On the corner of Cumberland and Melrose, behind a small courtyard, stands the three-story rotunda of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.
“There are a lot of institutions that get named for some politician, and it’s just a name,” John Scheb, interim associate dean of academic affairs at the school, said. “But here, it’s different.”
Since its establishment by the UT Board of Trustees in 2003, the school has focused on continuing Baker’s mission of bipartisan public service by encouraging students to collaborate across the party line.
“Social media has really allowed people to, kind of, retreat into their echo chambers and never really engage with people who think differently,” Scheb said. “And we’re trying to get people to be willing to do that.”
The school’s broader mission is to educate students about the history of the American government, preparing them to enter public service positions of their own, whether they’re serving local, state or national communities.
“We want them to be exposed to, especially, the philosophy associated with the founding of the country, and how our institutions have evolved and adapted to changing circumstances,” Scheb said.
Born from the political science department, UT established the Baker School out of the belief that public affairs goes beyond political science, stemming into multiple diverse disciplines.
Students in IAC 101 in the Howard Baker School. Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
“It really serves to train people for the public service,” Scheb said. “I always thought that there was a real need for this on campus, that it wasn’t a need that could be met by just one department.”
One of the highlights of the Baker School is its Institute of American Civics, which the Tennessee State Legislature established in 2022. UT professors sent a memorandum to the legislature asking for the creation of the institute and explaining its importance.
“It got to the lack of civic knowledge,” Bill Lyons, professor emeritus and associate director for community outreach for the Institute of American Civics, said. “The people are not engaged as much, and of course the lack of civility and the ability to talk to each other.”
The institute serves to fight this trend by educating the UT community about civics through academic programs, courses and special events.
“Those courses are designed to convey great civic knowledge, and also to promote discussion, and even debate sometimes, about key issues in America’s civic life, both past and current,” Andrew Busch, associate director of the institute, said.
The other facet of the institute is its service to K-12 education. The institute invites K-12 students and teachers to UT, or travels to visit them, in order to teach them about civics.
“There’s a great need for people to be educated on the founding, and sort of the principles of American government and constitutionalism, people’s rights, et cetera. Students are quite hungry for that,” Scheb said. “But what we’re thinking is, we shouldn’t just wait till people are college freshmen.”
The institute recently won a $2 million grant from the US Department of Education, furthering these K-12 efforts. Additionally, the state legislature increased the institute’s annual $4 million fund to $5.4 million dollars, with the new funds being dedicated to the K-12 program.
“They are both aiming at the same thing, that is helping us to work with K-12 educators to make civics education as good as it can be in the state of Tennessee,” Busch said.
These increases in funding come at a time where many higher education institutions are seeing cuts in government funding. On the other hand, the Institute of American Civics, Lyons said, is receiving an increase in funding due to its importance in the modern political climate.
Eli Hodge takes notes during IAC 101 in the Howard Baker School. Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
“There’s been a recognition that what the institute does is something that people need more of colleges to do,” Lyons said.
What people need to know, and what the institute is teaching, Lyons said, goes back to basic government knowledge.
“People don’t understand the founding, or what it is, they don’t understand what representative democracy is, they don’t understand checks and balances, all this basic stuff, that you used to assume people knew,” Lyons said. “We need to concentrate more effort in making that happen.”
One of the institute’s other pillars is fostering viewpoint diversity — understanding and respecting that everyone has their own ideas and opinions because of their different experiences — on campus. Being able to speak your own opinion while also respecting others is crucial, the professors said, especially in a time where so many are questioning free speech.
“I think we need to have as much viewpoint diversity and respect for other viewpoints,” Lyons said. “That depends upon a degree of respect, if not agreement, with the fact that people don’t necessarily think alike.”
