Our events bring thought-provoking conversations about democracy to the Penn State community and beyond. We also partner with organizations across Penn State and throughout the State College community to co-sponsor programming. All events are free and open to anyone.
Janet Napolitano: Higher Education and Democracy
Thursday, February 26, 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
What is the role of higher education in a democracy? To what extent should American universities respond to the demands of those in power? Are we meeting this moment? As a former governor, cabinet secretary, and university president, Secretary Janet Napolitano is well situated to speak to these and other questions. Join us for a lecture and Q&A with Secretary Napolitano.
Secretary Napolitano is a professor of Public Policy and Director of the new Center for Security in Politics at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. A distinguished public servant, she served as the President of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013, and Governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009.
Danielle Allen: 250 Years of Our Declaration of Independence
Why an Old Text Still Serves Us Now
Thursday, March 19, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
Freeman Auditorium, 117 HUB-Robeson Center
As we celebrate 250 years of American democracy in 2026, join us for a lecture from one of the country’s leading democracy scholars and practitioners, Danielle Allen. In this talk, Allen draws an arc from the American founding to the present to explore how the original vision of the Declaration of Independence can serve us still, even as we also recognize and remedy its imperfections. She will also discuss reforms that can strengthen American democracy moving forward.
Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. She is also Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Democratic Knowledge Project, a research lab focused on civic education. She chairs the board of FairVote, the nation’s leading advocate for ranked choice voting, and is a co-chair of the Our Common Purpose Commission at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, where she is a member. Her books include Justice by Means of Democracy, Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, and Democracy in the Time of Coronavirus.
This event is co-sponsored by the Africana Research Center, Humanities Institute, and the Richards Civil War Era Center.
Join or Die: A Film About Why You Should Join a Club
Sunday, March 22, 2:00 p.m.
The State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave., State College
Reserve your Ticket
Join the Center for Democratic Deliberation for a screening of the film Join or Die on Sunday, March 22 at The State Theatre in downtown State College The film draws on the work of Robert Putnam’s seminal book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Putnam’s book, which came out 25 years ago, was based on his research as a political scientist about the importance of participating in clubs and organizations. His message was clear and simple: a healthy democracy depends on our sense of connection to each other.
Putnam’s research outlines how a decline in clubs and organizations (a.k.a. “third spaces”) negatively impacts our faith in each other and our system of government. The film was created by Putnam’s former student-turned filmmaker, Pete Davis, and his sister Rebecca Davis. Together they tell an entertaining and upbeat story about the life and research of a favorite professor through interviews with Putnam himself accompanied by Pete Davis’s enthusiastic narration, interviews with prominent figures like Hillary Clinton and Pete Buttigieg, and visually compelling archival footage. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with professors, community members, and civic leaders.