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May 23, 3:45 PM – 5:00 PM
McCosh Hall, Room 50
Moderator:
Stephen Macedo
Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics and the University Center for Human Values
Panelists:
Henry Kennedy Jr. ’70
United States District Court Judge for the District of Columbia (retired)
Sylvia Hurtado ’80
Distinguished Professor of Education, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
James Colman ’95
Senior Associate Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Georgetown University
Jennifer Jennings ’00
Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
Sponsored by the Alumni Association of Princeton University
Participants:
Stephen Macedo
A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, Stephen Macedo is past president of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy. His most recent book, “In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us” (2025), co-authored with Frances Lee, examines institutional dysfunction and elite failures during and after the pandemic. Other works include “Just Married” (2015), “Diversity and Distrust” (2000) and “Liberal Virtues” (1990), among many others. Macedo’s research spans liberalism, democracy, civic education and globalization. He previously directed the University Center for Human Values and founded Princeton’s Program in Law and Public Affairs, leading efforts such as the Princeton Principles on Universal Jurisdiction.
Henry Kennedy Jr. ’70
Henry Kennedy Jr. is a retired U.S. District Court judge. His judicial career includes serving as a U.S. magistrate judge and as a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He is a graduate of Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and served on Princeton’s Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2004.
Sylvia Hurtado ’80
Sylvia Hurtado directed the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute for more than a decade, providing national data on the long-term benefits of diversity in college. She writes about diverse students’ college experiences, the campus racial climate, STEM education and institutional transformation. She is also co-editor of two books that each won International Latino Book Awards: “Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Advancing Research and Transformative Practice” and “The Magic Key: The Educational Journey of Mexican Americans from K-12 to College and Beyond.” Hurtado is a board member of the National Academy of Education and is past president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. She worked with the UC Academic Senate to change state eligibility criteria for college access and admissions review to remedy race and gender-neutral admissions effects. She was part of the University of Michigan’s research team on affirmative action cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003.
James Colman ’95
A 1996 graduate of the London School of Economics, James Colman transitioned from financial services and consulting to higher education. Prior to his position at Georgetown, which he has held since 2005, he held positions at Princeton University. Colman has led recruitment efforts in regions including Asia, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Hawaii, New York and New England, and has presented on international student recruitment at major conferences such as the National Association for College Admission Counseling. He directed the joint travel programs for Exploring College Options, an initiative with Duke, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford and has used data-driven decision-making to target outreach to underrepresented students. Colman is also a key member of the team implementing the Common Application at Georgetown, set to begin in August 2026. His work in admissions has contributed to shaping Georgetown’s approach to diversity and access in higher education.
Jennifer Jennings ’00
Jennifer Jennings’ research interests are racial, socioeconomic and gender disparities in educational and health outcomes. A professor of sociology and public affairs and a faculty associate of the Office of Population Research, she is also director of the Education Research Section (ERS), an interdisciplinary unit within the School of Public and International Affairs that supports research, publication and teaching on matters relating to education policy and practice. Jennings earned an A.B., cum laude, from the School of Public and International Affairs and a University certificate from the Program in Teacher Preparation, as well as a New Jersey teaching license. She holds a Master of Philosophy in Education from the University of Cambridge (U.K.) and a Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University, with distinction. She joined the Princeton faculty in 2017.
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