Mission
Our mission is to build a state-based, student driven community that is committed to the shared belief that civic literacy facilitated by institutions of learning is an integral part of educating active and informed citizens.
We connect students from campuses across Tennessee to local and national leaders and organizations that offer the knowledge, resources, and guidance needed to confidently engage in civic processes.
Core Values
The TCDN’s leading vision is that every student educated in Tennessee has easy and equal access to develop their individual civic capacity.
We recognize the unique opportunity our colleges and universities have to address the systemic and personal barriers affecting student voting and civic participation.
We believe that integrating democratic engagement into campus life creates structure and stability for students as they explore their political beliefs and their responsibilities in our participatory democracy.
Civic Summit
2026 Campus
The Tennessee Campus Civic Summit is a nonpartisan opportunity for schools across the state to learn how to develop long-term strategies to promote civic literacy and expand civic engagement on campus.
This free, annual 1-day conference is a chance to share engagement strategies with students, staff, and faculty statewide, and learn new ways to strengthen your campus’s civic culture.
REGISTRATION IS NOW LIVE for the 2026 Tennessee Campus Civic Summit: Student-Driven Solutions for Tennessee's Future, hosted by Vanderbilt University on Friday, February 27th!
For more information about attending or sponsoring the 2026 Summit, contact kayla@tndemocracynetwork.org or britany@tndemocracynetwork.org.
Campus Voting Challenge
The Tennessee Campus Voting Challenge is a free nonpartisan competition between higher education institutions in Tennessee with a commitment to increasing student voter participation and engagement on campuses across the state. The awards are presented biennially. State awards will be presented again in 2025.
The Tennessee Campus Democracy Network is facilitating this voting challenge in collaboration with CivicTN and the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, a nonprofit organization that empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement.
Want to know more about the Tennessee Campus Democracy Network? Sign up for our email list, and check out our Annual Impact Report below!