Guest Speaker Series

Explore thought-provoking discussions and insights from distinguished speakers.

Occupational Licensing

Panelists:

Morris Kleiner
Jaimie Cavanaugh
Mark Isaac

A discussion on licensing reforms and economic mobility.

Date & Time

Mon, Sept 15, 2025 · 5:00 PM

Club Down Under

Guest Speaker: Rich Lowry

Topic: TBA

Editor-in-Chief of National Review discusses current affairs and civic culture.

Date & Time

Wed, Sept 17, 2025 · 6:00 PM

WJB 2004

Jefferson and the University

Speaker: Andrew O’Shaughnessy

On Thomas Jefferson’s vision for higher education and republican citizenship.

Date & Time

Wed, Oct 1, 2025 · 12:00 PM

FSU Student Union · Room 2214

Free Speech on the Docket

A breakdown of First Amendment cases at SCOTUS

Panel with top litigators and scholars on the term’s major speech cases. Hosted by the FSU Law First Amendment Clinic. Panelists TBA.

Date & Time

Thu, Oct 2, 2025 · 12:30 PM

FSU College of Law · Room 301

Minimum Wage

Speaker: David Neumark

Evidence on employment, youth opportunities, and policy design. Time TBA.

Date & Time

Tue, Oct 7, 2025 · Time TBA

Club Down Under

No Adult Left Behind: How Politics Hijacks Education Policy and Hurts Kids

Speaker: Vladimir Kogan

Date & Time

Wed, Oct 15, 2025 · 12:00 PM

Location TBA

Founders and Religion (Symposium)

Speakers:

Brigid Staab · Jordan Cash · Melanie Miller · Michael Breidenbach · Jane Calvert · Kurt Piehler · Marc O. DeGirolami

Co-sponsored program on the Constitution’s creation and religious liberty.

Date & Time

Fri, Oct 24, 2025 · 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Student Services Building · Rooms 208/218

Amicus Briefs

Community conversation on current cases and legal writing.

Date & Time

Sat, Oct 25, 2025 · Midday

Amicus Brewery

How Socialism Destroyed Venezuela

Speaker: Daniel DiMartino

A personal story of escape and a policy analysis of Venezuela’s collapse.

Date & Time

Tue, Nov 4, 2025 · 6:00 PM

Club Down Under

Regulation of AI

Speakers: Jennifer Huddleston · Tatiana Rice

Emerging frameworks for AI governance and civil liberties. Time & room TBA.

Date

Mon, Nov 10, 2025

FSU Law · Room TBA

Marine Corps Birthday Ceremony

Presenter: Beth Moore

Date & Time

Mon, Nov 10, 2025 · 12:30 PM

Location TBA

The Case for Black American Patriotism

Speaker: Glenn Loury

On race, national identity, and civic loyalty.

Date & Time

Tue, Nov 18, 2025 · 6:00 PM

Club Down Under

Yeonmi Park

North Korean Defector

Born in North Korea, Park grew up in a punishing society devoted to the worship of Kim Jong-Il. At the age of 13, she and her family made a daring escape to China in search of freedom. Park and her mother endured severe hardships, including human trafficking. In 2009, they crossed the Gobi Desert to Mongolia, ultimately finding freedom in South Korea. Park recounts her story in her memoir In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom.

Date & Time:

February 19th, 2025 · 6:00 PM · Club Down Under @ Student Union

Jeffrey Rosen

President and CEO - National Constitution Center

Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, where he hosts “We the People,” a weekly podcast of constitutional debate. He is also a professor of law at George Washington University and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. Rosen’s book, The Pursuit of Happiness, explores how classical writers on virtue inspired the lives of the Founders and defined America.

Date & Time:

February 24th, 2025 · 6:00 PM · Club Down Under @ FSU Student Union

Charles C.W. Cooke & Alexander Tsesis EVENT OVER

Charles C.W. Cooke | Senior Writer - National Review
Alexander Tsesis | D’Alemberte Chair, Constitutional Law - Florida State University

Charles C.W. Cooke is a British-American journalist and the Senior Writer at National Review, where he provides commentary on U.S. conservatism and constitutionalism. He hosts the Charles C.W. Cooke Podcast and has authored The Conservatarian Manifesto, which examines a blend of libertarian and conservative thought. His work appears in publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. Known for his rigorous and thoughtful analysis, Cooke became a U.S. citizen in 2018 and resides in Florida, where he focuses on issues of free speech, governance, and civic liberties.

Alexander Tsesis holds the D’Alemberte Chair in Constitutional Law at Florida State University and serves as the general editor for major legal series, including the Cambridge Studies on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. His research covers constitutional reconstruction, civil rights, free speech theory, and legal interpretation. Tsesis has published influential books and articles exploring how constitutional rights evolve within legal and historical contexts. As a professor, he guides future lawyers and scholars through complex constitutional issues, including the tension between freedom of expression and the regulation of misinformation.

Date & Time:

March 19th, 2025 · 6:00 PM · Student Services Building 201

Beth Akers EVENT OVER

Resident Fellow - American Enterprise Institute

Beth Akers is a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she focuses on labor economics and the economics of higher education. Her research has explored student loan debt and its impact on individuals and the economy. Previously, she was a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, the Brookings Institution, and a staff economist with the Council of Economic Advisors under President George W. Bush. Akers co-authored the book Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt.

Date & Time:

March 25th, 2025 · 6:00 PM · Club Down Under @ Student Union

Word of South – Featuring:
Jess Bravin & Mollie Hemingway EVENT OVER

Jess Bravin | Supreme Court Reporter - Wall Street Journal
Mollie Hemingway | Editor-in-Chief - The Federalist

Jess Bravin is the Supreme Court correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, covering major legal decisions since 2005. He authored The Terror Courts, an analysis of Guantanamo’s military trials, and Squeaky, a biography of a Manson Family member. Bravin has earned the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award and holds degrees from Harvard College and UC Berkeley School of Law.

Mollie Hemingway is the Editor-in-Chief of The Federalist, where she writes on judicial issues, media, and constitutional law. As a Senior Journalism Fellow at Hillsdale College, she mentors students and teaches media-related courses. She co-authored Justice on Trial and wrote Rigged, both bestsellers.

Date & Time:

April 5th, 2025 · 5:00 PM · Word of South (AC Marriott Ballroom)

Glenn Loury CANCELLED

Professor of Economics - Brown University

Loury is the Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Brown University. He has published extensively on applied microeconomic theory, game theory, industrial organization, natural resource economics, and the economics of race and inequality. Loury hosts The Glenn Show with John McWhorter, often addressing questions of race and education.

Date & Time:

Update 4-7-2025: Due to inclement weather, Dr. Loury's flight has been cancelled. This event has been cancelled. We will reschedule for a future date.

Religious Liberties at the Supreme Court:
Marci Hamilton & Denise Harle EVENT OVER

Marci Hamilton | CEO - CHILD USA
Denise Harle | Partner at Shutts & Bowen
1.0 General CLE approved (CLICK HERE FOR RESOURCES)

Marci Hamilton is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Political Science and a Fox Family Pavilion Senior Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion at the University of Pennsylvania. Before moving to Penn, she held the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. Hamilton is the author of numerous scholarly books and articles including God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty (Cambridge University Press), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) at the Supreme Court in Boerne v. Flores (1997) and defeated the RFRA claim brought by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee against hundreds of child sex abuse survivors in Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. Listecki (7th Cir. 2015). Hamilton is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and she clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Denise Harle is a Partner at Shutts & Bowen LLP, where she focuses on appellate litigation, constitutional law, and administrative law. Previously, she was Senior Counsel at a national legal nonprofit and served as Florida’s Deputy Solicitor General, handling major constitutional cases. Harle has argued before state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. She was a finalist for a seat on the Florida Supreme Court and currently serves on Florida’s Judicial Nominating Commission for the Second Circuit. She earned her J.D. from Duke University School of Law.

Date & Time:

April 2025 · Details above

Guest Speaker Series

Occupational Licensing Panel

Guest Speaker: Rich Lowry

Jefferson and the University

Free Speech on the Docket

Minimum Wage

No Adult Left Behind: How Politics Hijacks Education Policy and Hurts Kids

Founders and Religion (Symposium)

Amicus Briefs

How Socialism Destroyed Venezuela

Regulation of AI

Marine Corps Birthday Ceremony

The Case for Black American Patriotism

Yeonmi Park

Jeffrey Rosen

Charles C.W. Cooke & Alexander Tsesis EVENT OVER

Beth Akers EVENT OVER

Word of South – Featuring: Jess Bravin & Mollie Hemingway EVENT OVER

Glenn Loury CANCELLED

Religious Liberties at the Supreme Court: Marci Hamilton & Denise Harle EVENT OVER

Occupational Licensing

Word of South – Featuring:
Jess Bravin & Mollie Hemingway EVENT OVER

Religious Liberties at the Supreme Court:
Marci Hamilton & Denise Harle EVENT OVER