The University of Connecticut is bringing in a national name with state ties Friday as part of a virtual forum supporting civics and human rights education in public schools. The program is highlighted by an afternoon roundtable talk on the role of civics and human rights education, with opening remarks by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Friday’s event will feature the engagement arm of UConn’s Human Rights Institute, Dodd Human Rights Impact and the Neag School of Education. This event will be in recognition of International Human Rights Day.

UConn said the president Joe Biden will join former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd and other dignitaries for the dedication of The Dodd Center for Human Rights. The center has been known as The Thomas J. Dodd Research Center since it opened in 1995 and UConn said that UConn’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously in August to authorize its dedication as The Dodd Center for Human Rights.

“The dedication of the building is a wonderful opportunity for the campus and the wider community to come together and celebrate what we’ve accomplished over the past 25 years,” says Glenn Mitoma, director of UConn’s Dodd Human Rights Impact and an assistant professor in the Neag School of Education. “Going forward, this building will be a place where students, faculty, and the broader community can come together to address the most pressing human rights challenges we face. It will be a place of knowledge, of truth, but also of democracy, of shared values, and of building capacity to solve problems together, in a way that allows us all to enjoy the basic dignity we know we deserve.”