<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-5f44f0ad-7fff-bf3b-f017-aae3c6b7b2e2"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">SUNY Plattsburgh’s Institute for Ethics in Public Life, in collaboration with the Redcay Honors Center, will be holding a critical issues forum on Wednesday, September 16 at noon, in recognition of annual Constitution Day.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">According to the National Constitution Center, “Constitution Day became a national observance in 2004, when Senator Robert Byrd lobbied for a bill designating September 17 as the day for citizens to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution and learn more about our founding document.” Because the observance mandates the teaching of the Constitution in educational institutions that receive federal funds, SUNY Plattsburgh is obligated to offer informative and engaging programming to mark the day. As a result, the Institute for Ethics in Public Life at SUNY Plattsburgh and the Redcay Honors Program have in past years taken the lead in the college’s observance of Constitution Day.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">This year, Ethics Institute director Dr. Jonathan Slater and Honors Program director Dr. Tracie Guzzio will moderate a panel discussion, “We Hold This Truth.” The panel will include past Institute Fellow and Honors Program instructor Dr. Monica Ciobanu – a member of SUNY Plattsburgh’s criminal justice faculty. Dr. Salvatore Fallica, who studies propaganda, will be joining the panel from New York University’s Steinhardt School. Political science major Lucy Allen will represent the Honors Program.The Institute’s three fall 2020 Fellows, Dr. Raymond Carman, Dr. Mustafa Demir, and Dr. Richard Spindler, shall serve as respondents.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">This event will take place only on Zoom and will start promptly at noon and end at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16. The forum is free of charge and open to faculty, students, alumni and members of the community-at-large. The Zoom link is: <a href="https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/97288789871?pwd=NVJnYkVrQm9XT1NQaUlTWTdZc3RMZz09">https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/97288789871?pwd=NVJnYkVrQm9XT1NQaUlTWTdZc3RMZz09</a>.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Established in 1999 by Dr. E. Thomas Moran, the Ethics Institute was founded on the idea that citizens should make sound choices based on free speech and that those in public life should lead in humility and govern for the public good. Guided by a belief in education's role of fostering informed discourse, the Institute has provided fellowship experiences to more than 90 faculty members from among 30 college departments. The Institute is hosting three new Fellows this fall and also is the intellectual home of six current senior scholars.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">For further information about Constitution Day, the Fellows program and other activities of the Institute, contact Dr. Jonathan Slater, director, at </span><a href="mailto:slaterjr@plattsburgh.edu" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(5,99,193);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">slaterjr@plattsburgh.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In preparation, we invite you to read a recent essay by Bill Moyers, </span><a href="https://billmoyers.com/story/we-hold-this-truth-to-be-self-evident-its-happening-before-our-very-eyes/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(5,99,193);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">https://billmoyers.com/story/we-hold-this-truth-to-be-self-evident-its-happening-before-our-very-eyes/</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, which will be the focus of the dialogue during the forum.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.295;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Institute's Fellowship program is made possible by generous gifts to the Plattsburgh College Foundation.</span></p></span><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></div></div>