Ben & Myrna Cardin Center for Civic Engagement & Civil Discourse

Fostering dialogue. Building community. Strengthening democracy.

The Ben and Myrna Cardin Center for Civic Engagement and Civil Discourse at Towson University prepares students and communities to respectfully engage across differences, strengthen democratic participation and lead with integrity and responsibility.

Established in 2025 through a partnership with former U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and Towson University alumna Myrna Cardin, the Cardin Center creates opportunities for students, faculty, public leaders, alumni, civic organizations and community members to practice the habits democracy requires: listening, learning, questioning, debating, serving, and leading.

Rather than treating civic engagement as an abstract ideal, the Cardin Center prepares students to develop the knowledge, judgment, and habits needed to strengthen democratic life.

Creating a Safe Space for Dialogue and Engagement

As the next generation of citizen leaders continues to show up, there is growing skepticism about whether institutions hear them, understand them, and empower them to make a meaningful difference.

That’s why the mission of the Cardin Center is especially important: to help students—and the world around them—become informed, practice civil discourse, understand democratic institutions, and experience civic engagement not as an abstract ideal, but as a lived responsibility and a vital means of strengthening democratic life.

The Cardin Center's work is both practical and aspirational. Students learn firsthand from Ben and Myrna Cardin's six decades of public service how to connect passion with strategy, listen across differences, build coalitions, and use civic knowledge to strengthen communities. That is how civic responsibility becomes civic practice.

Civic engagement begins with responsibility: the responsibility to be informed, understand how systems work, engage respectfully, and contribute to the communities around us. The Cardin Center is built on that foundation. This is the work of transforming democratic ideals into daily habits. Students are encouraged to explore issues thoughtfully, understand how decisions are made, build coalitions, and use their voices in ways that strengthen the communities they serve.