Programs
The Henry Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom in the Modern World at Claremont McKenna College offers academic programming focused on political philosophy, constitutional law, and American political thought. Key offerings include visiting speakers, student seminars, Saturday salons, academic conferences, and a book club.
The Athenaeum
We routinely sponsor speakers at the CMC Athenaeum, the most popular and reliable venue on campus, to reach a wide student audience and enhance the intellectual life of the College. In addition to having a single speaker give a talk, we regularly organize panels that invite speakers to engage in a discussion. We believe that giving students direct access to leading public and scholarly minds enhances the advantages of a small liberal arts college.
Lofgren Lecture
The Lofgren Lecture on American Constitutionalism is an endowed program named in honor of Charles Lofgren, a celebrated constitutional historian and long-time faculty member at CMC. It brings prominent legal scholars, historians, and political scientists to campus twice a year to explore constitutional history.
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention is an annual event where student teams propose original or revised constitutional amendments to a student audience. A panel of faculty judges awards prizes to the top three teams, and the student audience votes for its favorite amendment.
Lunch Seminars
Lunch seminars offer students a chance to engage important questions in an informal setting, fostering both intellectual exchange outside the classroom and a sense of community within the College and the Center.
Saturday Salons
Saturday salons offer students a chance for an in-depth exploration of pressing political and constitutional issues, encouraging open discussion with faculty, visiting speakers, and fellow students, which frequently end with dinner in the Claremont Village.
Conferences
The Center regularly sponsors academic conferences centered on questions of liberal democracy, political philosophy, and American constitutionalism. We also host conferences that bring together faculty and students to work through seminal texts in the history of political thought that helped shape the modern world and liberal democratic government in particular. Complementing the academic sessions, students and faculty visit cultural and historical institutions to deepen our understanding, which also offers an opportunity for more informal engagement.
Book Club
Along with the Open Academy, we sponsor a student-run book club that meets for discussions of classical canonical works paired with less-studied great texts from around the world.
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