In a major milestone toward safeguarding factual integrity and nonpartisan rigor in civic learning, the Board of Trustees has formally appointed Dr. Maggie Commins and Jasmine Corbett-Warren as the inaugural members of the CivicsEDU Educational Review Committee (ERC).

Composed of leading academic scholars and experienced educational practitioners, the ERC serves as an independent body tasked with conducting peer reviews of all CivicsEDU-curated educational content. The Committee’s core mandate is twofold: ensuring meticulous factual accuracy across all instructional materials and enforcing a strict standard of ideological neutrality to guarantee the total absence of bias in CivicsEDU resources.

The Inaugural Advisors

Dr. Maggie Commins

Shelton Professor of Political Science & Department Chair, Queens University of Charlotte

Dr. Maggie Commins brings a distinguished career in higher education, political science, and civic governance to the ERC. As the Shelton Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Political Science, International Studies, and Sociology at Queens University of Charlotte, Dr. Commins has dedicated her career to nonpartisan civic scholarship and pedagogical excellence.

A recipient of Queens’ prestigious Hunter-Hamilton Love of Teaching Award, her scholarship focuses on immigrant integration, political institutions, and civic literacy. Beyond academia, Dr. Commins serves on the National Issues Forums Institute Board of Directors, the Charlotte International Cabinet, and the board of the Latin American Coalition. Her extensive background in policy evaluation and objective scholarly review will be crucial in ensuring CivicsEDU content adheres to the highest standards of analytical precision.

Jasmine Corbett-Warren

Assistant Professor of Communication, Rhetoric, and Culture, Johnson C. Smith University

Professor Jasmine M. Corbett is an accomplished legal scholar and educator recognized for her innovative work merging rhetoric, law, and political science at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). Holding a Master’s in Speech from UNC Greensboro and a Juris Doctorate from North Carolina Central University, Professor Corbett specializes in courses on American government, rhetorical social justice, and Black political thought. At JCSU, she co-founded The VoiceOver Project, an impactful career-readiness initiative that connects students with over fifteen community partners.

A frequent speaker on project-based learning and political rhetoric, her teaching excellence has earned her JCSU’s Par Excellence for Teaching Award and the Charlotte Museum of History’s Charlotte Gem Award for Higher Education. Her legal and rhetorical expertise brings a vital practitioner perspective to ensuring CivicsEDU content is balanced, rigorous, and free of bias.

Upholding Academic Rigor and Nonpartisan Standards

As civics education faces increasing public scrutiny, CivicsEDU established the ERC to maintain an uncompromising standard of objective quality. By pairing Dr. Commins’ expertise in institutional governance and political scholarship with Professor Corbett-Warren’s mastery of communication rhetoric and practical instruction, the ERC ensures that every curriculum module, lesson plan, and media resource vetted by CivicsEDU reflects multi-perspective balance and factual precision.

“Civic education fulfills its purpose only when it provides learners with balanced, rigorously vetted, and fact-based tools to think critically for themselves. We are privileged to welcome Dr. Commins and Professor Corbett-Warren, whose combined expertise as scholars and practitioners will ensure CivicsEDU content remains a gold standard for accuracy and bias-free learning.”

— Kaelan Boyd, CivicsEDU Executive Director

Call for Applications: Scholars and Practitioners Needed

To support the ongoing evaluation of CivicsEDU’s expanding content catalog, the Committee is actively recruiting additional qualified advisors. Applications are currently being accepted for scholars and practitioners wishing to serve on the Educational Review Committee.

The ERC invites applications from academic researchers, subject-matter experts, secondary and higher-education practitioners, and curriculum specialists passionate about educational integrity.

Primary Responsibilities & Qualifications:

• Conducting systematic reviews of CivicsEDU instructional content for factual precision and balanced presentation.
• Identifying potential framing biases or omissions across political, historical, and civic topics.
• Demonstrated background in political science, history, education, communication, or related disciplines.
• Participation in periodic review panels and collaborative feedback sessions.

Application Process:

Candidates may formally apply on CivicsEDU’s recruitment portal at join.civicsedu.org. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Up to seven advisors are allowed to serve at a time.