Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy ‘strives for civility in civic dialogue without sacrificing commitment to principle and diversity of thought.’
“The Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy supports the sifting and winnowing of ideas about what makes democracy flourish.”
That’s Cecelia Klingele ’05, the newly named director of the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy (CSLD). In addition to being a University of Wisconsin Law School alumna, she’s also a graduate of the College of Letters and Science.
CSLD was founded in 1996 by Emeritus Professor Donald Downs, who remains a member of the Advisory Board. For 28 years, it was housed in the political science department, where professors Richard Avramenko and Ryan Owens served as co-directors before Klingele. In 2024, it moved to the Law School, which now offers program space and administrative support for its interdisciplinary programming.
The center’s primary mission is to “probe the nature and prospects of liberal democracy and its core principles, practices and institutions.” In essence, it’s a purpose that is twofold: (1) to promote understanding and critical appreciation of the cardinal principles, institutions and practices of liberal democratic politics, and (2) to promote intellectual diversity on the campus; two areas that are highly salient in a time marked by deep philosophical and ideological division.
“In recent decades, the defense of liberal-democratic principles — both in our country and abroad — has been called into question,” explained Klingele. “The center supports programming that demonstrates how and why these principles are still relevant today.”
The center offers space for these conversations in a university environment, where the next generation of leaders are shaping their thoughts about how best to advance the common good.
Klingele’s involvement with the CSLD began in 2020, when Avramenko asked her to serve on the center’s Advisory Board and to help with its then newly launched initiative on Catholic Social and Political Thought. Klingele has a background in classical humanities and medieval studies, and at the time was doing academic work at the intersection of Catholic social thought and criminal justice, “so the timing was perfect,” she explained.
When Avramenko and Owens left the University of Wisconsin–Madison last summer to lead large civics institutes at other public universities, they asked Klingele to help guide the center into its next chapter.
“The chance to build on the center’s rich legacy and my predecessors’ good work was an honor,” she said. “I hope to be a good steward in sustaining and furthering the mission of the CSLD.”
Modeling a Robust, Thoughtful Community
The CSLD serves a unique role on campus, sponsoring classes, reading groups, scholarly lectures and cultural learning opportunities that offer both undergraduate and graduate students a broad education in the foundational principles of constitutional politics.
That’s how Leo Ruffolo, a sophomore studying History and Legal Studies in the College of Letters and Science and a current intern with the center, became involved.
“In Fall 2024, I learned Professor Klingele was taking over leadership of the center,” he explained. “I had known her since my freshman year, when she ran a reading group through the Catholic Social and Political Thought Fellows Program. I went because of my desire to learn more about my faith, as well as how I can apply it to the secular/intellectual world.”
The group was “great,” said Ruffolo, who aspires to be a lawyer himself, and included people from many different backgrounds.
“The discussions were really insightful, and it was a nice, small community,” he said. “Professor Klingele did a great job of running it.”
Ruffolo’s main role as intern is to advertise events and foster a community with students across campus. He’s connected with a few student organizations that now host events co-sponsored by the center.
“I also helped with setting up the recent semester’s Catholic Social and Political Thought reading group,” he said. “We read ‘Man and the State’ by Jacques Maritain.”
As director of the CSLD, Klingele said she’s excited to give back to the university by continuing to provide students and faculty across campus with opportunities for interdisciplinary learning and discussion on topics related to its mission.
“In a sound-bite culture, I hope the CSLD can be a place that sparks nuanced, thoughtful and ideologically diverse conversations about what makes a flourishing democratic society.” – Cecelia Klingele ’05
“My goal is to encourage initiatives and undergraduate education that explore principles related to liberal democracy and its future, including free speech, civil society, civic virtue, foundations of democracy, the role of religion in the public sphere and civil-military relations,” she explained. “In a sound-bite culture, I hope the CSLD can be a place that sparks nuanced, thoughtful and ideologically diverse conversations about what makes a flourishing democratic society.”
The CSLD should be a model of the kind of robust community we study, Klingele continued, offering students the chance to probe new and old ideas through classes, reading groups and participation in scholarly conferences.
This year, the center has co-hosted events with the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership, the Federalist Society and the UW-Madison Human Rights Project, among others.
The CSLD also hosts an annual undergraduate essay competition in which students are invited to answer timely questions related to foundational freedoms and responsibilities in liberal democracies. This year’s topic was “Should there be limits on presidential pardoning power?”
Scholarships are awarded for the top three essays. Winners are invited to the annual “Disinvited Dinner,” which hosts intellectual speakers who have been disinvited by fellow universities.
“The center plays a large role in intellectual and ideological diversity on the UW–Madison campus,” Ruffolo said.
He believes it’s also the strongest value the center brings to the university.
“The center makes it possible to have various ideas respectfully displayed and debated on campus, which is important for the students who could feel unrepresented,” he continued. “We value the diversity of people who come to this incredible university, and the center helps create an environment that upholds the diversity of thought on this campus.”
An Expanding Network
Center staff are eager to identify new ways to leverage strengths to better serve students, faculty and the general public.
“While our work is directed primarily to UW-Madison students, we do aim to serve the broader community, too,” explained Klingele. “For example, we host a summer institute each year for high school civics teachers to empower them with ideas and resources to enrich their own students’ learning.”
The Civic Literacy and Citizenship Symposium provides secondary school social studies teachers with texts and ideas to contribute to a deeper understanding of America’s founding principles and history. In essence, it seeks to educate and equip teachers with practical tools, resources and best practices for addressing civic literacy at their home institutions.
The center also sponsors public lectures and makes videos available to the public via its YouTube channel.
Faculty across campus are invited to participate in CSLD initiatives; in recent years, the center has supported classes taught in political science, integrated liberal studies, and the Department of French and Italian. Klingele hopes to expand the center’s network of faculty over the next three years.
Introducing students to diverse thoughts and ideas is no small feat.
“Our center does a lot with a little,” she said. “At the moment, we have no dedicated staff, which presents practical obstacles — although the Law School has been enthusiastic and generous in welcoming the center and helping with projects this year.”
In fact, two of the center’s program initiative directors, Anuj Desai and Kevin Kelly, are from the Law School.
And UW Law is a natural home for the center in many ways.
“The study of law emphasizes many principles that are at the core of the CSLD’s mission,” Klingele explained. “In democracies, lawyers are trained to value principled disagreement, encourage robust debate and use law to safeguard both individual rights and common good. Our work at the CSLD helps students understand the foundations of American democracy and practice the skills that will enable them to be articulate and effective participants in civic life. I am grateful to the Law School for its enthusiastic support of the center and its mission.”
“Our work at the CSLD helps students understand the foundations of American democracy and practice the skills that will enable them to be articulate and effective participants in civic life.” – Cecelia Klingele ’05
For all the backing the CSLD receives, it can be challenging to engage the richly varied local community in collaborative conversations around what makes a flourishing, democratic society.
“We are living in a moment when distrust runs deep across ideological and partisan lines,” Klingele explained. “We lack spaces for the kind of deliberative, slow conversations that allow students to consider unfamiliar ideas on their merits. Working with the broader campus community to build an infrastructure for that kind of impactful learning is both a major challenge and an exciting opportunity.”
Having these conversations is not easy.
“People of goodwill are bound to disagree about the proper balance between state, society and individuals; the right ordering of goods; and the balance between liberty and restraint, for example,” she said. “Meaningful dialogue requires the freedom to think and speak in ways that push beyond the familiar; to try on and discard ideas in a search for what is good and true. The center strives for civility in civic dialogue without sacrificing commitment to principle or diversity of thought.”