Events
The School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership invites ASU students, staff and 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
"Thomas Jefferson and the End of American Slavery." Annual Constitution Day with Kurt Lash
University of Richmond School of Law
October 8, 2026
"Economist and Revolutionary: Adam Smith and 1776." with Samuel Gregg
President and Friedrich Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History
October 20, 2026
"National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America." with Michael Robert Auslin
Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
November 5, 2026
Steamboat Institute Campus Debate with Dr. Ben Carson
National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing, 2016 presidential candidate
January 21, 2027
Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture
February 5, 2027
LeFrak Forum
February 26-27, 2027
SCETL Annual Spring Conference
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