Living the Hard Promise: What Are Universities For?

Join us for the next event of the Living the Hard Promise Series

What Are Universities For?

A discussion featuring:

• Herman Beavers, Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt President’s Distinguished Professor of English and Africana Studies
• Paul Sniegowski, Steven A. Levin Family Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Biology
• Peter Struck, Professor of Classical Studies

Moderated by:

• Laura Perna, Vice Provost for Faculty, GSE Centennial Presidential Professor of Education, and Founding Executive Director, Penn AHEAD (Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy)

Universities in the U.S. are distinctive for their ideals and aspirations, yet the fundamental values driving campus life are being questioned. What is the role of the university in providing a space for open expression and posing challenges to mainstream ideas? How do we respond to critics who see campuses as ideologically driven? Can, or should, places like Penn stand apart from politics or are they unavoidably enmeshed in them?

Join our panel for a discussion of the challenges of the current state of discourse around universities, and how to ensure that institutions like Penn can continue to advance public understanding of and support for their essential role.

Please note that this event is for the on-campus University community. A PennCard will be required to enter.

Open expression is a hard promise: it is both a firm commitment and an extraordinarily difficult one.

The Penn community has experienced pain, fear, and anger over the past few months, but we must believe in the ability to engage across differences. We reject hate and violence unequivocally, and we embrace the spirit of free exchange without reservation. Penn Arts & Sciences launched the Living the Hard Promise initiative to create spaces in which the University community can begin the process of working through these tremendous challenges.