Dialogue Across Difference

October 15, 2019

12:00 PM to 1:15 PM

Humphrey School of Public Affairs

What effect has President Trump had on conservatism, and what direction should it take after his time in office is over? Some conservatives argue that Trump is an aberration and conservatism will return to normalcy when he is gone. Others think that Trump has effected a lasting change in the definition of the Republican party, for good or ill. Still others think that the future of conservatism will be up for grabs, and have different ideas about what it should be.

Ramesh Ponnuru is a senior editor of National Review, which was founded by William F. Buckley Jr – who has also been called the founder of American conservatism. Buckley famously attempted to purge the conservative movement of “kooks” and bigots. Ponnuru will address whether Buckley’s conservatism has been permanently eclipsed by Trump’s.

The event was moderated by former Minnesota congressman Vin Weber.

Friday, October 4, 2019

Cowles Auditorium

Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Program

Minnesota is one of the country’s leaders in participation of eligible voters. What role does Minnesota’s vibrant culture of corporate responsibility play in our engaged citizenry? How does civic engagement benefit a company's bottom line? And how can Secretaries of State partner with companies to enhance nonpartisan efforts to increase voter participation? Researchers at Harvard University collaborated with several Minnesota businesses as part of an investigation of civic engagement and recently released the report, Civic Responsibility: The Power of Companies to Increase Voter Turnout. We will explore these questions and more with our panel.

Welcome

Doug Loon, President, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

Civic Responsibility Report Highlights

Ashley Spillane, co-author of Harvard case study Civic Responsibility: The Power of Companies to Increase Voter Turnout and President, Impactual, LLC

Panel Discussion

Isaac Reyes, Vice President of Government Affairs, Target

Craig Samitt, President and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Steve Simon, Minnesota Secretary of State

Ashley Spillane, President, Impactual, LLC

Lee Schafer, moderator and Columnist, Star Tribune Closing

Paul Pate, Iowa Secretary of State and President, National Association of Secretaries of State

Monday, September 23, 2019

1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Cowles Auditorium

Humphrey School of Public Affairs

301 19th Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55455

All around Minnesota, communities are redefining what it means to have a healthy economy and an engaged workforce. Tom Friedman has been traveling to towns in Minnesota and around the country to wonder why some are prospering, while others are losing population and jobs.

Tom Friedman’s presentation is the culmination of an 18-month event series, traveling around the state to explore how older workers could be part of the solution to our state’s workforce shortages as Baby Boomers retire.

Join us for the series conclusion on September 23rd to hear best practices and ideas for reviving towns in Minnesota.

Featuring:

● New York Times columnist Tom Friedman

● Courageous Conversations series moderator Gary Eichten

● Panelists from Southwest Minnesota, the Iron Range, and the Twin Cities

Brought to you by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, with generous support from the McKnight Foundation.

The US Women’s Soccer Team thrilled the world with their prowess on the field and leadership off of it. Their championship demonstrates the important impact of Title IX in funding and support for women athletics in schools and universities. Beyond soccer, women routinely eclipse male runners during marathons and other sports, pointing to a continuum of physical performance. The ambiguity of gender—as reflected in world class-athletes such as Caster Semenya—led the International Olympic Committee to adopt tests of testosterone levels and college athletic conferences to respond to intersex and trans-athletes. The physical ability and performances of women athletes are blurring historic and gendered divisions between men’s and women’s sports. Professor Mary Jo Kane will discuss the evolving state of women’s sport with Dr. Jamie Feldman, an expert in transgender medicine.

Mary Jo Kane is the director emerita of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport and a Professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota. She is widely published on media coverage and women's sport and is a recognized expert on the impact of Title IX.

Jamie Feldman, MD, PhD, is faculty in the University of Minnesota’s Program in Human Sexuality. She has chaired a Transgender Medicine and Research Committee and published on transgender hormone therapy and primary care.

Program:

President Trump is using and expanding on executive powers that were initiated by his predecessors. Trump executive actions, taken without Congress or the courts, include military action in Syria, defying subpoenas, and invoking “emergency powers” to spend more on a border wall. At the same time, President Trump has violated many previous norms of presidential behavior.

Bios:

Charlie Savage is a Washington correspondent for the New York

Times and a contributor to MSNBC. He has been awarded many honors for journalism including winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2007. He has written two books and taught a seminar on national security and the Constitution at Georgetown University.

Walter F. Mondale has a distinguished record of public service that

includes Vice President of the United States, Ambassador to Japan, U.S. Senator, and Attorney General of Minnesota. Mr. Mondale is currently a partner with the international law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP.

Larry Jacobs is the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance and the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies. His commentary and research has been published and discussed in a number of mass media outlets.

Program:

A lot can be learned from how we use the internet. Our viewing

patterns offer insights into our health, behavior, and our democracy.

Social scientists are pioneering new collaborations with Facebook to

get access to its data, under the banner “Social Science One”. As

efforts progress toward developing partnerships questions have been

raised about safeguards for privacy, ethical conduct, and independence from corporate interests.

Bios:

Gary King is the Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social

Science and a distinguished professor at Harvard University. He has

written more than 170 journal articles, 20 open source software

packages, and 8 books. His work has made him widely read across

scholarly fields and beyond academia.

William McGeveran specializes in data privacy, intellectual property,

communications and technology, and free speech. In addition to his

teaching and scholarship, he currently serves as Associate Dean for

Academic Affairs at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Larry Jacobs is the Director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance and the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies. His commentary and research has been published and discussed in a number of mass media outlets.

Program:

Presidents of the United States are the most powerful figures in America and, arguably, the world. The First Lady receives far less attention but exerts influence within the White House and stars in Washington’s shrouded political theatre.  

Novelist Curtis Sittenfeld joins us for a conversation about the public visibility and private dramas of the First Lady – from Laura Bush to Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. She will also read from her novel American Wife – a fictional account of Laura Bush

Bios:

Curtis Sittenfeld is the bestselling author of five novels. Her books have been selected by The New York Times, Time, Entertainment Weekly, and People for their “Ten Best Books of the Year” lists, optioned for television and film, and translated into thirty languages. Ms. Sittenfeld has interviewed Michelle Obama for Time and has appeared as a guest on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” CBS’s “Early Show,” and PBS’s Newshour. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Larry Jacobs is the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance and the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies. His commentary and research has been published and discussed in a number of mass media outlets.

Program:

Professor Hahrie Han will examine the opportunities and substantial hurdles facing community organizers. Professor Han studies the way political and community organizations make the civic participation of ordinary people "Possible, Probable and Powerful." Her work explores how to increase grassroots power and capacity rather than short-term mobilizing. Kara Carlisle of the McKnight Foundation will moderate the program.

Bios:

Professor Hahrie Han is a professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She specializes in the study of civic participation, organizing, and social change. Through her research, she partners with a wide range of civic and political organizations interested in organizing and building power for social change in the United States and around the world.

Kara Carlisle is the vice president of programs for the McKnight Foundation. In her position she drives impact across geographic and issue-specific areas including diversity, equity, and community engagement. She has previously worked with the W. K. Kellog Foundation 's Civic and Philanthropic Engagement team, and is a former board member of the National Association for Community Mediation in Washington, DC.

Professor Theda Skocpol of Harvard University is among America’s most acclaimed scholars of American politics. Her conversation will cover topics ranging from her new research on community responses to President Trump and her continuing research on the Tea Party and conservative networks.

Theda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University. She has served as the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Director of the Center for American Political Studies. She is the founder and director of the Scholar Strategy Network, a group of academics dedicated to using research to improve public policy. Among her most recent books are The Transformation of American Politics: Activist Government and the Rise of Conservatism, What a Mighty Power We Can Be: African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality, and Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life.

Since the 1970's conservative donors, activists, and business have been building networks to influence the state policy process. Professor Alexander Hertel-Fernandez from Columbia University will visit the Humphrey School to talk about why conservatives have been successful using organizations like ALEC to influence policy making while progressives have lagged behind.

Alexander Hertel-Fernandez is a political scientist who studies the effect that organized interests have on public policy. His book Politics at Work: How Companies Turn Their Workers Into Lobbyists examines how business are using their workforces to influence American politics. His most recent book is State Capture:How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States -- and the Nation. Copies will be available to purchase at the event.