Sponsored by the Office of the President, Duquesne University's series on civil discourse explores the importance of respectful dialogue even on challenging topics. This event is presented in partnership with the Division of Student Life and is open to all University students, faculty and staff.
President Ken Gormley, who began the Civil Discourse Series in 2017, has made this event a priority on campus. Learn about previous Civil Discourse events and read Duquesne student insights about the Civil Discourse Series.
“As a Spiritan Catholic University and a valued institution of higher education, we understand the importance of providing a forum in which our campus can respectfully engage in and discuss important and thought-provoking issues."
Explore coverage of the previous Civil Discourse events hosted by Duquesne University. With the dramatic increase in antisemitism across the United States, the 2024 civil
discourse discussion focused on the timely topic of The Holocaust, Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting and Educating Future Generations. The event was moderated by Dr. John Mitcham, associate professor and chair of history
at Duquesne, and featured the following panelists: “This year’s civil discourse topic is particularly relevant to today’s students and
our campus community. At Duquesne, our commitment to civil discourse and ethical engagement
is core to our identity," said President Ken Gormley.
President Ken Gormley and nationally prominent political figures spoke on the importance
of respectable debate at Civil Discourse and Voting in Today’s America, Duquesne’s annual campus-wide event on civil discourse. Moderated by Gormley, the forum featured former U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt,
a longstanding Democratic member of Congress who served as House Majority Leader,
and Elizabeth Preate Havey, a prominent Montgomery County attorney who serves as secretary
of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. Aerion Abney, state representative for the
19th District of Pennsylvania, also delivered a pre-recorded message. Learn more about the 2023 event. The first panel, Race and Police: Building Trust in Communities, featured Coleman McDonough, superintendent of Allegheny County Police, and Tracey
McCants-Lewis, assistant clinical professor in Duquesne’s School of Law. The second panel, Muslims, Immigration and the American Dream, featured:Previous Civil Discourse Events
Learn more
The 2024 event on The Holocaust, Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting and Educating Future
Generations was moderated by Dr. John Mitcham, associate professor and chair of history
at Duquesne, and featured panelists Dr. Michael Bernebaum, former project director,
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; director, Sigi Ziering Institute; and distinguished
professor of Jewish Studies, American Jewish University and Dr. Maggie Feinstein,
executive director, 10.27 Healing Partnership.Civil Discourse 2024 event photos
"The importance of civil discourse lies in its ability to transform conflict
into growth, disagreement into understanding, and division into unity. Let us embrace
this power to create a world where our differences are celebrated."
"At the heart of civil discourse are representation and understanding—people
with differing opinions and ideals coming together to make change, whether it be an
attempt to change the mind of the person at the other end of the conversation or make
change for society as a whole. It is integral to our democracy."
"An event like this is so important because addressing the major challenges we
face will require bipartisan conversations and reaching out to different communities.
Hopefully, it is through events like this that we can realize we have more in common
than what sets us apart."
"I’m attending the Civil Discourse event because I believe that every idea is
valuable and worth hearing in a society like ours that was built on the notion that
truth emerges from a marketplace of ideas. I’m so thankful that Duquesne promotes
respectful debate on difficult topics that are important to us all."
Student Insights on Previous Civil Discourse Events
The 2023 event on Voting in Today's America featured panelists Hon. Richard A. Gephardt,
former U.S. Congressman and House Majority Leader and President and CEO of Gephardt
Government Affairs; Elizabeth Preate Havey, Esq., Secretary of the Republican Party
of Pennsylvania and Partner at Dilworth Paxson, LLP; and Hon. Aerion Abney, State
Representative of the 19th District of Pennsylvania and former Pennsylvania Director
of Special Projects for All Voting is Local.Civil Discourse 2023 event photos
