Jack Miller Stepping Down as JMC Chairman

Miller, the Chicago-based entrepreneur who will soon celebrate his 95^th birthday, will take up the role of chairman emeritus.

He writes that JMC “is in very good hands and at the cusp of being an even more powerful force in getting the teaching of our founding principles (civics) and history back into our classrooms.”

Michael Weiser will take the reigns as chairman, whom Miller describes as “a proven leader” who “is passionate about our mission.” Weiser has served on JMC’s board since 2013. In the past, he also has served as chairman for the boards of The National Conference on Citizenship (2008-2016) and the History Miami Museum (2016-2020).

“Michael will be backed up by a strong board of directors,” Miller notes. “Over the past 3 years, we have added some carefully selected, highly qualified new board members.” JMC’s board of directors includes an impressive group of well-known leaders in civics education, such as the eminent Hillsdale historian Wilfred M. McClay, former St. Johns College President John Agresto, and Linda Chavez, who has held many positions with multiple presidential administrations.

Miller is especially pleased with the recent work that JMC has done to recover the proper teaching of civics.

“Three years ago, I challenged the organization to triple our budget so we can become a more powerful force in helping to get the teaching of Civics and American history back into our educational system.  Today, as I step down as Chairman, I do so with great confidence that we are well positioned to do just that.”

In that time, JMC has “doubled the size of our dedicated staff to 22 full-time employees, along with several part-time support staff,” Miller notes. This “expansion allows us to carry out new and existing initiatives outlined in our 5-year strategic plan.”

Cross-organizational collaboration is an important part of Miller’s vision for JMC and his philanthropy. Since its founding, JMC has generated over $160 million in donations and matches toward its mission to transform civic education at all levels.

One of JMC’s most successful efforts is its Founding Civics Initiative (FCI) for K-12 teachers. Since 2016, FCI has featured 160 programs and 19 graduate courses and seminars for over 2,100 middle and high school teachers in 12 states. And those teachers in turn have taught approximately 225,700 students.

A more recent initiative is JMC’s National Summit on Civic Education, which was established in 2022. Miller says that the summit last November “brought together 200 civics leaders to discuss new, and old, ideas and how we can collaborate for greater effectiveness.” The civics summit, Miller notes, is one example among many of how JMC “is emerging as a leader” in the movement to restore the principles and practices of the American political tradition in K-12 classrooms.

Establishing a solid civics education is crucial in higher education as well, especially at a time when “universities have lost their credibility as places of learning.” In a recent piece at RealClearEducation, Miller pointed to the sharp rise in antisemitism among college students in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7^th attacks on Israel as evidence of a problem that civics is equipped to solve.

“Parents have been seeing what their children are learning, and not learning, at their K-12 schools and they don’t like it. They want their kids to understand and appreciate the value of America and the American dream.”

Under the presidency of Hans Zeiger, and a board that understands what it takes to reestablish the serious study of America’s principles and history, Miller sees JMC as a key leader in the world of civics education in the years and decades ahead.