A New Deeper Conversations Focus

March 10, 2025

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Community:

Welcome back from spring break! Each semester, by design, we evolve our Deeper Conversations programming to help our university community better understand and explore timely and thought-provoking topics shaping our world. Most recently, we leveraged the power of civil discourse to examine issues related to democracy and the U.S. presidential election, concluding with a Jan. 30 lecture and fireside chat with award-winning journalist David Ignatius.

I am pleased to share that we will be devoting our Deeper Conversations series this semester to helping our university community traverse the role of the U.S. government in society. This new focus will create opportunities for participants to explore — with genuine curiosity and civility — how our federal government has evolved over time and how these changes have impacted policies, people and the world at large.

As with prior Deeper Conversations engagements, the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy will co-present this series. I am grateful to the deans of both colleges, Richard Scheines and Ramayya Krishnan, who will be sharing additional event details with our university community later today.

I place immense value in our Deeper Conversations model, which leverages academic scholarship and discourse to examine complex issues, expand knowledge and build new bridges of understanding. While the final months of an academic year are always busy, I encourage all members of our university community to participate in these events and in the vibrant discussions they will hopefully inspire.

Warm Regards,

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair