Civic Forum Speakers and Events

Sarah Matsumoto, Director of the Environmental Law Clinic at CU Law School, presents this public lecture in celebration of Constitution Day 2024.

April 19, 2024 - Kisin visited CMU for a discussion on free speech, censorship, and modern social discourse in our local area, on campus, and within our global community.

April 4, 2024 - Stephens spoke about the nexus between free speech, antisemitism and the importance of free expression on college campuses.

March 11, 2024 - Strossen joined CMU for an interview-style discussion about free speech, how it supports civil rights, and why dialogue matters now more than ever.

October 24, 2023 - This CMU Civic Forum event featured a panel of esteemed faculty members and community leaders discussing historical context, elements of the current crisis, and the challenging road ahead towards peace.

October 25, 2022 - The Daily Sentinel, Colorado Public Radio and Colorado Mesa University Civic Forum in Grand Junction, CO are proud to host and present the Colorado Mesa University 2022 Candidate Forum with Colorado Gubernatorial candidates.

October 25, 2022 - The Daily Sentinel, Colorado Public Radio and Colorado Mesa University Civic Forum in Grand Junction, CO are proud to host and present the Colorado Mesa University 2022 Candidate Forum with Colorado US Senate candidates.

May 10, 2022 - President John Marshall sits down with Ukrainian-born faculty member Olga Grisak and Assistant Professor of Political Science Holly Oberle, PhD, to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war.

April 5, 2022 - President John Marshall and Trustee David Foster sat down with author, podcaster and award-winning journalist Bari Weiss for a captivating panel discussion.

President Marshall sits down with Jay Seaton, Publisher of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Ashley Parker, Washington Post White House Bureau Chief, and Michael Bender Wall Street Journal Senior White House Reporter.

President Marshall is joined by Pastor CB Barthlow and CMU Assistant Professor of Social Work and Director of Social Work Program Michelle Sunkel, DSW, to discuss the behavioral health needs in western Colorado and the challenges the region faces with limited resources.

CMU Trustee Daniel Ramos hosts a thoughtful discussion on the rural/urban divide with Colorado State Senator Dominick Moreno, President John Marshall and CMU Trustee Lori Buck.

President Marshall sat down with diversity, inclusion and equity expert Dwinita Mosby Tyler, Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod, theatre arts department head Mo LaMee and students Isabel and Lauren to discuss the power of the arts how they bring people together like few things do.

President John Marshall was joined by Colorado elections expert and Mesa County Designated Election Official Wayne W. Williams to discuss the importance of election security. Their conversation covers a wide-range of topics, including past and recent elections that were close, election process fail safes and verifications, changes in the casting and counting of ballots and much more.

September 22, 2021 - The Colorado Mesa University Civic Forum and The Steamboat Institute organized a discussion on Liberty and Justice for All: A Conversation on Social Justice and Identity Politics. Speakers included Jason Riley, editorial board member and columnist at The Wall Street Journal and Richard Fowler, host of The Richard Fowler Show and Fox News contributor; moderated by White House Reporter at RealClearPolitics Philip Wegmann.

To celebrate Constitution Day, President John Marshall sat down with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and local attorneys Jeff Hurd and Steve Erkenbrack to discuss the Ginsburg/Scalia Initiative which celebrates respectful engagement in American politics.

Dr. Rey Koslowski presents The Symbolic Politics of Border Control and Immigration Reform - If Democrats and Republicans can agree that eleven million unauthorized immigrants are proof of a broken immigration system, why does Congress repeatedly fail to pass comprehensive immigration reform that might stand a chance of reducing unauthorized migration?

January 20, 2020 - Colorado Mesa University welcomed Dr. Reo Leslie to campus as the keynote speaker in honor of MLK Day.

August 28, 2019 - Students, faculty, staff and the community came together to celebrate the 56th anniversary of one of the most important speeches in U.S. history — Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream". This Civic Forum event included: the speech performed by Stephon Ferguson, remarks by local civil rights leaders, musical performances, a special reading by students and a Q&A session with Ferguson.

March 26, 2019 - During the 2019 Holocaust Awareness Series, Peter Gorog, one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors, reminded the next generation of Americans that the Holocaust and genocide are issues of today — not to be relegated to history.

January 21, 2019 - CMU hosted Nita Mosby Tyler for the celebration and observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

October 24, 2018 - The CMU campus was the site of the Tenth Circuit's special session. This marked the first time in history that the US Court of Appeals heard oral arguments anywhere in western Colorado.

September 17, 2018 - Ruben Navarrette, nationally-renowned thinker and columnist, gave a public lecture as a part of CMU's celebration of Constitution Day.