On April  14, 2025, the Simmons Center in partnership with the Aydelotte Foundation at Swarthmore College,  hosted the event “Liberal Education and the Current Crisis,” featuring Dr. Ruth J. Simmons and Prof. Anthony Bogues, Director of the Simmons Center. This important conversation held just a few months after the new administration took office served as an important and frank conversation between Dr. Simmons and Prof. Bogues about higher education and the current challenges it faces. The program drew many faculty, students and administrators both in person at Swarthmore and online.

Swarthmore Associate Professor Farid Azfar ’09 Ph.D., who served on the Slavery & Justice Committee during his graduate studies at Brown, welcomed everyone to the event and discussed the impetus for this critical conversation. Swarthmore President Valerie Smith introduced the discussion, noting that the current political climate—with its executive orders and potential legislation—has created “extremely challenging times,” that “threaten issues central to core values from academic freedom and freedom of expression, to resources for research and financial aid, to the rights of immigrants and transgender individuals.”

Prof. Bogues then moderated a conversation with Dr. Simmons. Dr. Simmons described the current “systematic attack” by external forces seeking to take over every dimension of university life, from hiring to governance. She discussed the ways that universities share responsibility for their lack of public support, citing a damaging elitism,  and failure to communicate effectively with the general public.  Dr. Simmons advocated for a political and organized response that prioritizes institutional collaboration over competition. 

She noted that the Brown University Committee on Slavery & Justice was a successful model for debate in the university. She explained the project's lasting impact was secured by framing it around the core intellectual value of a commitment to truth, transparency, and rigorous scholarly examination in partnership with communities. This powerful conversation underlined the importance of the Simmons Center’s mission and institutional collaboration, particularly in this time as we seek to navigate the moral and political challenges confronting liberal education.