During the 2025-2026 academic year, the Galpin Institute is partnering with faculty, staff, students, and members of the greater Cortland community to design and conduct events that celebrate the Declaration in advance of its anniversary.
The Institute launched the celebration on September 17, 2025 - Constitution Day - because of the US Constitution's connection to the Declaration:
- The Declaration states what we want: We want to govern ourselves.
- The Constitution states how we want to govern ourselves: We want to do so as a democratic republic in which we participate in civic decision-making, both indirectly (through elected officials) and directly (by participating personally in decision-making).
The celebration's events foster democracy engagement by -
- providing nonpartisan issues-education in which students learn about the complexity of issues and about ways in which their college education relates to those issues.
- providing civics education so that students learn how to engage with government to design and enact long-term solutions to challenges.
- developing students' civic discourse skills, which include active listening, critical thinking, and creative thinking. These skills are critical for career- and civic-readiness.
Spring 2026 events include -
- "Energy Ignorance" Interactive Panel Discussion. Professors Jeremy Jimenez (Foundations) and Eric Edlund (Physics) engage in an interactive discussion with audience members. This live version of their "Curious" and Unqualified podcast continues their exploration of controversial topics, with a focus on sharing ideas, evidence, and perspectives in mutually respectful and productive ways. Tuesday, February 17, 4pm-5pm in Corey Union's Fireplace Lounge.
- "Ethics, Empathy, and Women's Political Engagement," a Women's History Month Sandwich Seminar. Distinguished Professor Mecke Nagel (Chair, Philosophy) will discuss US women's political engagement and the interplay of principled alliances and opportunism. Wednesday, March 25, 12:30-1:30pm in Old Main #220.
- "Dragons for Democracy Internships: Semester in Review." The Galpin Institute's Spring 2026 interns' projects include undergraduate research (Psychology), a campus/community project designed to develop SUNY Cortland students' interest in contributing to the greater Cortland community's well-being, and two civic discourse participatory events. Interns will describe their challenges and successes in designing, developing, and conducting their projects, and they will explain the lessons they learned through this experience. Monday, April 6, 10am-11am.
- Promoting and Preserving America's Revolutionary Heritage: Lessons from New York's Lake George Region. Panelists include experts from Lake George's historic sites, tourism organizations, and education institutions. They will share ways in which the region is commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by exploring topics such as heritage tourism, special events, history of education, and partnerships in historic preservation. Two of the co-designers are Professors Jason Page and Qwynne Lackey (Recreation, Parks, & Leisure Studies), both of whom are Democracy Engagement Fellows. Thursday, April 23, 4:30-6:00pm in Corey Union's Exhibition Lounge.
- "AI and Your Career: Debate and Deliberate." Participants will first informally debate a proposition regarding AI in careers, then they will shift to deliberating the proposition. They will use provided evidence and their personal experience to design an approach that addresses shared concerns regarding AI in careers. The goal is to have participants develop an appreciation for the importance of deliberation as a collaborative alternative to debate in problem-solving. Created designed, and facilitated by Dragons for Democracy Intern Michelle Winderman. Wednesday, April 29, 6pm-7pm in Corey Union #209.
- "Social Media, Artificial Intelligence, and Jury Decisions: Your Call." Participants will be the jury while a "prosecutor," a "defense attorney," and "witnesses" move through a scripted civil trial that involves evidence drawn from artificial intelligence-influenced social media posts. The event is designed, developed, and facilitated by Dragons for Democracy Intern Kaylynn Claudio. Date to be determined.
- "Democracy Engagement Fellows Reflections" Sandwich Seminar. Fellows in the Fall 2025 program will describe how they incorporated democracy engagement into one of their syllabi, and they will reflect on challenges and/or outcomes. Thursday, April 30, 12pm-1pm in Old Main #220.
Fall 2025 events included -
- "Celebration Launch." SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum, City of Cortland Mayor Scott Steve (R), and Cortland County Legislator Reed Cleland (D) used personal experience to emphasize the importance of participating in civic decision-making between elections.
- "Write the Wrong," designed by a Dragons for Democracy intern. Each student in this workshop compose and send emails to an appropriate elected official, advocating for a particular point of view or action on an issue.
- "Truth or Trap," designed by a Dragons for Democracy intern. Participants learn how to identify misinformation and disinformation.
- "Let's Talk Taming," designed by a Dragons for Democracy intern. Students read a scene from the political satire, "The Taming," then they use dialogue from that scene to identify values in the US Constitution and to consider the current state of those values in current US life.
- "The Role of Emotion in Leadership Communication." Professor Michelle Ouellette (SUNY Plattsburgh) conducted this workshop.
- "Civics Education in K-12." Dr. Brett Levy (SUNY Abany) conducted this workshop.