UT announced government professor Justin Dyer’s appointment as the Interim Dean of the School of Civic Leadership on July 11, effective immediately.

According to a statement released by the University, “As the University’s newest school, the School of Civic Leadership will develop interdisciplinary programs across campus to educate the next generation of civic leaders.” 

Dyer was the Executive Director of the Civitas Institute since last year and held the Jack. G. Taylor Regents Professorship. Before his role at the Civitas Institute, he served as a political science professor and Founding Director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri. He has also written five books and serves on the editorial boards of the American Political Thought and Political Science Reviewer journals. 

At the Kinder Institute, Dyer brought students and faculty together to study and discuss events and ideas about the founding of the United States and their international relevance today. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and his master’s and Ph.D. at UT.

“Through his role as Interim Dean, Dr. Dyer will lead efforts to cultivate and advance the school’s mission to establish world-class, transdisciplinary academic programs that offer new opportunities and scholarship around teaching and research,” Sharon Wood, executive vice president and provost of the University, said in a press release.