Robert Zimmer: Free Expression, Open Discourse and the Nature of Higher Ed

The Benson Center seeks to broaden the sphere of conversation at the University of Colorado, exposing students and the larger community to the full range of intellectual discourse that takes place in our country today. We take as our foundation the Western intellectual tradition and seek to showcase the possibility of respectful, intelligent debate over the issues that matter most to our society. For more information and to subscribe to our newsletter, visithttps://www.colorado.edu/center/benson/

Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization CU Boulder

Robert Zimmer, the president of the University of Chicago, will be joining us to speak about open discourse in regards to  higher education.

Eaton Humanities RM 250

Free expression, open discourse, and ongoing intellectual challenge are a necessary foundation for an empowering education and a research environment that fosters creativity and originality. Students deserve the opportunity to develop the intellectual skills and habits of mind derived from such an education in order to confront the complex challenges they will face throughout their professional and personal lives. Failing to provide an education of deep intellectual challenge supported by an environment of free expression is selling students short and would fail to live up to our highest aspirations as educators.About the American National Character ProjectThe Benson Center promotes critical reflection on the distinctive traditions and political perspectives that characterize Western civilization. It encourages residents of Colorado and the United States to more fully understand and appreciate their past, their future and a free and creative American society within an international environment. Conservative Thought and Policy Guest Speakers bring a unique perspective as guests of the Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy program. This year’s series, the “American National Character Project” expands on the Benson Center’s 2019-20 theme, American Identities.The Founding generation recognized the importance of cultivating a national character, by which they meant the formation of “a people” dedicated to the principles of the American Revolution and the great experiment in self-government. Today, Americans are fragmented, disunited and unclear about what, if anything, they hold in common. The American National Character Project seeks to explore and identify principles and purposes that Americans do or might in the future share, and to discover how to provide a way forward for republican self-governance in America.About the SpeakerOn July 1, 2006, Robert J. Zimmer became the 13th President of the University of Chicago. Prior to his appointment as President, Zimmer was a University of Chicago faculty member and administrator for more than two decades specializing in the mathematical fields of geometry, particularly ergodic theory, Lie groups, and differential geometry. As a University of Chicago administrator, Zimmer served as Chairman of the Mathematics Department, Deputy Provost, and Vice President for Research and for Argonne National Laboratory. He also served as Provost at Brown University from 2002-2006, returning to Chicago in 2006 to become President of the University.In 2017 President Zimmer was given the Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). He is a frequent commentator on free expression and academic freedom.

Robert Zimmer: Free Expression, Open Discourse and the Nature of Higher Ed

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Robert Zimmer: Free Expression, Open Discourse and the Nature of Higher Ed

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