by North Forty News Staff | NorthFortyNews.com
Three-day campus event invites Northern Colorado residents to explore civic engagement, law, and the future of democracy.
Colorado State University will host the 2026 Democracy Summit March 9–11, offering Northern Colorado residents, students, and community leaders a chance to engage directly with scholars, judges, and political experts examining the state of democracy in Colorado and beyond.
The three-day event on the CSU campus will feature panel discussions with Colorado historians and political scientists, presentations from student teams competing for the Colorado Democracy Prize, and a rare opportunity for the public to observe the Colorado Court of Appeals hearing real cases.
One of the summit’s key sessions, “The State of Democracy in the Centennial State,” will take place March 10 from 12:15 to 2:30 p.m. Moderated by Colorado State University associate professor of political science Matthew Hitt, the discussion will bring together political scientists Seth Masket of the University of Denver, Kristin Olofsson of CSU, and Anand Sokhey of the University of Colorado. The panel will explore major political and civic trends shaping Colorado today.
Later that day, students will present proposals for strengthening civic participation as part of the Colorado Democracy Prize competition. Their ideas focus on bridging political divides and encouraging local engagement across communities.
A major highlight of the summit will be “Courts in the Community,” scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. on March 10. During the session, the public will observe the Colorado Court of Appeals hearing oral arguments in two active cases. Judges will later participate in a discussion explaining how the judicial system evaluates legal arguments and applies the law.
Presiding judges will include CSU alumni Chief Judge Gilbert Román and Judge Craig Welling, joined by Judge Stephanie Dunn. After each case, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from attorneys involved in the arguments and ask questions about the judicial process.
Events like the Democracy Summit help connect Northern Colorado residents with the institutions and conversations shaping civic life in the state. Additional details about the summit and its sessions are available at Colorado State University’s event page: https://liberalarts.colostate.edu/democracy-summit/.
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Attribution: Colorado State University