Nancy Thomas, JD, EdD, serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) and Senior Advisor to the President for Democracy Initiatives at the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). An applied research center, IDHE’s mission is to strengthen student learning for and institutional commitment to democracy. IDHE’s research-to-practice areas include educating for a democracy in question, the role of colleges and universities in redesigning and sustaining a more aspirational and inclusive democracy, improving political discourse, discussion teaching, and campus climates for engagement in democracy, balancing speech and inclusion, academic freedom, and elections as catalysts for year-round political learning. Prior to relocating to AAC&U, Dr. Thomas founded and designed Tufts University’s National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), the nation’s largest study of college student voting and civic participation. She serves on several advisory boards and committees, including the U.C. National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement, the Andrew Goodman Foundation, and the Faculty Engagement Network. She holds a BA from St. Lawrence University, a JD from Case Western Reserve School of Law, and an EdD from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.