Democracy is shaped by the people who show up, ask questions and challenge the status quo. At Colorado State University’s fall Democracy Summit, students, scholars, judges, journalists and civic leaders came together to tackle the big questions facing democracy, from artificial intelligence and the courts to public deliberation and independent journalism. Over two days, they explored not just what democracy needs, but what each of us can do to strengthen it.
Backlogged grant reports. A 20,000-row data project. A dashboard that changed a meeting. This summer, 15 CSU interns did real work for Colorado communities.
CSU’s Democracy Summit returns Oct. 26-27 with two days of free events exploring politics, pop culture, artificial intelligence and civic engagement. Highlights include a keynote on AI and democracy, conversations with judges and a documentary screening followed by a live Q&A with journalist Amy Goodman.
After finding community during a difficult transition to CSU, doctoral student Saira Hafeez helped revive CSU Rotaract and turn that support into hundreds of hours of service across Fort Collins.
What used to be the C Wing is now called Social Sciences Hall, and it reopened Aug. 10 after being closed most of the summer for improvements that included a new fire alarm system, a new accessibility ramp on the southeast corner and a cleaning/paint job for its exterior.
Two CSU political science professors, JB Bae and Julia Lee, have been selected as 2026-27 U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholars by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a competitive appointment recognizing their expertise in Korean and East Asian politics.
There is exciting news on the construction front at the Clark complex, including upgrades to the Clark C Wing, which is being renamed the “Social Sciences Hall.”
Tara Opsal, a professor and current chair of the Department of Sociology in the College of Liberal Arts, has been named the William E. Morgan Endowed Chair in the College. A nationally respected public sociologist, Opsal advances community-engaged reform in the criminal legal system, examining how it produces harm and inequality and developing pathways for change. She is also the director of the Criminal Justice and Victimization Institute at Colorado State University. As Morgan Chair, Opsal will use dedicated time and resources to expand CJVI as a hub for community-engaged, interdisciplinary justice research across Colorado.
