Gov. Ron DeSantis to deliver Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government lecture
Gov. Ronald D. DeSantis, the 46th governor of Florida, will speak at the University of Notre Dame at 4 p.m. Nov. 8 in Room 101 of DeBartolo Hall.
Sponsored by Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, the talk will serve as the center’s 2024 Jeanie Poole O’Shaughnessy Memorial Lecture and is titled “Conservative Leadership on the Eve of America’s Semiquincentennial.”
Vincent Phillip Muñoz, director of the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, said, “One of our aims at the center is to inspire Notre Dame students to become leading citizens who serve the public good. We do that, in part, by introducing them to our nation’s current leaders, especially leading Catholic politicians. We are privileged to host Gov. DeSantis and look forward to learning about his experiences governing one of the largest states of the Union.”
In addition to his public lecture, DeSantis will participate in a seminar with the center’s undergraduate Tocqueville Fellows. The seminar will allow students to ask the governor questions and engage with him one-on-one.
Alejandra Ricardo, a junior student in the Tocqueville Fellowship Program, said, “As Tocqueville Fellows, we are uniquely privileged to directly engage the leading speakers and officials the center brings to campus. These exchanges enrich our student colloquia and seminars at the center on what constitutes a decent and just political regime. It is incredibly valuable to discuss political virtues within the American system with someone with such extensive and valuable experience.
“I’m looking forward to Gov. DeSantis’ lecture as well as the opportunity to discuss with him what he recognizes as the virtues of American political life, especially from the perspective of his gubernatorial responsibilities and as the chief executive officer of the state of Florida,” Ricardo said. “I’m deeply grateful to the center for this opportunity, which will be memorable and one of many blessings I’ve enjoyed during my time here.”
All tickets have been allocated, but the talk will be livestreamed on the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government’s YouTube channel.
DeSantis was sworn in as governor of Florida on Jan. 8, 2019. He was first elected to Congress in 2012 as the U.S. representative for Florida’s 6th District. Prior to his Congressional service, DeSantis served as a federal prosecutor.
DeSantis attended Yale University followed by Harvard Law School and earned his baccalaureate and law degrees with honors. While at Harvard, he earned a commission in the U.S. Navy as an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. During his active-duty service, DeSantis supported operations at the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. DeSantis also deployed to Iraq as an adviser to a U.S. Navy SEAL commander in support of the SEAL mission in Fallujah, Ramadi and the rest of Al Anbar province. His military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service and the Iraq Campaign Medal. He still serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
Launched in 2021, the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government seeks to cultivate thoughtful and educated citizens by supporting scholarship and education concerning the ideas and institutions of constitutional government.
Originally published by at constudies.nd.edu on Nov. 4.
Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu
Latest ND NewsWire
- Notre Dame surpasses 87 percent for undergraduate study abroad participationThe University of Notre Dame has once again received national recognition for its commitment to internationalization and global education in newly released rankings from the Institute of International Education. For the 2022-23 academic year, study abroad participation among Notre Dame undergraduates increased by more than 10 percentage points from the previous year — from 77 to 87.5 percent, according to new data published in the Open Doors report.
- Notre Dame School of Architecture hosts annual summit for 100-Mile CoalitionOn Saturday (Dec. 7), the University of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture will host its second annual summit for the 100-Mile Coalition. Created by the school’s Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative, the coalition comprises community leaders from cities within a 100-mile radius of the University. The coalition seeks to bring together city and nonprofit organization leaders who are working toward solutions related to housing shortages, disinvested communities, failed infrastructure and stagnant economic growth, as well as talent and workforce retention.
- Using Artificial Intelligence to change mindsTo help those experiencing homelessness, Notre Dame researchers fight stigma with data In 2020, Jack Vest was sitting on the side of the road across from a gas station in downtown South Bend, not far from where he spent each night sleeping hidden behind a fence, when a social services worker…
- As Northern Ireland grapples with legacy of the Troubles, Notre Dame experts influence policy to prioritize victims’ rightsNorthern Ireland has long struggled to reckon with the trauma of the Troubles, a 30-year conflict that killed approximately 3,700 people — many of them civilians — through sectarian violence. Experts in the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs recently influenced the design of a Northern Ireland commission to address the conflict’s legacy, sharing key lessons from Colombia on the importance of centering victims in truth and reconciliation.
- In memoriam: Frank H. Collins, professor emeritus in the Department of Biological SciencesFrank Hadley Collins, professor emeritus in the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, died Nov. 16 in Tucson, Arizona. He was 80.
- Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study showsBlack men on buses and trains — whether as passengers or transit workers — face hostile encounters that threaten their sense of safety and well-being, according to a new study by a Keough School of Global Affairs sociologist. By reinforcing racist tropes that they are dangerous or invisible, these encounters can also erode Black men’s sense of dignity and self-worth.
