Benjamin Franklin Project Public Debate – The Power of the President: How Much is Too Much?

Join WBEZ’s Alison Cuddy and presidential scholars Alberto Coll and William Howell for “The Power of the President: How Much is Too Much?,” a public debate on the powers and limitations of the president of the United States as commander-in-chief, head of state, and chief executive at 5:30 pm on November 1 in the Hermann Hall Ballroom.

The debate, which promises to be intense but civil, will tackle the most historic questions that face the voting public concerning their president. Everything is on the table, from drone warfare to debt-limit authority.

Featuring:
Alberto Coll, Professor of Law and director of the European and Latin Studies Program and International Law LL.M. Program at DePaul University College of Law.

William Howell, Sydney Stein Professor in American Politics at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and the author of Power without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action.

Alison Cuddy, moderator, arts and culture reporter for WBEZ, and host of “Weekender,” the station’s weekly tour of Chicago’s cultural happenings.

This event is free and open to the public.


About the Benjamin Franklin Project at IIT

Statesman. Scientist. Humanist. Businessman. Inventor.

As one of the United States’ Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin is known for his vision, his wit, his love of life, his expert knowledge in governance, science, engineering, business, education, music, and philosophy, and the treasure trove of writings, discoveries, inventions, and ideas that he left behind.

In partnership with the Jack Miller Center and with the generous support of The Brinson Foundation, the College of Science and Letters and the Department of Social Sciences at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) have launched the Benjamin Franklin Project to inspire a new generation of innovators who wish to think—and act—across today’s disciplinary and professional lines.

Through a series of events and special courses taught at the IIT campus, the Benjamin Franklin Project allows students and scholars to explore the full range of the Founders’ work—from their most practical domestic devices to the extraordinary idea and architecture of the New Republic. The Project focuses especially on the Enlightenment and the Framers as scientists, inventors and designers in both the social and the natural realms, exploring how all these elements continue to spark imaginations and shape priorities in today’s far more interconnected world.

The inaugural Benjamin Franklin Project Lecture was delivered by renowned scholar Gordon Wood (Brown University) on March 15, 2012. This event was followed by a public symposium on April 26, 2012, and featured Ralph Lerner (University of Chicago), Stuart Warner (Roosevelt University), Jan Golinski (University of New Hampshire) and David Lieberman (University of California at Berkeley). The first Jack Miller Post-Doctoral Fellow took residency in the Department of Social Sciences and begin teaching in August of 2012.