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The Honor the Future campaign, the largest in University history, concluded in 2025, thanks to thousands of loyal supporters. Its impact on students, faculty, facilities, and research reaches across Charlottesville, Wise County, and Northern Virginia as it continues to advance the school in its third century of service to the commonwealth, nation, and world.
As part of a public institution founded to prepare citizen-leaders to serve a young democracy, the Karsh Institute conducts interdisciplinary scholarship, promotes research and teaching, and offers programs and partnerships designed to engage the public.
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A major milestone of the campaign was the launch of the Karsh Institute’s new home—a vibrant, architecturally significant space featuring a state-of-the-art auditorium and media production facilities. Made possible by the support of Bruce (Law ’80) and Martha (Col ’78, Law ’81) Karsh and John L. Nau III (Col ’68), the building will host public programs, research convenings, and interactive events that advance democratic engagement on Grounds and beyond. It will also house space for the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, deepening collaboration across schools. Additional spaces are available for naming opportunities.
With a commitment to multidisciplinary inquiry, the institute grew its academic footprint through the John L. Nau III History & Principles of Democracy Lab, adding 12 new faculty positions and launching a UVA Press book series—Democratic Ideals in Global Perspective—on the future of democratic governance.
The Weldon Cooper Center is now integrated within the Karsh Institute, helping it build national research and programming models based on the Cooper Center’s proven work fostering good governance, leadership, and resilience in Virginia.
The Karsh Institute also partnered with professors Paul Freedman and Jennifer Lawless to develop a new National Election Survey, supported by the Hewlett Foundation. This research initiative captures public sentiment on democracy, voting, and electoral confidence, with the aim of becoming an annual resource for scholars, policymakers, and journalists.
Student-facing programming expanded significantly during the campaign. More than 300 students across 11 UVA schools joined the Karsh Institute’s Civic Cornerstone Fellowship, a pan-University initiative equipping students to engage across lines of difference. The program is expanding to UVA Wise.
In fall 2023, the Karsh Institute hosted its inaugural Democracy360, a three-day convening of scholars, journalists, artists, and civic leaders exploring the future of democracy. The Atlantic served as media partner and VPM as the streaming partner.
Healing Through Conversation
A medical student and experienced facilitator, Donovan Brown brings global perspective and a passion for civil discourse to the future of healthcare.
Donovan Brown (Med ’27) Graduate Student, School of Medicine Karsh Institute Civic Cornerstone Fellow
Leading with Aloha
A first-year student from Hawai’i, Ahryanna McGuirk brings a deep commitment to community, open-minded dialogue, and women’s rights.
Ahryanna McGuirk (Col ’28) First-year, anticipated major in Public Policy & Economics Karsh Institute Civic Cornerstone Fellow
From Margins to Power
Christopher Carter studies how Indigenous and marginalized communities organize, advocate, and reshape the institutions that govern them.
Christopher Carter John L. Nau III Assistant Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy Assistant Professor of Politics
Christopher Carter’s research focuses on how Indigenous populations mobilize to make demands on the state. His book project examines the formation of ethnic and class identities in Latin America, with research that earned the 2020 APSA Best Fieldwork Award and the 2021 Juan Linz Prize for Best Dissertation in the Comparative Study of Democracy. Carter’s scholarship aligns with the Karsh Institute’s work to strengthen democratic institutions and civic participation by examining how different communities organize, advocate, and influence governance structures.
“Working with the Karsh Institute has shown me that my research can go far beyond an academic venue and have a real-world impact.”
Before joining the faculty at UVA, Carter was an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2020 and his B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar. His work has been published in Comparative Political Studies; Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics; Perspectives on Politics; and Party Politics.
Civic Conversations, Reimagined
Wahl explores how education, belief, and curiosity shape the space between disagreement and understanding.
Rachel L. Wahl Director, Good Life Political Project, Karsh Institute of Democracy Associate Professor, School of Education and Human Development +
Wahl is a scholar of political dialogue who has studied conversations between people who disagree about politics for the past decade. Her scholarship aligns with the Karsh Institute’s work to strengthen democratic culture by fostering meaningful dialogue, understanding, and engagement across differences.
“What I have found is that people rarely change their minds about political issues as a direct result of these discussions. But they frequently feel much better about the people with whom they disagree.”
Wahl’s research explores how ideas spread through education and advocacy, particularly how state and civil society efforts influence one another. She examines how philosophical beliefs about morality, justice, and human nature shape openness to dialogue, deliberation, and education. Wahl is especially interested in the contrast between approaches that foster voluntary learning and those that rely on public pressure to change ideas and behavior.
“Dialogue alone does not sustain a healthy democracy. Citizen actions, not words, protect democratic institutions, our rights, and the rights of others. But open, curious conversations among people who disagree keep alive the ideas and practices that remind us we are all humans together, sharing a world—and in the U.S., sharing a nation that’s worth protecting.”
The Institute will build on UVA’s expertise in the study of democracy, public policy and leadership and fund construction...
Donald Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A year later, the UVA Karsh Institute of...
The advisory board features a breadth of personal and professional experiences—business, law, academic, political, philanthropic, service, entrepreneurial, journalism—as well...
From a career in Washington, D.C., to the Karsh Institute of Democracy at UVA, Melody Barnes remains focused on...
Grand Challenges Research Investments move the needle
The total includes a $15 million endowment to support the Karsh Institute of Democracy and a $2.6 million fund...
