Frank Bryan to speak at New Paltz on “The Crisis of American Governance: How a New Polity of Place Can Save the Republic”

The Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO) at SUNY New Paltz, in collaboration with the Department of Political Science, is sponsoring a talk on “the Crisis of American governance” by Frank Bryan, professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont, on Thursday, Oct. 28 in the Coykendall Science Building auditorium from 7– 9 p.m.

The John G. McCullough Professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont, Professor Bryan is known throughout New England both as a serious scholar and a humorist. Among the books he has authored include Real Democracy: the New England Town Meeting and How It Works and The Vermont Papers: Recreating Democracy on a Human Scale (with John McClaughtry).

Bryan’s work has drawn national attention from the New York Times, Newsweek, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. He has also appeared on CBS’s Sunday Morning, the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, and more recently on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor, Bill Moyers’ The Public Mind, and featured in Ted Turner’s Portrait of America film series.

Gerald Benjamin, CRREO Director and Associate Vice President for Regional Engagement, comments, “Professor Bryan’s work on town meetings in Vermont has made him one of the foremost experts in the U.S. on local government. He is deeply committed to understanding the central role of local government, especially in rural areas, on sustaining our communities.”

CRREO conducts and publicizes research on regional topics; creates and directs select institutes focusing on specific topics of regional interest; connects and partners with local governments, not-for-profits and businesses to initiate reforms and advocate for best practices; contracts to assess the performance of public and not-for-profit agencies and programs; and works to foster intergovernmental collaboration and community engagement.

For more information about CRREO or this event, please e-mail CRREO@newpaltz.edu or call (845) 257-2900.