Center for Freedom and Western Civilization Updates and Archive

Colgate’s Constitution Day Debate on Sept. 13 focused on the constitutionality of the administrative state. Debate moderator and Professor of Political Science Stanley Brubaker praised the speakers — Gary Lawson, Philip S. Beck Professor of law at Boston University, and Julian Davis Mortenson, James G. Phillipp Professor of law at the University of Michigan — for showing the audience how to debate while maintaining humor and friendship.

The 2023 Constitution Day Debate at Colgate will take place Sept. 13 and feature Gary Lawson, Philip S. Beck Professor of law at Boston University, and Julian Davis Mortenson, James G. Phillipp Professor of law at the University of Michigan, debating “Is the Administrative State Constitutional?”

How has the way Americans practice religion changed across time? On March 30, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat traced that history in a lecture sponsored by the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization.

Yuri Yanchyshyn, Fulbright U.S. specialist 2016 and scholar 2018–19 in Ukraine, principal and senior conservator of two firms in the New York City metropolitan area, spoke to students and faculty during a lecture and discussion March 29 in Persson Hall, highlighting Ukraine’s 20th-century and recent history, and the individuals who impacted its preservation.

Mark Galeotti, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies; Royal United Service Institute for Defense and Security Studies, hosted a lecture and discussion Feb. 8, on "The War in Ukraine: Implications for Russian Power and American Security" with faculty and students in Persson Hall.

Climate and environmental activist Michael Shellenberger will host a lecture and discussion on sustainable energy and climate change titled “How Practical is Renewable Energy?” on Nov. 29, sponsored by the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization. 

Can colleges and universities consider race in their admissions policies?  This question, with enormous importance for higher education, comes before the Supreme Court this fall in SFFA v. Harvard/UNC. 

A generous $1 million gift from trustee emeritus Chase Carey ’76 and his family will benefit Colgate’s Center for Freedom and Western Civilization.

In October 2020, the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization sponsored a lecture and discussion with Professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington Law School.

Political science and peace and conflict studies double major Chris Burke ’21, from Wellesley, Mass. describes his research in Prague as a Stone Fellow with the Center for Freedom and Civilization.