UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The James Jimirro Open for Debate Series, designed to challenge assumptions and facilitate conversations around divisive issues, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 24 in the Nittany Lion Inn ballroom on Penn State’s University Park campus.
This event, hosted by the Presidential Leadership Academy housed in Schreyer Honors College, is free and open to the public, limited tickets are available.
The James Jimirro Open for Debate Series is predicated on the belief that minds can be opened or even changed when two (or more) sides of an issue are examined intelligently, respectfully and thoughtfully. During this interactive event, attendees will hear different sides of two divisive topics — voter identification laws and the supreme court — presented by two political commentators.
Attendees will then engage in respectful, open-minded dialogue around the topics through small group interactions facilitated by Patrick Mather, dean of Schreyer Honors College. This year’s speakers are Jamie Harrison, political strategist, attorney, and organizational leader, and Miranda Divine, a New York Post columnist, Fox News contributor, bestselling author, and podcast host.
Aiming to reinvigorate informed exchanges around polarizing issues, Penn State graduate and longtime volunteer James P. Jimirro, class of 1958 in communications, funded the annual dialogue series to enhance efforts already underway to reaffirm free speech as a cornerstone of Penn State's mission.
Miranda Devine is the author of "Laptop from Hell: Hunter Biden, Big Tech, and the Dirty Secrets the President Tried to Hide" and "The Big Guy: How a President and His Son Sold Out America," which draw on her reporting about Hunter Biden, the Biden family’s overseas business dealings, the media and Big Tech. Her journalism career has spanned the United States and Australia, including 10 years at the Sydney Morning Herald. In 2025, Devine launched "Pod Force One," a New York Post podcast featuring candid, longform conversations with prominent political leaders and newsmakers, with U.S. President Donald Trump appearing as her first guest. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in Tokyo and Sydney, Devine studied mathematics at Macquarie University and journalism at Northwestern University.
Jaime Harrison served as chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), where he oversaw national strategy, operations, fundraising, party infrastructure and convention planning during a period of major political change. Under his leadership, the DNC raised nearly $1 billion, expanded voter engagement efforts nationwide and navigated the transition to the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee. Earlier in his career, Harrison served as associate chair of the DNC and became the first African American chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party. He also worked on Capitol Hill as floor director and counsel for House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and as executive director of the House Democratic Caucus, later gaining experience in the private and nonprofit sectors.