ADP at UCO Takes State’s Civic Pulse

By Stephanie South, Program Associate, AASCU

The American Democracy Project at the University of Central Oklahoma, in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) and Oklahoma Campus Compact, has just released the 2012 Oklahoma Civic Health Index, which is focused on civic skills and voter education. The report looks at a broad set of indicators for civic participation both across the state and relative to national trends.

The first Oklahoma civic health index was produced by the partnered research teams in 2010.

The 2012 report, which was presented at the Oklahoma State Capitol on December 4, highlighted some of the conclusions reached by the research teams. One of the primary ones being that although there is still room for increased engagement, progress has been made since 2010. In fact, despite ranking 30^th in the nation for discussing politics or 44^th in regard to voter registration rates, Oklahoma ranks eighth in eating dinner with family and 20^th in volunteerism.

For a synopsis of key findings, read the Edmond Sun’s article online.

UCO’s American Democracy Project plays a pivotal role in UCO’s civic health work. Patricia Loughlin, director of UCO’s ADP informed the Edmond Sun that, “We see value in exploring the civic health of Oklahoma through the lens of civic skills and voter education, and hope this report encourages new dialogue and action across the state. We invite everyone to invest in the civic health of Oklahoma’s citizens and communities as we prepare the next generation of informed and engaged citizens and leaders of our democracy.”

The University of Central Oklahoma is also a key participant in ADP’s Campus and Community Civic Health Initiative, a partnership with NCoC. As part of this initiative, UCO and the 24 other participating colleges and universities, will measure and work to improve aspects of campus and local community civic health.

For the full report, you can download the civic health index and take a look at the Oklahoma Civic Health infographic by clicking here.

Read a previous blog post about UCO’s 2010 civic health work here.