About the Event

As we head into the presidential election, join us for a lively discussion on the pros and cons of America's Electoral College system. Scholars from Belmont, MTSU, and Vanderbilt Universities will join together to continue the debate that began in 1787 around our controversial method of presidential voting.

Embracing Dialogue is an ongoing series of discussions designed to foster and model civil discourse around the important issues of our day. The series was created and is produced by three Ensworth moms—Shanna Belott, Joy Cox, and Stephanie Korn—and is sponsored by Ensworth's Office of Community Engagement and Inclusion. 

Panelists

Dr. Nathan Griffith is a Professor of Political Science at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.  He holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University, and M.A. from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. from Belmont. He teaches comparative politics, formal methodology, constitutional and international law, and political theory. He speaks German and a smattering of Russian. He is the author of a textbook on American Government.

David E. Lewis is the Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations (Peabody College) at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of two books and numerous articles on American politics, public administration, and management. He has earned numerous research and teaching awards and his research has been featured in outlets such as the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and Washington Post.In 2022, he was appointed as a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Presidential Studies Quarterly and Public Administration Review.

Sharece Thrower is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of Graduate Studies at Vanderbilt University. She studies the extent to which Congress and the courts can constrain presidential power. She is a co-author of the book Checks in the Balance: Legislative Capacity and the Dynamics of Executive Power (Princeton University Press, 2022), which received the 2022 Alan Rosenthal Prize and the 2023 Richard E. Neustadt Award. Prior to arriving at Vanderbilt, Dr. Thrower was an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University in 2013 and her BA in political science and economics from The Ohio State University in 2008.

Michael P. Federici is professor and former chair of the Political Science and International Relations Department at Middle Tennessee State University. He served on the faculty at Mercyhurst University for 24 years, including 7 years as department chair. While at Mercyhurst, he served as Faculty Senate President and on the University’s Board of Trustees. He currently serves as MTSU Faculty Senate President-Elect. He is in his 36th year of college teaching. He received his B.S. in economics from Elizabethtown College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in politics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Federici has published 6 books, The Challenge of Populism, Eric Voegelin: The Restoration of Order, The Political Philosophy of Alexander Hamilton, Rethinking the Teaching of American History, and a co-edited collection of essays entitled, The Culture of Immodesty in American Life and Politics: The Modest Republic, and The Catholic Writings of Orestes Brownson. He has also published several articles and book reviews. Professor Federici has been interviewed countless times for local and national media. 

Moderator

Jim Cooper was Nashville’s congressman in Washington for twenty years, from 2003 to 2023, and his three kids went to Ensworth’s Lower School. Jim was born in Nashville and has always been interested in political reform, including the Electoral College, campaign finance, gerrymandering, and ethics. He now works for a private equity firm in Nashville, TVV Capital, and teaches part-time at Vanderbilt Law School.