Past Lectures and Courses

Watch Past Events

Michael Sadowski | Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in the ‘Don't Say Gay or Trans’ Era (Part 1)

In part one of the two-part series, Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in the ‘Don't Say Gay or Trans’ Era, Michael Sadowski will draw from his recent TEDx talk, “Safe Is Still Not Enough” and share recent research about the risks facing LGBTQ+ students in K-12 schools in the U.S. in the context of recently passed laws that ban the inclusion of LGBTQ+ issues in school curriculum and bar transgender students from school activities and facilities. Co-Sponsored by the Bard Queer Leadership Project at Simon's Rock.

MICHAEL SADOWSKI (he/him/his) - Associate Dean, Bard College.

This panel aims to explore the civic role of academic institutions: How do we define civic engagement? What are the responsibilities of these institutions to foster civic engagement in students? In what ways can colleges and universities serve as civic actors to address challenges locally, nationally and globally? And what role does civic engagement play in the current landscape of censorious legislation in college studies in the United States?

DR. MARGEE ENSIGN, President of the American University of Bulgaria, former president American University of Nigeria, and New College of Florida alumna.

JONATHAN BECKER, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bard College and Vice Chancellor, Open Society University Network.

Introduced by GRACE KEENAN, Student Government President and Trustee at the New College of Florida.

Margee Ensign and Jonathan Becker | Colleges and Universities as Civic Actors

Jonathan Friedman | Free Expression and Education: A 3-Part Series (Part 1)

Part one of Free Expression and Education: A 3-Part Series. Across the United States, state legislators are increasingly making clear their intentions to pass laws to tighten control over—or outright censor—instruction in schools, colleges and universities, particularly when it comes to race, gender, sexuality and American history.

JONATHAN FRIEDMAN, Director of Free Expression and Education programs at PEN America.

David Hogg, Maisie Brown, Evan Malbrough and Brianna Cea | Young People Can Change America: Youth Voting and Political Power

This talk is a part of Student Voting: Power, Politics and Race in the Fight for American Democracy, a collaborative course which was co-developed and is being taught jointly by faculty at Bard College, Tuskegee University, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and Prairie View A&M University. This was made possible by a grant awarded to Bard College from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is also supported by the Open Society University Network and the Andrew Goodman Foundation.

DAVID HOGG, Founder, Leaders We Deserve, Co-Founder, March for Our Lives. Passionate in his advocacy to end gun violence, David’s mission of increasing voter participation, civic engagement and activism embraces a range of issues.

MAISIE BROWN is a 21-year-old Mississippi native, activist, and organizer. She co-organized Jackson’s Black Lives Matter protest in the summer of 2020 that was the largest protest since the 1960’s civil rights era in the state of Mississippi.

BRIANNA CEA is the Executive Director and founder of Generation Vote (GenVote), a national electoral justice organization and a skilled youth voting rights organizer and advocate for the AAPI community in NYC.

EVAN MALBROUGH is a Managing Organizer at Our Turn, Director at Andrew Goodman Foundation and a founding member of Georgia State University’s Vote Everywhere.