Sponsored by the Office of the President, Duquesne University's series on civil discourse explores the importance of respectful debate even on challenging topics. The event is presented in partnership with the Division of Student Life.

President Gormley, who began the Civil Discourse series in 2017, has made this a priority on campus.  

View the Civil Discourse and Voting in Today's America 2023 photo gallery, read student insights on the topic and learn about previous Civil Discourse events.

“We want to ensure that our students and other members of the Duquesne community feel comfortable sharing their views even on the most complicated and trying issues, in a respectful and productive fashion. Civil discourse is an important component of leadership in every aspect of business, community service and productive citizenship."

President Ken Gormley

Student Insights

Headshot of Duquesne Kline Law student Von Wooding

"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."

Von Wooding '23 3L Law Student, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
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Headshot of Chelsea Bruce

"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."

Chelsea Bruce '25 1L Law Student, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
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Headshot of Braden Niles

"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."

Braden Niles '25 Pre-law student and Catholic Studies, Political Science and Sociology triple major
Headshot of Falco Muscante

"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."

Falco Muscante '23 3L Law Student, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
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Previous Civil Discourse Events

Explore coverage of the previous Civil Discourse events hosted by Duquesne University.