UC Portman Center event: 'Civility in Polarized Times'

Two former United States senators will speak on “Civility in Polarized Times” at the University of Cincinnati’s Portman Center for Policy Solutions on Monday, Feb. 5, 2:30-3:45 p.m. at Clifton Court Hall, Room 1170.

headshot of Heidi Heitkamp

Former U.S. senator Heidi Heitkamp. Photo provided by SPIA.

The guest speaker is Heidi Heitkamp, the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in North Dakota. Heitkamp was in office from 2013-2019 and is now the director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and co-founder and chair of the One Country Project.

Heitkamp is joined by Rob Portman (for whom the center is named), an attorney and former senator from Ohio, 2011-2023.  

Rob Portman, Senator, United States of America (OH) spoke during his Portman Center for Policy Solutions ceremony at Clifton Court Hall | Margaret Valentine Overlook room Monday October 23, 2023. Photos by Joseph Fuqua II

Former U.S. senator Rob Portman. Image/Grand Opening of Portman Center.

Upon leaving office, The Portman Center was established within UC’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA).  A priority at the center is to develop future leaders in the public sphere from across the political spectrum, through a renewed emphasis on civility, open and inclusive dialogue, and bipartisan engagement.

SPIA was created out of the former Department of Political Science, which dates to 1914.

The event is presented by The Hayden Program in Applied Civil Discourse at the Portman Center.

Featured image at top of Clifton Court Hall which houses the Portman Center for Policy Solutions. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.

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