The Mineta-Simpson Institute will host the first lecture in the University of Wyoming School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies “Challenges to Democracy” series in the institute’s lecture hall at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 30.
The free event entitled “Crisis of Civility and Hope for Civic Engagement” will take place at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, located between Powell and Cody.
Participants will include former Ambassador Tom Dougherty, the 2024 Milward L. Simpson Visiting Professor of Political Science at UW and former U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso; UW Professor Andrew Garner; UW Professor Jean Garrison; and Aura Newlin, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation executive director.
Dougherty was a U.S. Foreign Service officer for 27 years, serving in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Australia. Garner is a professor of political science at UW, and his main area of research and teaching involves the quality and nature of democracy. Garrison is a professor of political science and international studies and co-director of the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program at UW
Newlin, a UW graduate, oversees the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, which manages the Heart Mountain historic site, Heart Mountain Interpretive Center and the Mineta-Simpson Institute at Heart Mountain.
“We are grateful for the collaboration with Heart Mountain, which allows us to bring this discussion up to Park County,” Garrison says. “We hope people come out and share their perspectives and thoughts with us.”