Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

Glenn C. Loury, Merton P. Stoltz Professor Emeritus of Social Sciences, Professor Emeritus of Economics, and Professor Emeritus of International and Public Affairs, joined Brown University in 2005. He is an academic economist who has made scholarly contributions to the fields of welfare economics, income distribution, game theory, industrial organization, and natural resource economics. He is also a prominent social critic and public intellectual, having published over 200 articles in journals of public affairs in the U.S. and abroad on the issues of racial inequality and social policy.

Loury is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a past Vice President of the American Economics Association. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was for many years a contributing editor at The New Republic magazine.

Among the issues Loury studies are racial affirmative action; dysfunctional social identity; status transmission across generations; and cognitive theories of racial stigma. He also writes popular essays on social and political themes as a public intellectual.

Michael J. Fortner, Pamela B. Gann Associate Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College, will moderate the conversation.

(Special Note: This event had originally been scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, 2026. We are honoring the head table sign-ups from that original date. Students who had secured a head table spot (or were waitlisted for the head table) will have the right of first refusal for the head table. If you had a confirmed spot at the head table, we are aware of who you are and we will contact you directly in early April.)

For more information on this film, please visit: https://www.specialrussiantruth.com/

Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind is an international figure in architecture and urban design. Informed by a deep commitment to music, philosophy, and literature, Libeskind aims to create architecture that is resonant, original, and sustainable.

Libeskind established his architectural studio, Studio Libeskind, in Berlin, Germany, in 1989 after winning the competition to build the Jewish Museum in Berlin. In February 2003, Studio Libeskind moved its headquarters from Berlin to New York City to oversee the master plan for the World Trade Center redevelopment, which is being realized in Lower Manhattan.

Libeskind’s practice is involved in designing and realizing a diverse array of urban, cultural, and commercial projects around the globe. The Studio has completed buildings that range from museums and concert halls to convention centers, university buildings, hotels, shopping centers, and residential towers. As Principal Design Architect for Studio Libeskind, Libeskind speaks widely on the art of architecture in universities and professional summits. His architecture and ideas have been the subject of many articles and exhibitions, influencing the field of architecture and the development of cities and culture.

Libeskind has won dozens of awards for his work including the Goethe Medal, the Hiroshima Peace Prize, the Dresden Peace Prize, and the European Union Prize for Civil Rights.

Mr. Libeskind's Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the President's Office and the President's Leadership Fund.

Photo credit: Stefan Ruiz

(Special Note: This event had originally been scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, 2025. We are honoring the head table sign-ups from that original date. Students who had secured a head table spot (or were waitlisted for the head table) will have the right of first refusal for the head table. If you had a confirmed spot at the head table, we are aware of who you are and we will contact you directly in early April.)

J.D. Rackey is the associate director of the Structural Democracy project at the Bipartisan Policy Center where he leads their work on governing institutions and electoral systems reform. His research focuses on the politics and procedures of the U.S. Congress with an emphasis on congressional capacity and modernization. Rackey’s work has appeared in scholarly journals such as Political Science Today and Social Science Quarterly and has been published or cited in popular press outlets such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, and CQ Roll Call. He also currently serves as president of the National Capital Area Political Science Association.

Rackey previously served as professional staff with the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. He has also been an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma and is a former American Political Science Association Public Service Fellow.

Zach Ingrasci '12 is a film director and the co-founder of the twice Emmy-Nominated film studio Optimist, a production company committed to making documentaries that nurture optimism and create impact. Best known for directing the feature documentaries Living On One Dollar, Salam Neighbor, This Is Not Financial Advice and Five Years North, Zach’s films have been released by Netflix, Amazon Prime, National Geographic, PBS and HBO. Every Optimist film is accompanied by an impact campaign to create measurable outcomes. His projects have raised over $119 million for the films’ causes and have changed over 606,869 lives.

But this isn't just a career story. Shaun believes the West is in the fight of its life — culturally, geopolitically, and technologically — and that the decisions being made right now in boardrooms, dorm rooms, and on college campuses will determine whether Western civilization thrives or retreats. This is a conversation about optimism with teeth: the idea that building the future requires not just great technology, but moral clarity, intellectual courage, and the willingness to say hard things out loud.

Jason Rosenthal is an Operating Partner at a16z crypto. Jason has spent more than 25 years as an internet entrepreneur and executive, including more than 10 years as a startup CEO, and his career has been dedicated to the development of transformational new platforms. Jason works closely with the CEOs and founders in our crypto portfolio to provide leadership guidance, help them plan for and react to the aspects of running companies in rapidly-changing markets, and generally help them become the best version of their professional selves.

Whether you're thinking about starting a company, joining one, you aspire to become a world class investor, or are simply trying to figure out what you stand for — this is the conversation you don't want to miss.

This event is sponsored by the Open Academy at CMC.