Events
The School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership invites ASU students, staff, faculty, and the community to join us for conversations concerning civic life and leadership. The school is dedicated to offer these events for its students and the community at no cost as a place to hold civil discourse around the pressing issues of our times.
Civic Discourse Project - 2026-2027
September 24, 2026
Constitution Day Lecture: "Thomas Jefferson and the End of American Slavery"
Ft. Kurt Lash (University of Richmond School of Law)
October 8, 2026
Lecture: "Economist and Revolutionary: Adam Smith and 1776"
Ft. Samuel Gregg (President and Friedrich Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History, AEIR)
October 20, 2026
Lecture: "National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America"
Ft. Michael Robert Auslin (Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University)
November 5, 2026
Public Debate: "Should governments be allowed to mandate vaccines?" ft. Dr. Ben Carson
Ft. Dr. Ben Carson (National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing, 2016 presidential candidate)
January 21, 2027
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Lecture
February 5, 2027
Student Conference: What is Civic Education?
Ft. students from Michigan State, ASU, IHS, and the Mercy Otis Warren Initiative (Sponsors include LeFrak Forum@MSU, SCETL, IHS)
February 26-27, 2027
Annual Conference: "The Pivotal Year: 1777 and the Fight for American Independence"
Upcoming events
The Civic Discourse Project
The Civic Discourse Project is a multi-year project addressing the pressing issues of our times. Each year, the project addresses a particular important theme by inviting the top minds — civic leaders, academics, public intellectuals — engaged in thinking through the big ideas and challenges facing American society, to discuss and explore them with our community.
"I honestly have not been to better ASU events than the events hosted by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. Whether it was the Robby George and Cornel West talk or the Jonathan Haidt, who I would later do my research thesis on, those have been amazing opportunities to learn and hear ideas of prominent scholars and people in the field."
- Justin H., CEL Major