Reimagining Disruption Conference Seeks to Restore Civility in Politics

The conference, a special collaboration between GSPM and GWSB, featured the endowed O’Dwyer and Blackburn lectures as well as a panel of former senators who discussed how to fix America’s politics.

April 17, 2018

GSPM director Lara Brown talks to 2 panelists at lecture

GSPM Director Lara Brown talks with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and former Rep. Connie Mack IV at the Paul O'Dwyer Lecture Series (GW Today).

Prominent former politicians and speakers from business and industry explored the challenge of restoring civility and ethics to American politics in Reimagining Disruption, a two-day symposium created by the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) in collaboration with the GW School of Business (GWSB).

"The purpose of Reimagining Disruption was to bring together the best minds in politics and businesses to figure out how we could start talking with each other rather than at each other,” GSPM Director Lara Brown said. “We heard some great suggestions from our panelists, and we hope that this event sparks a commitment to civility and the process of politics, rather than any particular policy outcome.”

Panelists in this year’s Blackburn Lecture, moderated by Dr. Brown, emphasized how civic discourse and integrity are crucial in building success in business and politics. GW Trustee Emeritus Richard Blackburn, J.D. ‘67, established the lecture with an endowed gift, made in 2012.