Age and physical ability have long played crucial roles in public service. Younger leaders are often perceived as energetic and productive, while older politicians are mostly viewed as wise and authoritative. However, in an era marked by deep divisions and a focus on performative rhetoric over bipartisan compromise, age and ability have become contentious in modern politics. In today's volatile political climate, how do these factors truly impact public service? This event was followed by a Q&A session moderated by Sanford J. Ungar, director of the Free Speech Project, and Michael Scott, director of the Future of the Humanities Project.
This event was co-sponsored by the Free Speech Project (Georgetown University) and the Future of the Humanities Project (Georgetown University and Blackfriars Hall and Campion Hall, Oxford).
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John Battle formerly served in the United Kingdom Parliament as a Labour Party politician for Leeds West from 1987 to 2010. He now chairs the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Leeds. Battle served as U.K. minister of state for trade and industry from 1997 to 1999 and as minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1999 to 2001. He is a fellow at Leeds Trinity University and Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.
MT Connolly is an elder justice expert at the University of Southern California who works to make longevity more joyful, gentle, and just for people of all ages. She is a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” fellow and the author of The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life (2023). She founded the U.S. Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative, was the lead architect of the Elder Justice Act, and co-designed the evidence-informed “RISE” model to reduce harm to at-risk older adults, caregivers, and communities, written into Maine law in 2023.
Richard Thomas has been a member of the Careers Wales board since February 2020 and is also a member of its finance, audit, and risk committee. He has had a long career in higher education and has worked in several Welsh and English universities and colleges, serving in roles ranging from lecturer to provost to assistant vice chancellor. He is interested in the relationship between educational institutions and employers; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education; and the role that education plays in economic development.