Colorado State University has announced five new speakers for its Thematic Year of Democracy: Republican Colorado Rep. Ken Buck (top left), political strategist and New York Times bestselling author Donna Brazile (top right), Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels (bottom left), actor and activist Jane Fonda (bottom center) and professor and author Robert Putnam (bottom right).
As part of the Colorado State University Year of Democracy, the university is announcing five nationally known speakers who will visit campus during the spring semester.
CSU’s Thematic Year of Democracy is a university-wide initiative that invites members of the campus community to participate in conversations, panels and events all focused on democracy. Every activity highlights ways we can each engage in our democracy.
“CSU is ideally positioned – and as a public land-grant university, has a unique responsibility – to be a leader in readying citizens to participate in all facets of civil society,” said CSU President Amy Parsons. “Intentionally welcoming leaders with diverse perspectives and backgrounds to our campus for productive dialogue is a perfect example of our efforts to increase conversation and understanding.”
Join as presenters with diverse viewpoints discuss their work as public servants; advocates for social and political issues; community leaders; and participants in civic life. This is part of CSU’s commitment to produce well-educated citizens who are ready to converse, to vote, to run for office and to engage in all aspects of civil society.
Newly announced speakers include:
- Jan. 26: Ken Buck, a Republican congressman who has represented Windsor, Colorado since 2015 and served as the chair of the Colorado Republican Party from 2019 to 2021.
- Feb. 2: Jane Fonda, an award-winning actor and seven-time Golden Globe winner, who has used her platform for advocacy related to causes such as women’s rights, Native American rights and the environment. Event sold out; livestream the conversation here.
- April 8-12: Democracy Summit
- April 12: Closing keynote by Robert Putnam, the Malkin research professor of public policy at Harvard University.
- April 18: Ron Daniels has served as president of Johns Hopkins University since 2009 and has authored several books, including the 2021 book titled “What Universities Owe Democracy.” Register here.
- April 30: Donna Brazile is a political strategist, New York Times bestselling author, chair of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, award-winning media contributor and was the first African American woman to serve as the manager of a major party presidential campaign, running the campaign of former Vice President Al Gore.
Space is limited, and registration is required for these major speaker events. Please visit https://thematicyear.colostate.edu/ for details and registration.
About CSU’s Thematic Year of Democracy
Governors Spencer Cox and Jared Polis visited the CSU campus on Nov. 15, 2023 for “Disagree Better,” a conversation highlighting how the community can learn to disagree in a way that allows us to find solutions and solve problems. (Photo: John Eisele, CSU)
CSU kicked off the Thematic Year of Democracy in fall 2023 with more than 50 events, including a conversation about how to disagree better between Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox and Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis.
2024 brings dozens more opportunities. Featured among other events are a free speech panel; a democracy summit; and guests including Republican Colorado Rep. Ken Buck; Jane Fonda, actor and activist; Ron Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University and author of “What Universities Owe Democracy;” Donna Brazile, political strategist and New York Times bestselling author; and Robert Putnam, professor and author of “Join or Die.”
Each of these activities prompts participants to answer the question: “How are you engaging in democracy?”
New events and programs are announced each month as part of the Thematic Year of Democracy at CSU and can be found at https://thematicyear.colostate.edu/.
About Ken Buck
Congressman Ken Buck is a Republican from Windsor, representing Colorado’s fourth Congressional District. He was first elected to Congress on Nov. 4, 2014, and is currently serving his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ken serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law, and he also serves on the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. He also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific and Western Hemisphere.
Ken Buck learned the value of hard work from his grandfather, who opened a shoe repair store in Greeley in the 1930s. One of three brothers, Ken worked his way through high school, college and law school as a janitor, truck driver, furniture mover and ranch hand. After law school, Ken worked for Congressman Dick Cheney (R-Wyoming) on the Iran-Contra Investigation and then became a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1990, Ken joined the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office where he became the Chief of the Criminal Division.
About Donna Brazile
Donna Brazile is a veteran political strategist, senior advisor at Purple Strategies, New York Times bestselling author, chair of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and sought-after Emmy- and Peabody-award-winning media contributor to such outlets as ABC News, USA Today, The Hill and TheGrio.
She became the first African American woman to serve as the manager of a major party presidential campaign, running the campaign of former Vice President Al Gore. She previously served as interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee and of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute. She is a current member of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee.
About Ron Daniels
Ronald J. Daniels has served as the 14th president of Johns Hopkins University since 2009. Under his leadership, Johns Hopkins continues its preeminence in education, patient care and innovative discovery, and has continued its more than 40-year span as the recipient of more competitively allocated federal research funding than any other university in the country.
During his tenure, Daniels has focused his efforts on several key areas: strengthening inter-disciplinary collaboration in research and education, expanding student access and support, enhancing the Hopkins experience for undergraduate and graduate students, deepening the university’s partnerships with its neighbors in Baltimore, and supporting economic and social innovation. These priorities continue to shape the strategic vision for Johns Hopkins as it approaches its 150th anniversary.
About Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda has an acting career that spans 50 years and more than 50 films – she is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor, an Emmy winner and a seven-time Golden Globe winner. Fonda has used her voice to be an advocate on behalf of political causes such as women’s rights, Native American rights, and the environment.
Fonda continues to lead the charge on the climate via Fire Drill Fridays, the national movement to protest government inaction on climate change which she started in October 2019 in partnership with Greenpeace USA. In 2022 she launched the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which is focused on defeating political allies of the fossil fuel industry. Her latest book, “What Can I Do? My Path From Climate Despair To Action” details her personal journey with the movement and provides solutions for communities to combat the climate crisis. Jane also notably celebrated her 85th birthday by raising $1 million for her nonprofit, Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP).
About Robert Putnam
Robert Putnam is the Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University, having retired from active teaching in May 2018. Raised in a small town in Ohio, he was educated at Swarthmore, Oxford and Yale. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the British Academy and past president of the American Political Science Association.
In 2006 Putnam received the Skytte Prize, the world’s highest accolade for a political scientist, and in 2013, President Barack Obama awarded him the National Humanities Medal, the nation’s highest honor for contributions to the humanities, for “deepening our understanding of community in America,” and in 2018 the International Political Science Association awarded him the Karl Deutsch Award for cross-disciplinary research. He has received 16 honorary degrees from eight countries, including the University of Oxford in 2018.
