The United States generally and higher education specifically are grappling with the decline in civic engagement, an increase in uncivil discourse and divisive politics, widespread falsehoods and conspiracy theories, and a decline in Americans’ confidence in its political institutions. As higher-education institutions rediscover their civic mission, more political scientists are focusing on civic engagement as a pedagogy, research subject, and community service. The newly formed Civic Engagement Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA) is the latest response by the discipline to (re)engage in higher education’s civic mission.

The purposes of this Spotlight are to introduce the new Civic Engagement Section to the discipline, to demonstrate how civic engagement can be integrated into all dimensions of faculty work, and to encourage our colleagues to become involved with civic engagement.