U.S. Airforce experts visit campus to speak about incivility on college campuses
CMU began the semester with an event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. The event symbolized the importance of civility by looking at the past. On September 17 the CMU Civic Forum, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, will advance the concept of civility by looking at the future. In celebration of Constitution Day, academy experts will to speak about research and techniques for navigating difficult discussions in a civil manner on university campuses.
The mission of the U.S. Air Force Academy is to educate, train and inspire men and women to become leaders of character, motivated to lead the U.S. Air Force in service to the nation. The mission of Colorado Mesa University includes creating a dynamic learning environment that offers abundant opportunities for students and the larger community to grow intellectually, professionally and personally. Neither mission can be easily pursued without a culture that values civility. As a result, the joint effort to promote civility will include Lynne Chandler Garcia, PhD, and Stacy G. Ulbig, PhD in a discussion with CMU students, faculty and community members around the topic.
"Institutions of democracy are strong, but at the same time fragile,” said CMU President Tim Foster. “As long as democracy exists, to one degree or another, it will always be under threat. When CMU faculty and leaders from the U.S. Air Force Academy can partner to enhance the skills students need to protect democratic ideas in the future, then we can all celebrate that the Constitution, on Constitution Day, is in good hands."
Following the event all participants are encouraged to continue conversation at The Point where refreshments will be available courtesy the CMU Civic Forum.
About the speakers
Lynne Chandler Garcia, PhD
Lynne Chandler Garcia is a professor of political science at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She teaches American government and political theory. Her research interests include the role of perspective taking in political discourse, pedagogy within political science and foreign policy decisions in the war theaters of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Stacy G. Ulbig, PhD
Stacy Ulbig is currently serving as a distinguished visiting professor of political science at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Her research interests lie in the area of political psychology and center on topics of attitude formation and the behavior of mass electorates. Her current book, Angry Politics: Partisan Hatred and Polarization among College Students, will soon be released by Lynne Rienner Press.
