Celebrations of America’s founding and reflections on its ideals often overlook the central role of civil-military relations. This is a mistake. In the Declaration of Independence, a chief complaint was that King George III “affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.” George Washington himself worried about this abuse of power and went to great pains to avoid it in his own career.

On Saturday, Friends of Duke hosted a panel of professors, administrators and athletes to discuss the funding of college athletics vs. academics in the wake of financial vulnerability and seismic shifts across athletic department budgets. The panel, called “The New Arms Race: Are We Funding College Athletics at the Expense of Academics?,” was hosted by Sue Wasiolek, the longtime former Dean of Students and current adjunct associate professor in Duke’s Civil Discourse Project.

Peter Feaver is made for Empathy. As the Director of Duke’s American Grand Strategy program, Peter believes that being able to stand in another’s shoes is a core value. That’s why he organizes an event every four years that gathers Republican and Democratic presidential advisors in discussion.