Federal Government Cancels Mansfield Center Grant Amid Flurry of Cuts

By Jordan Hansen for States Newsroom (pull quotes added by Montana Independent News)

“Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”

~ Thomas Jefferson

UM was awarded the Mansfield Legacy grant in 2023, and it was scheduled to run through 2026 (Provided by the University of Montana)

A University of Montana program within the Mansfield Center that sought to promote democracy lost more than $6 million of grant funding from the Department of Defense.

UM was awarded for the Project on American Democracy: Supporting Civil Society program in 2023. It was scheduled to run through 2026, but the grant was terminated on February 28 as part of deep cuts across the federal government.

…Democracy––as we know it, love it, and understand it––is today facing a challenge as to its very existence. This challenge must be met: met by all who believe in its fundamental processes and who love the liberties and responsibilities of a democracy.

~ Mike Mansfield, 1939

“These grants focus primarily on patriotic education and building an understanding of the greatness of our country, which we see as essential to national security,” Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center Executive Director Deena Mansour wrote in an email. “The grants fund efforts to accomplish this, with a focus on rural populations across Montana. The grant aims to ‘bridge the divide’ between urban and rural populations around the topic of patriotic education. Thousands of students and community members will lose access to these opportunities.”

The program was housed in the Mansfield Center, which has been a point of pride for the University of Montana since its inception in 1983. It’s named after the late Democratic U.S. Senator Mike Mansfield, the longest-serving Senate majority leader.

The center’s goal is to support democracy and create leaders who have a wide understanding of the world and listen to a variety of perspectives.

The program cuts also hit efforts to bring in foreign dignitaries to UM, according to an email blast from the university. In the same email, the university expressed concern that language instruction for service members, and efforts to build U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy and trade objectives could also be at risk.

More recently, and part of what the grants tried to accomplish, was an attempt to bridge the urban-rural divide.

“The impact of terminating these two grants is significant, both for UM and for Montana: the cancellation of programming designed to educate rural Montanans about American freedom and liberty, and about the patriotism that is so essential in inspiring military service and national security,” Mansour wrote. “This puts Montanans and our country at a disadvantage.”

The more teens are exposed to high-quality civics education in high school…the more likely they are to be engaged in community service and voting as young adults.

~ National Association of State Boards of Education, as reported in Education Week

One of the things it did was bring students from both urban and rural communities to Washington, D.C., for a workshop.

“The goal was to help lower that divide that can exist between urban and rural areas in regards to civics education,” said UM spokesperson Dave Kuntz.

Much of the grant funding went toward salaries to keep the work the grants sought to address running. About 100 jobs were wrapped up in the grant, according to an email blast from the Mansfield Center.

Federal funding for colleges and universities across the country is in question, and in the email, the Mansfield Center asked for financial support for the programs as part of a university fundraising campaign underway.

“It’s always going to be an institutional priority for UM and the Mansfield Center to advance civics and democracy and patriotism,” Kuntz said. “Especially in areas that are underserved and don’t get that kind of access to those kinds of curriculums and programs.”

Only one in five social studies teachers in U.S. public schools report feeling very well prepared to support students' civic learning, saying they need additional aid with instructional materials, professional development, and training, according to a RAND Corporation survey.

Kuntz added that UM President Seth Bodnar was in contact with Montana’s federal congressional delegation on Tuesday afternoon to see if there was any way to reverse the decision.