Lifetime U.F. Alumni member (c/o 96') and current Associate Professor of Political Science at Palm Beach State College, Phillip Mancusi, recently became the fist college professor in the nation to participate in a new program, designed by the Federal Courts, focused on political discourse and discussion. Professor Mancusi brought a group 40 students to the federal courthouse in Florida's Southern district, back in December, to participate in a mock trial designed to draw parallels between a citizens role in the court system as jurors (listening to evidence from both sides free of bias) with how we
should process information outside of the courts when having important political conversations about very real issues (gun control, immigration, national security).
The program was such a huge success, Mancusi worked with the Hon. Robin Rosenberg, who helped design the program, to bring the groundbreaking program a courtroom on Palm Beach State College's Lake Worth campus in February. There, a different group of students participated in the same program. This time, however, their trial, which focused on social media and free speech, was videotaped and sent to Washington D.C. to be turned into a training video. The training video will be used by federal judges and magistrates wishing to incorporate the program in their courtrooms around the United States. Professor Mancusi's participation made front-page news in the Palm Beach Post.
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Phillip C. Mancusi M.Ed. M.A.
Associate Professor Political Science
Palm Beach State College LW Campus
PMancusi@icloud.com(561)-248-3228
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