The University of Toledo Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership’s new director brings a political scientist’s perspective to the study of the U.S. Constitution.
Dr. Jonathan Culp, who joins UToledo from the University of Dallas, will begin the role on July 12.
Dr. Jonathan Culp is the new director of the UToledo Institute of Constitutional Thought and Leadership.
“Having dedicated my academic career to teaching the American Constitutional tradition and great works of political philosophy, I’m thrilled to be joining the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership at The University of Toledo,” Culp said. “The institute is part of a much needed, burgeoning national movement revitalizing civic education in higher learning, and I aim for UToledo to be at the forefront of it. My predecessors have put the institute on a strong foundation, and I look forward to building on their excellent work.”
Culp is a scholar of political science with expertise in the philosophies of thinkers such as Plato, David Hume and George Orwell. He comes to UToledo from the University of Dallas, where he has directed undergraduate programs in international studies, political philosophy and American politics since joining the faculty in 2008.
While at the University of Dallas, Culp also developed and oversaw a civics program for primary and secondary school teachers in partnership with the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from St. John’s College and a doctoral degree in political science from Boston College.
The Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership is a multidisciplinary center at UToledo created and funded by the Ohio Legislature in 2023. Through teaching, research and public programming, the institute provides a space for diverse voices to discuss and debate key questions about U.S. society, history and politics.
Culp succeeds Lee Strang, the inaugural director of the UToledo Institute of Constitutional Thought and Leadership and now inaugural executive director of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at the Ohio State University.
Dr. Michael Gonzalez remains the executive director of the institute at UToledo.
