National Agenda 2017 Reflections : National Agenda 2017: As We Stand | Divided


Program Director Lindsay Hoffman reflects on the 2017 season

Lindsay Hoffman
Dr. Lindsay Hoffman, National Agenda Director, CPC Associate Director, and Associate Professor of Communication and Political Science

Visit the National Agenda 2017 photo album.


JANUARY 2018″As I reflect on my third run as director of the National Agenda speaker series, I”m truly grateful to the speakers, the students, and all who took part in this eye-opening series. We developed the seventh annual edition, “As We Stand | Divided,” with an eye toward revealing the many seemingly insurmountable gaps facing Americans in 2017. But we didn’t stop there. It’s not enough to pull back the curtain on gender, geographic, religious, cultural, and political rifts. At the CPC, we seek to demonstrate and promote civil dialogue for all Americans”even those with whom you may disagree.


Each fall, nationally known speakers from many different backgrounds visit the University to talk about important issues in today’s political landscape, and the series of public events at Mitchell Hall is only one part of the National Agenda program. Earlier in the day, the two dozen students enrolled in the course meet with each speaker, asking questions in an intimate setting.


On the last day of class, there were tears of joy and sadness, as the students acknowledged the end of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Together, they had engaged in classroom discussions about guns and mass shootings, the impact of historical milestones”like the primary process”that have shifted politics in their generation, and the moral foundations that drive our beliefs, values, and behaviors, among many other topics. And, of course, they hung out with former Vice President Joe Biden for three-and-a-half hours over UDairy ice cream! That is not something every UD student can say they”ve experienced.

Asma Khalid meets with National Agenda class
NPR journalist Asma Khalid spoke with students in the University of Delaware’s National Agenda class on October 4, 2017.

Held each fall in the auditorium of Mitchell Hall on the University of Delaware’s Newark Campus, all events in the National Agenda speaker series are free and open to the community.


Please visit the linked event pages below for recaps of each event, including summaries, videos, photos, transcripts, and podcasts.