Quinnipiac University to host "Working Across the Aisle"

Press release

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac University will host, “Working Across the Aisle: A Conversation with Martin Looney and Themis Klarides,” on Thursday, March 28.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 4-5:30 p.m. in the School of Law’s Brooke A. Goff Courtroom on the North Haven Campus.

The discussion is part of Quinnipiac’s Critical Conversations Speaker Series.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney and Themis Klarides, who served 11 terms as a state representative, will discuss their time in the Connecticut legislature, how they have managed to be friends — and sometimes opponents — on policy, and how they’ve reached across the aisle from time to time to get things done.

School of Law Dean Jennifer Brown will moderate the conversation.

Looney, a Democrat, is currently in his 15th term, having been elected to the state senate in 1992, after six terms as a state representative. In January 2015, Looney was elected by the members of the state senate to serve as president pro tempore, the highest-ranking legislator in the Connecticut General Assembly. He was re-elected to that position in January 2017, in January 2019, and again in January 2021.

Klarides served 11 terms as state representative for the 114th House District, which includes Woodbridge, Orange and Derby. She was also chosen to be the first woman leader of the state House Republicans from 2014-20. In 2018, she was awarded the Prescott Bush Award, recognizing her political leadership and contribution to the development of politics in Connecticut.

The objective of QU’s Critical Conversations Speaker Series is to foster an inclusive and intellectually stimulating environment at Quinnipiac, promoting inclusivity of thought, respectful dialogue, empathetic engagement and open-mindedness among students, faculty and staff. The events are designed to empower participants to be better prepared to embrace inclusivity of thought by actively listening to and engaging with concepts and ideas that may challenge their personal values, without dismissing or silencing differing viewpoints.