Skip to main content
2026 AAC&U Annual Meeting Main banner
Final Program


PDF Program Schedule
Starred Sessions
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Educating for a Democracy in Question

Seminar

The Possibilities of Democratic Dialogue: Civil Discourse, Citizenship, and the Purposes of Education

Friday, January 23, 2026
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM East Coast USA Time
Location: Archives - Level M4

    Primary Presenter(s)

  • Todd Breyfogle

    Executive Director, Humanistic Studies
    The Aspen Institute, United States

    • Co-Presenter(s)

  • Kathleen Godfrey

    Director, Justice, Society, and Democratic Institutions Initiative
    The Aspen Institute, United States

  • JL

    Jerome Loughridge

    Executive Director, Aspen-Kern Program for Leadership and Character in Higher Education
    The Aspen Institute, United States

Seminar participation is limited to 25 people.

The American experiment is grounded in principles, institutions, and habits of discourse, as well as the contentious and contested histories of our success and failure in realizing our founding ideals. This seminar session will bring to bear the Aspen Institute’s thought leadership and convening power and its engaging pedagogical approach of humanistically informed, moderated text-based dialogue. The dialogue, anchored by short readings distributed in advance, is intended as a challenging and confidential space for senior leaders to wrestle with practical questions they face and to refine their voice in articulating institutional and education purpose in ways that are more adequate to a more inclusive and aspirational democracy.