. Carrell also serves as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a research fellow at Institute for the Study of Labor, and a co-faculty director of the California Education Lab. He is the author of twenty-seven peer-reviewed journal articles. He received his BA from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an M.A. in Economics and an M.S. in Management from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Florida.
Executive Committee | Affiliated Faculty
Sheena Chestnut Greitens is associate professor in the L.B.J. School of Public Affairs. She also directs UT’s Asia Policy Program, a joint initiative of the Clements Center for National Security and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law. In 2022, she was a Jeane Kirkpatrick Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Greitens’s teaching and research focus is on American national security, East Asia, and the politics of democracy and dictatorship. She is the author of Dictators and their Secret Police: Coercive Institutions and State Violence. Her current book projects focus on authoritarianism and diaspora politics in North Korea, and on internal security as a driver of Chinese grand strategy. She completed her Ph.D. in government at Harvard University.
Associate Professor
Alexander S. Duff is associate professor in the School of Civic Leadership. He writes widely in the history of political philosophy, and his publications on classical, modern, and contemporary political philosophy have appeared in both scholarly and popular publications. He has held fellowships from the Civitas Institute, the Tocqueville Program for Inquiry into Religion and American Public Life at the University of Notre Dame, and from the Program for the Study of the Western Heritage at Boston College. He is the author of Heidegger and Politics: The Ontology of Radical Discontent. He is a co-founder of the Association for the History of Political Thought, an academic organization devoted to the study of the History of Political Thought. He received an M.A. from Carlton College and Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame.
Dean, School of Civic Leadership | Jack G. Taylor Regents Professor
Justin Dyer is dean of the School of Civic Leadership, professor of government, and Jack G. Taylor Regents Professor at The University of Texas at Austin. Dyer writes and teaches in the fields of American political thought, jurisprudence and constitutionalism, with an emphasis on the perennial philosophical tradition of natural law. He is the author or editor of eight books and numerous articles, essays and book reviews. His most recent book, with Kody Cooper, is The Classical and Christian Origins of American Politics: Political Theology, Natural Law, and the American Founding, published in 2022 by Cambridge University Press. His previous books with Cambridge University Press include C.S. Lewis on Politics and the Natural Law (2016); Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning (2013); and Natural Law and the Antislavery Constitutional Tradition (2012). He also is co-editor of the two-volume constitutional law casebook American Constitutional Law (4th edition, West Academic), which has been adopted at leading universities across the country. Previously, he was professor of political science at the University of Missouri, where he served as the founding director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, a signature academic center for the study of American political thought and history. After attending the University of Oklahoma on a wrestling scholarship, he completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in Government at The University of Texas at Austin.
Executive Committee | Affiliated Faculty
Patricio A. Fernandez is an associate professor of philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts. Previously, he taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and held a Humboldt research fellowship at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He has published in ancient philosophy, action theory, ethics, and the economic analysis of law. His research focuses on ancient and contemporary approaches to practical reasoning, human action, and the normative standards that apply to them. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy and economics from Harvard University.
Adjunct Instructor
James T. Hackett Sr. is on the faculty of the McCombs School of Business and College of Liberal Arts. He is president of Tessellation Services L.L.C., a consulting business focused on business governance, leadership, and ethics. He serves on the board of directors of three Fortune 500 companies and chairs an advanced nuclear power company. He also serves on the board of trustees of the Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University. He has extensive experience in the energy industry, including as chairman and C.E.O. of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., and in finance, having served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas. Hackett holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he graduated with high honors after attending the U.S. Air Force Academy, a master’s degree in theology from Harvard Divinity School, and an M.B.A. from Harvard.
Director of Academic Programs | Lecturer
Sarah Beth V. Kitch is director of academic programs in the School of Civic Leadership. An award-winning teacher, she invites students to intentional opportunities to reflect on the task of being human. Kitch’s teaching and research interests are in American political thought, African American political thought, political theology, and ethics. She has written for the Journal of Church & State, American Journal of Political Science, Law & Liberty, and Starting Points. Previously, Kitch taught at St. Agnes Academy (Houston), was an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, visiting assistant professor at Northern Illinois University, the Thomas W. Smith Postdoctoral Research Associate in Religion & Public Life at Princeton University, and instructor of political science at Louisiana State University. Kitch earned a B.A. in mass communication and journalism from Southeastern Louisiana University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political theory at Louisiana State University.
Executive Committee | Affiliated Faculty
Rob Koons is professor of philosophy in UT’s College of Liberal Arts. He is the author or co-author of five books, including: Realism Regained, The Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to Metaphysics, The Waning of Materialism, Neo-Aristotelian Perspectives on Contemporary Science, and Neo-Aristotelian Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Nature. He has been working recently on an Aristotelian interpretation of quantum theory, on defending and articulating Thomism in contemporary terms, and on arguments for classical theism. His forthcoming books include: Is Thomas Aquinas’s Philosophy of Nature Obsolete? and Classical Theism. He completed his M.A. at Oxford University and his Ph.D. at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Director, British and Transatlantic Studies Program | Affiliated Faculty
David L. Leal is a professor of government and a professor (by courtesy) of Mexican American studies and religious studies in the College of Liberal Arts. Since 2018, he also has been a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Leal is a scholar of Latino politics, and his work explores the political and policy implications of demographic change. He has published over fifty journal articles and edited or co-edited a dozen scholarly books and journal symposia. He has been an American Political Science Association congressional fellow, a Fulbright distinguished lecturer in Japan, and an associate member of Nuffield College at Oxford University. In 2021, he was recognized with the Distinguished Career Award from the Latina/o caucus of the Midwest Political Science Association. He completed his Ph.D. in government at Harvard University.
Director, Minor in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) | Professor of Instruction
Dirk Mateer is professor of instruction in the Department of Economics. He helps to develop UT’s OnRamps microeconomics course for high school students and is senior teaching fellow in the Financial Responsibility and Economic Education (FREE) program, both joint projects of the Civitas Institute and the Department of Economics. Prior to coming to UT, he received Penn State University’s highest teaching award and was voted the best overall teacher in the Smeal College of Business. During his time at the University of Arizona, Dirk received the University’s Koffler Teaching Prize, a quadrennial award for his contributions in economic education. He has also received the Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award from the Southern Economic Association. He is the author of numerous books and journal articles, including Economics in the Movies, Essentials of Economics, and Principles of Economics. Mateer earned his B.S. in Mathematics (Cum Laude) from Pfeiffer College, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from Florida State University.
Distinguished Visiting Professor
Vincent Phillip Muñoz is Distinguished Fellow of the Civitas Institute and the Tocqueville Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, where he is the founding director of the Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government. Prof. Muñoz writes and teaches across the fields of constitutional law, American politics, and political philosophy with a focus on religious liberty and the American Founding. He won a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to support his most recent book, Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses (University of Chicago Press, 2022). The author of numerous articles in leading political science journals and law reviews, Prof. Muñoz’ first book, God and the Founders: Madison, Washington, and Jefferson (Cambridge University Press, 2009), won the Hubert Morken Award from the American Political Science Association for the best publication on religion and politics in 2009 and 2010. He completed his Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate School.
Assistant Professor of Instruction
David Puelz is assistant professor of instruction in the School of Civic Leadership and director of the Policy Research Lab. Puelz’s research explores computational methods for applied data analysis, especially in the economic, social, and behavioral sciences. His latest work focuses on experimentation, causal inference, and data generated from networks. Puelz previously was a clinical assistant professor at UT McCombs School of Business, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and an analyst for Goldman Sachs & Co. He received a B.A. in mathematics and physics from Wesleyan University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in statistics from UT Austin.
Assistant Professor
Raúl Rodríguez is an assistant professor in the School of Civic Leadership. Rodríguez’s research and teaching focus on the classic texts of political philosophy and constitutional studies. His writings have appeared in journals including the American Journal of Political Science, American Political Thought, The Political Science Reviewer, and The Review of Politics. His current book project is titled Redeeming Democracy: Tocqueville’s New Liberalism. He received his his B.A. at Furman University and Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame.
Associate Director, Civitas Institute | Lecturer
Antonio Sosa is associate director for the Civitas Institute. In this capacity, he oversees the development of fellowships, conferences, and courses that invite students to reflect on the principles of a free society. Prior to joining Civitas, Antonio was an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, where he taught classes on classical political philosophy, the American Founding, modern European history, and the history of liberal arts education. He is primarily interested in the defense of liberal democracy that is found in the thought of Tocqueville, Ortega y Gasset, and Leo Strauss. His writing has appeared in journals such as Interpretation and Perspectives on Political Science and in online magazines such as Public Discourse and Law and Liberty. He graduated with B.A.s in English and film from Pennsylvania State University and earned his M.A. in international relations from The New School. He is also a doctoral candidate in political philosophy at the University of Dallas.
Executive Committee | Affiliated Faculty
Devin Stauffer is a professor of government. He specializes in classical and early modern political philosophy. Prior to coming to UT Austin in 2004, Stauffer taught at Kenyon College and St. John’s College in Annapolis. During his time at Kenyon College, he received two awards for teaching excellence, and he has since received two more teaching awards at UT. Stauffer’s books include Plato’s Introduction to the Question of Justice, The Unity of Plato’s Gorgias, and Hobbes’s Kingdom of Light. His articles have appeared in numerous journals including Review of Politics, Journal of Politics, and American Political Science Review. He received his B.A. from Kenyon College and Ph.D. from Boston College.
Executive Director, Civitas Institute | Senior Lecturer
Ryan Streeter is executive director of the Civitas Institute. Previously, Streeter was the State Farm James Q. Wilson Scholar and director of domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (A.E.I.), where he facilitated research in education, technology, housing, urban policy, poverty studies, workforce development, and public opinion. Before joining A.E.I., he was executive director of the Center for Politics and Governance at UT Austin. Streeter has had a distinguished career in government service. He has served as a policy advisor to a U.S. president, a governor, and a mayor. Outside of government, he has served as a senior fellow at the Legatum Institute and a research fellow at the Hudson Institute. Streeter co-edited The Future of Cities, authored Transforming Charity, edited Religion and the Public Square, co-authored The Soul of Civil Society, and contributed to Stephen Goldsmith’s book Putting Faith in Neighborhoods. Additionally, he is the author, co-author, and editor of more than 150 articles and papers for outlets including Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, USA Today, The Hill, City Journal, and National Review. He has a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Emory University.
Distinguished Visiting Professor
John Yoo is the Emanuel Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. His tenth book, Defender-in-Chief: Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power, was published in 2020. Professor Yoo has published over 100 academic journal articles on national security, constitutional law, international law, and the Supreme Court, and regularly contributes to major editorial pages such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Yoo has served in all three branches of government. He was an official in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on national security and terrorism issues after the 9/11 attacks. He served as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and has been a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and federal appeals Judge Laurence Silberman. Professor Yoo supervises the Public Law and Policy Program, the Korea Law Center, and the California Constitution Center. He is also a winner of the Federalist Society’s Paul M. Bator Award. Yoo graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law School.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Josh Banerjee is a postdoctoral fellow in the Civitas Institute. Previously, he was a visiting research scholar at Duke University and a James Buchanan fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. His research is focused on macroeconomic history, particularly of Britain. His research interests include the material and ideational determinants of economic growth, the analysis of macroeconomic fluctuations, the history of economic and econometric thought, the relationship between the market and the state, and normative issues in the political economy of a prosperous and flourishing society. He earned a Ph.D., M.Sc., and B.Sc. in economic history from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Joey Barretta is a postdoctoral fellow in the Civitas Institute. His research focus on Frederick Douglass’s political thought shows the importance of Douglass’s Reconstruction era political project. His work has been published in New North Star: A Journal of the Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, a peer-reviewed journal housed at the IUPUI Institute for American Thought. He received his B.A. in political science and history from Ashland University and his Ph.D. and M.A. in American politics and political philosophy from Hillsdale College.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Alexander Batson is a postdoctoral fellow in the Civitas Institute. He is an intellectual historian of early modern Europe. Batson’s current projects address European imperial ideology, maritime law, the emergence of historical scholarship in the Renaissance, and the political and legal thought of the Protestant Reformer Philip Melanchthon. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Journal of the History of International Law, Reformation & Renaissance Review, Journal of the History of Ideas, and Grotiana. Batson earned his Ph.D. from Yale University.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Reid Comstock is a postdoctoral fellow in the Civitas Institute. He specializes in ancient philosophy, ethics, and the philosophy of law. He is interested in the nature of human flourishing, and the social, political, and legal institutions which make it possible. He has co-authored a paper on the Socratic elenchus and has written several papers on Aristotle’s activity as a teacher of ethics. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Abby Thomas is a postdoctoral fellow in the Civitas Institute. Her teaching and research focus is the history of political philosophy, with a particular focus on the thinkers of ancient Greece. Her current research is a book-length study of Aristotle’s intricate treatment of pleasure and pain in his philosophy of moral and philosophic education. Before coming to the Civitas Institute, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Politics and in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. She earned her B.A. from Hiram College and her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Contact Abby at abigail.staysa@austin.utexas.edu.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Tyler Thomas is a postdoctoral fellow in the Civitas Institute. His primary research interest concerns the intersection of science and politics, particularly the relationship of scientific expertise and political authority. His current project investigates the contributions of the philosopher René Descartes to the emergence of the West’s scientific culture. He comes to the Civitas Institute from Emory University, where he taught for the past two years after having completed his graduate studies at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a B.A. from Hiram College and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame.