Towson University hires former St. John’s College president to lead new civics center

Nora Demleitner, the former St. John’s College president who stepped down a little more than a year ago, will lead a new Towson University center designed to promote more civil discourse in the country.

Towson announced her appointment on Monday after a nationwide search for the inaugural executive director of the Ben and Myrna Cardin Center for Civic Engagement and Discourse.

Former U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat, represented Maryland as a congressman and senator for decades before retiring in 2025. His wife, Myrna, is a Towson University alumna.

The center was begun a year ago to teach students, faculty, public leaders and the community to “practice the habits democracy requires: listening, learning, questioning, debating, serving, and leading,” according to Towson’s website. The mission is to help develop student habits that strengthen democracy.

The center, Demleitner said, addresses some of the core issues that she cares deeply about, including questions of democratic governance and helping the next generation “continue this American experiment.”

Towson’s new center is one of several opening at colleges across the country at a time when basic knowledge of civics has declined. This fall, for instance, the Eastern Shore’s Washington College will launch the Hogan Institute, named after former Republic Gov. Larry Hogan, in an effort to encourage discourse across party lines.

Towson’s civics center has a similar mission.

“The goal is really to make it a bipartisan center. So rather than having another center where people talk past each other” leaders want people to build the skills to negotiate and find solutions that move the country forward, Demleitner said.

The center of the work, she said, will be based on some core assumptions, including agreement on the rule of law and the values of the Constitution, such as the right of free elections and freedom of speech.

Disagreements over the interpretation of what that means, she said, will, of course, be part of the discussion.

She wants to “make a space for people to share their insights, share their reflections,” but also “provide them with a knowledge base to argue public policy issues.”

Demleitner, who will begin Sept. 8, is currently a senior fellow with the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan national organization focused on safety, fairness and justice.

She left St. John’s, a small Annapolis-based college, in May 2025 after serving as the president for three years. At the time, St. John’s was facing financial issues and its student body was not growing.

She has also held academic and leadership positions at Washington and Lee University and Hofstra University law school. She has a law degree from Yale Law School and a master of laws with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Bates College.

“The Cardin Center is a cornerstone of TU’s commitment to civic engagement and service for the public good,” Towson University President Mark Ginsberg said in a press release, adding that Demleitner’s “strategic leadership, professional experiences and expertise will enhance our efforts to address today’s most complex and critical issues.”

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