March 2025 Newsletter

March 2025

Greetings,

Spring is in the air and we have some exciting and engaging programs coming up after spring break. Last month we hosted The Color Curtain Project which provided lots of history on nuclear nonproliferation as well as great food. We also helped organize a panel of experts to address key policy changes under the new Trump administration and the impact on the SMCM community.

For more information on our past events or for information regarding our 2025 programs or the Center for the Study of Democracy, please visit our website or send us an email.

I also encourage you to follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Warm Regards!

Antonio Ugues Jr., PhD

Director, Center for the Study of Democracy

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 5

Amɘricas Dialogue and Africa Series Collaboration

Film Screening of Elena

Cole Cinema

7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

March 26

Rising Tide: Distinguished Lecture

in International Affairs

with Thomas Carothers

Cole Cinema

7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

March 27

Gwen Ifill Lecture Series

with Jasmine Garsd

Dodge Performing Arts Center -

Recital Hall

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

March 28

Quantum Technologies:

Impacts for National Security and Society

Dr. Josh Grossman

Cole Cinema

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

March 29

National Civics Bee

Cole Cinema

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

AMERICAS DIALOGUE AND AFRICA SERIES COLLABORATION:

Film Screening and Discussion of Elena by Michele Stephenson

Michèle Stephenson is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, artist, and author who draws inspiration from her Haitian and Panamanian heritage and her experience as a social justice lawyer. She transforms non-fiction storytelling by creating emotionally impactful narratives of resistance and healing that highlight the lived experiences of communities of color across the Americas and the Black diaspora. Adopting a Black Atlantic perspective, Stephenson reimagines storytelling to provoke thought and inspire action against systemic oppression, integrating various forms such as fiction, immersive experiences, experimental techniques, and hybrid approaches. Find out more here.

Gwen Ifill Lecture with Jasmine Garsd

Jasmine Garsd is an Argentine-American journalist living in New York. She is currently NPR's immigration correspondent and the host of The Last Cup. She started her career as the co-host of Alt.Latino, an NPR show about Latin music. Throughout her reporting career she's focused extensively on women's issues and immigrant communities in America. She's currently writing a book of stories about women she's met throughout her travels.

Learn more here.

Rising Tide: Distinguished Lecture in International Affairs

Thomas Carothers is director of Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Carothers, who holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics as a Marshall Scholar, and an A.B. summa cum laude from Harvard College, is a leading authority on comparative democratization and international support for democracy, human rights, governance, the rule of law, and civil society. He has worked on democracy assistance projects for many organizations and carried out extensive field research on aid efforts around the world. Learn more here.

Quantum Technologies: Impacts for National Security and Society

Josh Grossman, PhD is a physicist with the Quantum Research & Applications Branch (QRAB) of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD).

In the past century, the First Quantum Revolution produced society-transforming technologies. Now, a Second Quantum Revolution is delivering new technologies in quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum communication. These technologies have already impacted national security considerations, and their effects will soon spread to other sectors of society. This talk will examine these effects and their probable timing. For more information click here.