Battles over academic freedom, core curriculum, and tenure are being fought in university and college classrooms and board rooms across this nation. As a Regent of one of the top public universities, Tom Lucero is deeply engaged in these battles. He takes a strong, conservative stance. He believes that students deserve a diverse, ethical, and challenging education that accurately incorporates the classical tradition. He would like to share his vision with you and your organization.

As Tom has traveled across the country, he has delivered this message to a variety of audiences. Whether he is speaking to a group of conservative students on campus or a ballroom full of political activists, people share his frustration and want to learn what practical steps they can take to bring about reform. He will customize his presentation to fit your needs. A summary of three of his speeches follows:

“Give Me Liberty . . . or Give Me an ‘F’ ”

A call-to-action to today’s college students to take a stand for freedom, personal responsibility and the values on which our great country was founded—by engaging in the “civil rights battle of the 21st century”:  to restore liberty to higher education.  Tom is a former slacker who attributes, at least partly, his lackluster performance in college to “affirmative action” policies he knew demanded less of him, and a staunch advocate of a core curriculum that accurately represents western ideals and is absolutely necessary for future leaders of this county.  Speaking with an insider’s view of the way higher education is governed and as a former student of some extreme left-wing professors, Tom entertains with humorous and outrageous examples of “indoctrination without representation” and offers practical advice and encouragement to students to become engaged in this battle on the front line.

Rebel to Regent: Re-affirming Racial Equality in Education

 Now an avowed conservative who was raised in a politically active family—almost exclusively Democrats—Tom took full advantage of affirmative action policies and lived most of his younger days under what he calls the “leftist spell.”  His life-story gives him first-hand experience to speak on the topic of race:  before Tom was even born he lost his father to a violent, racially motivated attack and subsequently grew up an angry, bitter teenager who felt that the ‘establishment’ and society owed him something because of his race.  Today, after a personal journey of self-discovery and reflection, he rejects the focus on race that dominates our university admission policies and similarly rejects the intellectual oppression that has been created by the governing bodies of these same institutions.                     

Recent Speaking Engagements:

• California Association of Scholars
• National Academic Freedom Conference
• Intercollegiate Studies Institute Conferences
• American Council of Trustees and Alumni Conference
• Colorado’s 4^th Congressional District Convention
• National Association of Scholars
• Kalamazoo College
  

Tom has spoken to more than 22 Republican groups in Colorado. In this video clip, he speaks to a group of CU College Republicans about the educational benefits of the Center for Western Civilization.