Slippery Rock University is championing multicultural education through competition. Four SRU students earned first place in the statewide Frederick Douglass Institute Collaborative conference and debate tournament hosted at West Chester University last month.
SRU’s winning team included:
- Eliana Perez, a sophomore dual accounting and political science major from Pittsburgh (North Allegheny HS).
- Andrei Pagnotta, a 2026 graduate with a degree political science.
- Kat Dickey, a junior dual communication and political science major from Daisytown (California HS).
- Hannah Cherry, a sophomore exercise science major from Pittsburgh (North Allegheny HS).
The SRU team, coached by Heather Frederick, professor of political science, competed against teams from 10 universities in the State System as they debated the topic of vaccine mandates in the state of Pennsylvania. The tournament engages students in structured debates on pressing contemporary issues related to policy, social justice, ethics, governance and public affairs.
The students were also accompanied at the conference Franklyn Charles, associate professor of strategic communication and media, who is the director of the FDI at SRU. The FDI Collaborative is a network of scholars that creates forward-thinking initiatives to promote inclusive excellence and enhance access and success in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.
“The FDI has given me a unique opportunity to learn more about opinions and ideas different from my own, and to better my research and presentation abilities in a way you can’t in a classroom,” Dickey said. “Everything we are working on is impactful, and it’s been great to see it from start to finish.”
The FDI Collaborative conference is a system-wide academic initiative that promotes critical thinking, public discourse and civic engagement among students across the State System.
More information about the FDI at SRU is available on the University’s webpage.
