The Freeport Performing Arts Center hosts a special event on August 22 in partnership with the non-profit Free(port) Speech and Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty. “From Words to Reality: The Impact of the Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action in College Admissions” features a conversation with three former presidents of the esteemed Colby, Bates and Bowdoin colleges, moderated by Professor Renée Landers of Suffolk University Law School. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Freeport High School Scholarship Foundation. Join us for a conversation with three former presidents of Colby, Bates and Bowdoin, in which we hear their reaction to the Supreme Court’s decisions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and v. North Carolina and their perspectives on what admissions processes should and/or will look like going forward in a discussion moderated by Prof. Renée Landers of Suffolk University Law School. William “Bro” Adams, PhD, was president of Colby College from 2000 to 2014 and was also president of Bucknell University. Dr. Adams was chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2014-2017. He is a US Army veteran and Fulbright awardee. Clayton Spencer, JD, president of Bates College from 2012 to June 2023 and prior to that VP for institutional policy at Harvard. An attorney and former Assistant US Attorney, Ms. Spencer was also chief education counsel to the US Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Barry Mills, PhD/JD, was president of Bowdoin College (class of ’72) from 2001 to 2015 and was also deputy chancellor and COO and interim chancellor of UMass Boston. Dr. Mills has a PhD in biology and is a former deputy presiding partner of the international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton in NYC. Moderated by: Renée Landers, JD, is a professor of law, Faculty Director of the Health and Biomedical Law Concentration and the Master of Science in Law: Life Sciences program at Suffolk University Law School. She was the first woman of color and first law professor to serve as the president of the Boston Bar Association. She is the prior Deputy General Counsel for the US Department of Health and Human Services and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Policy Development at the Department of Justice. Free(port) Speech is a nonprofit organization with a mission is to foster the transformation and growth of Freeport, Maine, into a center for arts and culture by presenting provocative and inspirational speakers who: promote understanding of important current issues; inspire viable, creative solutions for the challenges facing our community; foster an appreciation of and support for the arts and culture; and enhance opportunities for information-sharing and public discussion. Learn more by visiting freeportspeech.org.