Bridging The Divide at Sanford

“There's so many different worlds, so many different suns. And we have just one world, but we live in different ones.” – Mark Knopfler

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Public policy is a discipline that recognizes that people want and need different things, and different policy processes can lead to dramatically different outcomes. Yet, despite these apparent differences, competing worldviews are still working towards a common goal of making the world better. It is just that the better world might look different depending on where you view it from. At a time when Americans are increasingly concerned about the tone of our political discourse, the Sanford School of Public Policy continues to foster conversations that do not demand conformity in our views, but find commonality in our objectives. The Bridging the Divide Series, hosted by Polis: Center for Politics at the Sanford School , has been a centerpiece in that effort.  We bring high-profile speakers with differing views on policy issues so our students can see the push and pull of policy debates, when expressed civilly and grounded in facts, as critical – and even necessary -- for successful public policy development. Indeed, despite the partisan political coverage commonly seen in our media, the truth is that policymaking in Congress, especially in the U.S. Senate, is possible through bipartisanship. 

In fall 2024, we launched the Bridging the Divide (BTD) series to create space for thoughtful, respectful conversations about how policy can still be shaped through bipartisan collaboration. Some speakers at these public gatherings had held the same job under different administrations; others had worked across the political spectrum.  As Duke Provost Alec Gallimore observed at one of the events, “Being able to listen, engage, and build understanding across diverse perspectives is critical to the work of a university, indeed, for a democracy.”

Over the past two years, Bridging the Divide has brought a remarkable group of leaders to Duke to reflect on their experiences working across party lines. The series opened with former U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) in conversation with Provost Gallimore about the realities of bipartisan legislating and the importance of building relationships to move policy forward. At our next BTD event at the Duke in DC location on Pennsylvania Avenue, Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Senator Burr to discuss areas where bipartisan cooperation remains essential. While Senators Hassan and Burr differed on many political issues, they also had a long history of collaboration as members of the US Senate HELP Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Duke students who traveled with Polis to DC learned firsthand from policymakers  how bipartisan policy reforms are crafted and how the political realities of our time make pursuing such efforts challenging. More recently, we welcomed former EPA Administrators Michael Regan (Biden Administration) and Andrew Wheeler (Trump Administration) for a candid discussion of environmental policymaking across administrations. Despite their differing policy perspectives, both modeled the kind of substantive dialogue we hope our students will carry into their own careers. As Regan noted, “Environmental protection and economic prosperity are not mutually exclusive, but can go hand in hand because of technology and because of markets.” Wheeler added a broader perspective on the role of the agency itself, reminding the audience that “EPA sets the gold standard for environmental regulations worldwide.”

Earlier this spring, our series brought together attorneys Tim Heaphy and John Wood, lead investigators respectively for Democrat and Republican co-chairs of the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 attack on the Capitol, to reflect on the historic bipartisan effort they led. This conversation provided an incredible behind-the-scenes perspective of the events and challenges that the Duke community had heard a couple of years earlier during Liz Cheney’s visit to Duke. 

Our latest edition of the series featured a very lively conversation on, of all topics, tax policy!  Former IRS Commissioners Danny Werfel, a Sanford MPP alum who served under Presidents Obama and Biden, and Mark Everson (who served under President G.W. Bush) discuss the history and future of tax administration. A central piece of that conversation focused on trust in government and the political controversies that the IRS was dragged into. Our students in the audience were most inspired to see how both political appointees spoke in one voice, despite differences in political views, about the apolitical commitment to national interest that drove federal agencies such as the IRS. 

 As we approach the 250th anniversary of the American republic, conversations like these take on added significance. One of the most important responsibilities of a public policy school is to prepare students to engage thoughtfully with people whose perspectives differ from their own. Through inspiring events like Bridging the Divide, Sanford aims to show that disagreement does not have to mean dysfunction and that our next generation of policy leaders can strengthen our democracy by learning how to work across our different worlds toward a better future.

Warm Regards,

Manoj Mohanan, Interim Dean