President Crutcher speaks to national audience about civil disagreement

We feel proud to be part of a university that encourages civil dialogue among students, faculty and staff. Our campus community is supported in asking critical and thought-provoking questions — and it’s in large part because of President Crutcher’s leadership and encouragement of those meaningful discussions.

Other industry leaders are catching on and paying attention as well. President Crutcher recently penned an op-ed defending the “right to be here” on campus, and it was highlighted in The Hechinger Report and included in a University Business newsletter, a go-to resource for higher ed leaders. 

“As campus leaders, we must be unapologetic champions for the free and open exchange of ideas and for the potential of debate and discussion to transform society,” Crutcher wrote. 

Last year’s Viewpoint Speaker Series celebrated that commitment to important — but civil — conversations, even when they’re hard. Topics spanned freedom of expression to immigration, and the lineup included former Newseum president and CEO Jeffrey Herbst, Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates, immigration advocate and Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas, and political strategist Karl Rove, whose visit Crutcher featured in his piece.

We are looking forward to the coming year’s speakers (stay tuned!) and continuing to promote critical thinking throughout our Spider community.