The university announced the details of its 2023-2024 Presidential Speakers Series dinners Monday.
The fall dinner will be formatted as a point/counterpoint discussion and will be held in the Oklahoma Memorial Union at 6 p.m. on Aug. 24.
OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. wrote in a press release that the dinners will serve as a testament to the power of civility.
“This year’s Presidential Speakers Series lineup promises to foster constructive and enlightening dialogue on some of the most pressing issues facing American society today,” Harroz wrote.
The fall dinner will feature professors Robert P. George of Princeton University and Cornel West of Union Theological Seminary. According to Harroz, the discussion will revolve around points on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
George is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He served as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and on various presidential councils and commissions.
George is an author and recipient of multiple honors and awards, including the U.S. Presidential Citizens Medal. He holds degrees from Harvard and Oxford University, and has also been awarded 22 honorary degrees from various institutions.
West, the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary, is known for his teachings on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and various subjects, including Philosophy of Religion and African American Critical Thought.
West held positions at Harvard and Princeton University and collaborated with MasterClass on courses focusing on empathy, Black history, freedom, love, and philosophy. He has written 20 books, such as Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and Black Prophetic Fire. West graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and obtained his master’s and Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University.
OU history professor Anne Hyde will moderate the discussion between George and West, titled “Saving America: Conflicting Views in Civil Dialogue”.
The spring 2024 dinner will feature Paul Ryan, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. He will present “The State of American Politics”. More information will be announced at a later date, including the ability to reserve seating.
Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.