Revitalizing the Social Contract for the 250th Anniversary of the United States Constitution
At the heart of this initiative is a renewed focus on constitutional citizenship and civic responsibility, public service and civilian-military relations. While many institutions at liberal arts colleges focus on civic engagement, the breakdown in civilian-military relations is often overlooked, possibly because so few members of the liberal arts college community serve in the military. This loss of connection between our educated elite and our soldiers is one of the great shifts in American society over the past few generations. The new initiative aims to bridge this divide.
Led by Chris Gibson, a former U.S. Army Brigade Commander and Colonel (now retired), three-term U.S. Congressman, scholar of civil-military relations, and former President of Siena College, and Malia Du Mont, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve, Bard College’s Chief of Staff and Vice President for Strategy and Policy, and former Department of Defense strategist, the program will build a nationally relevant model for educating students, teachers, cadets, and citizens in the rights and responsibilities of constitutional democracy with a special focus on public service in government and in the military.
Chris Gibson Joins Bard College as Hannah Arendt Center Senior Fellow and Professor of Political Practice
Bard College’s Hannah Arendt Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Gibson as a senior fellow and a professor of political practice. His residency will begin in the spring 2027 academic semester during the pilot program of the Center’s new initiative, “A Republic, If You Can Keep It,” which coincides with the 250th anniversary of the birth of the American republic. The program aims to address the weakening of the social contract between government and citizens, and offer a renewed focus on constitutional citizenship, civic responsibility, public service, and civilian-military relations. Gibson, a former member of Congress and retired US Army colonel, will also participate in the 2026 Arendt Forum in October.
Can We Keep It? Bard’s New Initiative Takes on the State of American Democracy - Afternoons with Jami on Radio Kingston
As Americans approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, Bard College is asking a question that feels particularly urgent: What does it take to sustain a democracy when trust is eroding, political divisions are deepening, and Americans increasingly inhabit entirely different media realities? Chris Gibson and Malia Du Mont join Jami Smith to discuss A Republic, If You Can Keep It, a new initiative from Bard’s Hannah Arendt Center examining citizenship, civic responsibility, public service, and how we engage with one another when we can’t always agree on the facts.