Symposia Archives
2016 Road to the White House
New technologies and new campaign finance rules are changing the ways in which American political parties compete to win elections. This symposium will bring scholars, campaign consultants and party strategists to explore the new campaign landscape in the United States. Speakers will offer their thoughts about how these changes will shape the 2016 Presidential and Congressional campaigns.
The Federal Budget: Making Tough Choices
The Federal budget deficit is just under 500 billion dollars. Resolving that deficit will require difficult decisions about what we, as a nation, wish to do about taxation and important programs such as Social Security and Medicare. In this symposium, former Members of Congress will help participants frame the fiscal issues that face the nation. A budget simulation, led by the Concord Coalition, will provide an opportunity for attendees to try to reach a consensus about how to reach the goal of a balanced budget.
From the Chambers to the Cloud: Connecting Citizens and Local Governments
New technologies are providing new ways for citizens to engage with their governments and with each other to work on community issues. This symposium brings technology developers and city officials from Florida and the nation to explore the promises and the challenges that are presented by open data, social media and new ways of connecting with citizens. Symposium participants are encouraged to bring their devices to participate in demonstrations of new technologies.
Simulation: Evolutionary Past, Boundless Future
Senator Bill Nelson and Congressman John Mica will be the opening keynotes when approximately 500 students from across the state of Florida visit UCF's campus to have the opportunity to learn about, see, and use various simulation approaches to important problems or issues.
Water and Florida's Future
Speakers from government, industry and the environmental community gathered during the Frey Institute's Spring symposium to discuss a welter of questions about water quality, water supply and its management and conservation. Cynthia Barnett, journalist and author, gave the keynote address.
The U.S. Constitution: Confronting the 21st Century
First among the priorities of the Frey Institute is communicating the founding ideals of the country and how those impose obligations of informed engagement among the citizens of the nation. Debates about governmental power, personal privacy and the U.S. Constitution frame many of the nation's most significant political issues, including health care, crime and abortion rights.
The Federal Budget: An Unsolvable Crisis?
Shifting in format, the spring 2012 symposium adopted a workshop series of presentations designed to provide our audience, primarily high school students, with the necessary information and background to understand the budget process. Any budget discussion can prove to be a challenge, but this Symposium examined the issues the President's Budget Supercommittee could not solve.
Campaign 2012: New Rules of the Road?
As the symposia have developed, the Frey Institute has sought to tailor its message to its primary audience: high school and college students. Today's "digital generation" does almost everything online, from watching movies to banking and communicating with friends.
The U.S. and China: What Does the Future Hold?
From human rights to monetary policy and national security, the United States' relationship with China is often troubled and challenging for the president and Congress. The Spring 2011 Frey Institute Symposium delves into this complicate and many times complicated relationship.
Florida's Future: The Space Program and Beyond
Florida and the Space Program have been intertwined for decades. The Fall 2010 symposium considered NASA's uncertain future and its impact on Florida's economy. Government and business leaders and policy experts discussed President Obama's plans to overhaul NASA and the new technologies and economic development strategies that could shape Florida's future
Congress and Bipartisanship: Can't We All Just Get Along?
Many Americans criticize Congress for its members' unwillingness to comprise and not act in a bipartisan fashion. The Frey Institute's spring 2010 focuses on that question as the Obama administration sought to create ground-breaking policy in several areas.
New Generation. New Economy. New Opportunities
The Frey Institute continued its tradition of discussing topical questions and issues relevant to a multigenerational audience in the fall of 2009. As students approach graduation during a recession and a shortage of jobs, economists, policy experts and political leaders discussed the opportunities and challenges that the economy presents for them.
The First 100 Days
The spring 2009 Frey Institute symposium combined serious and comedic analyses of how the Obama administration has handled economic policies, national security and more. Speakers at the event covered President Obama's relationship with the 111th Congress, an analysis of his economic policy and the future.
Considering the Middle East
The region of the Middle East has been critical to U.S. and world politics in the past few decades. The Frey Institute in its fall 2008 symposium considered such issues as, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, security, religion and other key issues that pertain to that volatile region.
The Road to the White House: Tough Choices
The spring 2008 symposium continued the theme set in the fall event: presidential elections. Presenters included policy commentators, political activists from many different perspectives, former member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, academic and journalists. The evening keynote address was given by SuChin Pak, National Political Correspondent for MTV News.
Presidential Elections: The Road to the White House
In the fall of 2007, the Frey Institute symposium addressed the coming presidential election in 2008. Commentators included Thomas Mann of The Brookings Institution and David Broder, noted columnist of The Washington Post. Speakers also included academics, activists and journalists.
Environmental Policy: Issues, Concerns, and Solutions
The Frey Institute addressed environmental policy in the spring 2007 symposium, as global warming and water quality concerns make headlines across the country. Speakers during the event included academics, policymakers, elected officials and activists in the area. Speakers also addressed water policy, air policy and energy policy.
U.S. Immigration Policy: Open Borders or Closed Doors?
In the fall 2006 symposium, the Frey Institute once again addressed a controversial and emotional issue: immigration policy for the nation. Speakers at the event included elected officials at the federal level, academics, attorneys working in the field, business representatives as well as the Undersecretary for North American Affairs of the Government of Mexico.
A Day with the Florida Governors
The Frey Institute once again made history when it hosted all of the former Florida governors at one event. Governors Claude Kirk, Reubin Askew, Bob Graham, Bob Martinez, Buddy McKay and Jeb Bush all appeared and spoke to the authority and responsibility of the state's chief executive in leading one of the nation's biggest states. For followers of Florida politics, this is an event that will long be treasured.
Church and State: Blurring the Line?
In the fall of 2005, the Frey Institute continued its tradition of addressing topical issues in a balanced manner. The fall symposium, now in a single-day format, considered the relationship between church and state in the contemporary period.
Money and Politics: Are Elections for Sale?
The spring 2005 symposium explores in-depth the relationship between money and elections in the constitutional republic of the United States. Speakers included then-Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, U.S. Senators Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson; and U.S. Reps. F. Allen Boyd Jr., Jim Davis, and Tom Feeney.
The Space Program: Past and Future, Public or Private?
This year, 2004, marks the 35th anniversary of man's triumphant landing on the surface of the Moon, fulfilling President John F. Kennedy's vision to land a man on the Moon "and return him safely to the Earth." That period has captured our imagination.
The Impact of Watergate: A 30-Year Retrospective
During the third Frey Institute symposium, the 30th anniversary of the Watergate scandal and President Nixon's eventual and historic resignation was considered. The impact of Watergate has continued throughout the years in both the legislative and political arenas.
The U.S. and the U.N.: Building Block or Stumbling Block for American Foreign Policy?
In the wake of the U.S.'s increased military posture on the global stage following 9-11, the Frey Institute considered the evolving relationship between the nation and the United Nations. Members of Congress spoke to the question of which countries had membership on the U.N. Security Council and the U.S. position on unilateralism versus multilateralism.
Homeland Security or Police State?
Following the historic attacks of 9-11, the Frey Institute considered the policy implications of increased security nationally and locally as result of legislation and other policy changes in the wake of those events. Speakers at the event included sitting members of Congress, academics, those in the private security sector and state and local government leaders.