Cathy Copeland currently serves as the director of Campuswide Immersion at the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, where she leads campuses in implementing interventions that ensures that all undergraduates learn and practice civil discourse and collaborative problem-solving. Prior to that role, she was the director of the American Democracy Project at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, where she led 350+ universities in institutionalizing, assessing, and growing civic engagement on their campuses. Copeland taught for more than 15 years at various institutions of higher education, and her research interests include analyzing political rhetoric, nurturing campus-community relationships, and developing transdisciplinary courses to tackle real-world problems such as human trafficking, election confidence, and food insecurity.

Copeland holds a BA in biology from Hanover College and an MA in English literature from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. She completed doctoral coursework in Renaissance literature at the University of Alabama. Copeland served as the inaugural civic fellow for the Madison Center for Civic Engagement at Jams Madison University and graduated in 2018 from the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute Political Leaders Program. She serves on the eJournal of Public Affairs board and is actively involved in her community.