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."
Civil Discourse and Voting in Today's America
The 2023 event 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.
"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
Explore coverage of the previous Civil Discourse events hosted by Duquesne University.Previous Civil Discourse Events