What: Lecture and panel discussing debate over the religious freedom law passed in 2015
When: Wednesday, December 7th at 6:30 PM
Where: IPFW Campus – Walb Student Union, G21/21A
On Wednesday, December 7th, the Notre Dame Club of Fort Wayne and the IPFW Department of Political Science, in
conjunction with the Alumni Association of the University of Notre Dame, will host a brief lecture followed by a panel
discussion on the topic of religious freedom in Indiana. The event will include a scholar from the University of Notre
Dame and two local panelists from Fort Wayne. Attendees will have an opportunity to interact with panel members
during a Q&A session.
Panelists include:
John Nagle – John Nagle is the John N. Matthews Professor at the Unviersity of Notre Dame Law School. His
book, Law’s Environment: How the Law Affects the Environment, was published by Yale University Press in 2010.
One of his current book projects examines the relationship between Christian teaching and environmental law;
the other forthcoming book explains the scenic value of national parks. Before joining the Notre Dame faculty,
Nagle worked in the U.S. Department of Justice and served as a law clerk to Judge Deanell Reece Tacha of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. He is a graduate of Indiana University and the University of Michigan
Law School.
Michael Barranda – Michael Barranda is a practicing attorney and member of the Civil Litigation group at Burt,
Blee, Dixon, Sutton & Bloom, LLP. Mr. Barranda has been very active in the local community and in 2016 was
elected to the Fort Wayne City Council. After graduating from Notre Dame, Michael received his Juris Doctor
from Loyola University Chicago. He was recently recognized as a Rising Star by Indiana Super Lawyers, and the
recipient of Fort Wayne’s 40 Under 40 Award in 2010.
Elliot Bartky – Elliot Bartky is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political science at Indiana Purdue
University, Fort Wayne where he has taught since 1988. For many years he also taught as an adjunct Associate
Professor in the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame. In 1999 and 2003 he received the
Kaneb Teaching Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching at Notre Dame. In 2004 he was the first
recipient of the Orestes A. Brownson Award at Notre Dame. Professor Bartky’s publications include articles and
essays on religion and politics, American political thought, ancient political thought, and Jewish political thought.
Bartky also is the president of the Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana (JAACI).
We look forward to having you join us! The event is free and open to the public. If possible, please RSVP by emailing
Jacob Benedict at jacob. Our goal is to make the event as interactive as possible. We encourage
you to submit any questions or discussion items that you would like to present to the panelists beforehand with your
RSVP.