Freedom and Learning Forum

The Freedom and Learning Forum at George Mason University allows for the campus community to engage in an interactive dialogue series with the University President and extraordinary thought leaders from around the world. The program emphasizes that freedom and learning are mutually interdependent and that one cannot happen without the other. Participants will have an opportunity to hear personal leadership stories and life experiences from our guest leaders. The forum also allows for community dialogue across difficult topics and increasing understanding across difference. The Center for Leadership and Intercultural Engagement and the Office of the President have been cosponsoring the Freedom and Learning Forums since 2014.

 


 Spring 2025 Freedom and Learning Forum 

About Donald E. Graham
Co-Founder of TheDream.US and Chairman Emeritus, Graham Holdings Company

Donald E. Graham became chairman emeritus in May 2023. He was chairman of the board from September 1993 until May 2023.   He was chief executive officer of Graham Holdings Company (previously The Washington Post Company) from May 1991 until November 2015. He was publisher of The Washington Post newspaper from January 1979 until September 2000.

Graham was born on April 22, 1945, in Baltimore, Maryland, a son of Philip L. and Katharine Meyer Graham. His father was publisher of The Washington Post from 1946 until 1961 and president of The Washington Post Company from 1947 until his death in 1963. His mother, Katharine Graham, served in a variety of executive positions from 1963 until her death in 2001. Eugene Meyer, Graham's grandfather, purchased The Washington Post at a bankruptcy sale in 1933. After graduating in 1966 from college, Graham was drafted and served as an information specialist with the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. He was a patrolman with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department from January 1969 to June 1970. Graham joined The Washington Post newspaper in 1971 as a reporter.

Graham is a co-founder of TheDream.US, the largest national scholarship fund for DREAMers.  Previously, he served as chairman of the District of Columbia College Access Program. He remains a member of the DC-CAP board. DC-CAP has assisted over 23,000 DC students enroll in college and has provided scholarships totaling more than $33 million. Graham is a trustee of the Federal City Council and Gates Policy Initiative.


 

Previous Freedom and Learning Forums