STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—More than 250 scholars, writers, and students gathered at Franciscan University of Steubenville on October 7-8, 2022, for Restoring a Nation: The Common Good in the American Tradition, an academic conference focused on repurposing the wisdom of America’s common good tradition to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

Underscoring its timeliness and importance, Restoring a Nation was the best-attended academic conference in the University’s history and provoked dozens of news articles and essays around the world.

In collaboration with the Bonum Commune Foundation, Franciscan University’s Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life sponsored the conference.

“The Restoring a Nation conference at Franciscan University turned out to be the most talked-about Catholic intellectual gathering of 2022—a testament to the rigor and richness of the ideas on offer, as well of the University’s steadfast support and gracious hospitality,” said Sohrab Ahmari, conference organizer and visiting fellow at Franciscan’s Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life.

“The Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life was honored to host a stellar group of writers and scholars willing to help our center fulfill its mission to bring Catholic teachings into the public square,” said Dr. Anne Hendershott, professor of sociology and director of Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life. “I am grateful to our visiting fellow, Sohrab Ahmari, for creating this important conference.”

Select conference keynotes and panel discussions are available for online viewing here. Speakers included well-known scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals such as Ahmari; Hendershott; Dr. Patrick J.  Deneen, political science professor, University of Notre Dame; Dr. Gladden Pappin, politics professor, University of Dallas; Dr. Scott Hahn, theology professor, Franciscan University of Steubenville; Dr. Chad Pecknold, political theology professor, The Catholic University of America; R.R. Reno, editor, First Things; Adrian Vermeule, constitutional law professor, Harvard Law School; writer and political economist Michael Lind; John A. Burtka IV, president, Intercollegiate Studies Institute; Dr. Darel E. Paul, political science professor, Williams College; Rachel Bovard, senior director of policy, the Conservative Partnership Institute; Josh Hammer, opinion editor, Newsweek; Matthew Schmitz, editor, Compact; Hadar Ahiad Hazony, doctoral candidate, University of Notre Dame; Patrick J. Smith, The Josias; and J.D. Vance, candidate for U.S. Senate, Ohio.

The mission of conference sponsor, The Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University, is to bring faithful Catholic scholarly reflection to bear on the most pressing ethical questions in contemporary culture—questions of marriage and sexuality, war and peace, life and death, as well as economic and social justice.

Watch videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions here.