Events

The main event is at 7:00 PM on October 7th and is located in Nau Hall Room 101.

National Marriage Project Director, Brad Wilcox, and Ross Douthat will be discussing the nexus between faith and family in modern American society as well as Mr. Douthat's most recent book "Believe". 

The event is open to the public and free. Registration is not necessary. 

Parking can be found in the Central Grounds Garage. We hope to see you there.

If you have any questions, please email Anna Katherine Ireland at buz2sb@virginia.edu. 

In conjunction with the themes of the evening event, Drs. Meg Scalia Bryce (UVA), Jason Carroll (BYU), Brad Wilcox (UVA), and Sam Wilkinson (Yale) will be presenting on the latest research on religion and family.

This event runs from 3:30 to 5:00 PM on October 7th and is located in the South Meeting Room in Newcomb Hall. It is also open to the public and free. Registration is not necessary. 

Parking can be found in the Central Grounds Garage. We hope to see you there.

If you have any questions, please email Anna Katherine Ireland at buz2sb@virginia.edu. 

Ross Douthat joined The New York Times as an Opinion columnist in April 2009. His column appears every Sunday and his newsletter on most Tuesdays. He is also the host of the Opinion podcast "Interesting Times." Previously, he was a senior editor at The Atlantic.

He is the author of "Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious," which was published in 2025. His other books include "The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery" (2021), "To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism" (2018), "Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics" (2012), "Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class" (2005), "The Decadent Society" (2020), and, with Reihan Salam, "Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream" (2008). He is the film critic for National Review. He lives in New Haven, CT, with his wife and five children.

If you are flying: Charlottesville has its own airport CHO, which is serviced by both Uber and Lyft as well as local taxis.

Where to Stay: The Graduate by Marriott and the Oakhurst Inn are both conveniently close to UVA's central grounds. The Boar's Head Inn is farther away from central Charlottesville, but it is a quiet and luxurious option if you plan on having a car.

If you have any questions about Charlottesville please contact Anna Katherine Ireland at buz2sb@virginia.edu.

A Research Discussion was held in Rouss Robertson Hall.

The Keynote Panel was held at 7:00 PM in Old Cabell Hall. A recording of the panel is below.

Please reach out to Anna Katherine Ireland (buz2sb@virginia.edu) if you have any questions.

Kate Bachelder Odell will be the moderator of the Keynote Panel. She is a member of The Wall Street Journal's editorial board. She joined the Journal in 2013 as a Robert L. Bartley Fellow. Ms. Odell writes on a range of policy issues, including national defense, health care and taxes. She is a graduate of Hillsdale College and lives in Virginia with her husband and two sons.

Michelle Goldberg has been an op-ed columnist for The New York Times since 2017. Her books are Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism (2006); The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World (2009); and The Goddess Pose: The Audacious Life of Indra Devi, the Woman Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West (2015).

Michel Martin works for NPR and is a host of Morning Edition. Previously, she was the weekend host of All Things Considered and host of the Consider This Saturday podcast, where she drew on her deep reporting and interviewing experience to dig in to the week's news. Outside the studio, she has also hosted "Michel Martin: Going There," an ambitious live event series in collaboration with Member stations.

Brett Cooper is an American conservative political commentator, media personality, and actress. She hosted the YouTube channel The Comments Section with Brett Cooper, produced by The Daily Wire, from March 2022 until December 2024. Since January 2025, she hosts The Brett Cooper Show, produced independently on her new channel.

Louise Perry is a British journalist, author of The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, and the host of the podcast Maiden Mother Matriarch. She is a featured writer for the Daily Mail and a columnist at the New Statesman. Perry co-runs the charity We Can't Consent To This which campaigns around problems with the rough sex murder defence. She is the co-founder and research director of The Other Half, a non-partisan feminist think tank which was founded in 2022.