The Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida is moving into its next phase of growth, following the graduation of its first three students and the announcement of a major expansion to its academic catalog.
According to a report by The College Fix, the school is set to debut two new undergraduate majors this fall: “War, Statecraft and Strategy” and “American Government, History, Literature, and Law.”
Initially established in 2022 with a $3 million grant from the Florida legislature, the school has seen a significant spike in enrollment. Professor Brandon Warmke noted that the “Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law” major has already grown to 146 students.
Warmke told The College Fix that the program’s success stems from a student desire to engage with “timeless things” alongside faculty who prioritize the “conversation of mankind.”
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“Hamilton simply invites students to the pursuit of learning,” Warmke said. “Many of them find that refreshing.”
Warmke addressed the school’s focus on classical education, noting that it stands apart from trends in higher education like “activism, social experimentation, and commentary on the politics of the moment.”
When questioned about the perception of the school as a conservative institution, Warmke suggested that if students are simply being exposed to arguments they wouldn’t find elsewhere, that reflects more on the rest of academia than on the Hamilton School itself.
The program’s development has drawn scrutiny from the United Faculty of Florida. Meera Sitharam, president of the UF chapter, told The College Fix that while the union ensures academic freedom through collective bargaining, she has previously expressed concerns regarding the school’s founding and hiring processes.
In July 2024, she told Inside Higher Ed, “You look at who’s there, who they’re hiring and what’s the buzz around the center… Should I just completely dismiss all that?”
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The administrative history of the school includes a May 2024 grievance filed by the union after the university investigated six faculty members for allegedly interfering with the Hamilton Center’s curriculum. That matter was declared moot after the university clarified the investigation would not impact the faculty members’ future evaluations.
As the school prepares for the fall semester, it continues to offer a curriculum centered on civil discourse and the history of political economy, aiming to provide what former director William Inboden described as a “diverse array of viewpoints to the campus dialogue.”
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