In a universitywide initiative, the Office of the Provost and the Office of Student Affairs will be hosting debate watch events and panel discussions on civil discourse one hour prior to each of the presidential and vice presidential debates. These moderated events will take place over Zoom. To be clear, these are non-advocacy events with a chance to hear from panelists and engage in discussions about civil discourse informed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States.
The first such event will be held from 7 to 7:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29, moderated by Brian Schmisek, Ph.D., provost and dean of faculties. Panelists will be Brother Robert Smith, FSC, Ph.D., senior vice president for university initiatives and special advisor to the president; Sonia Feder-Lewis, Ph.D., core professor in the Ed.D. in Leadership program; and Michael Charron, executive director of sponsored programs. More information about future events will be forthcoming.