Brown's Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy will host the consumer advocate, law professor and U.S. senator from Massachusetts for an open-to-the-public address and moderated discussion.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will visit Brown University on Thursday, Nov. 1, to give an open-to-the-public address as part of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy’s Governor Frank Licht ’38 Lecture series.

“Elizabeth Warren’s public service and perspective provide a valuable foundation for stimulating discussion about challenges facing American policy and politics,” said Susan Moffitt, who directs the Taubman Center at Brown’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. “The senator’s expertise in financial security in particular — from the pressures of the middle class to the laws governing bankruptcy and lending — resonates with the three core themes that guide Taubman’s research and programming: the cost of living, the value of democracy and the price of security.” 

A question and answer session with Warren will follow her address.

The 1 p.m. event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Complete details on the event location, access information and limitations will be provided upon registration.

Warren has served as U.S. senator from Massachusetts since 2012. She began her life in public service after a three-decade career teaching law at the University of Texas, University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University, where she served on the faculty for nearly 20 years.

As a prominent scholar on bankruptcy law and a longtime consumer protection advocate, Warren has authored more than 100 articles and 10 books, including three national best-sellers: “A Fighting Chance,” “The Two-Income Trap” and “All Your Worth.” In each of those, she focused on the financial forces that contribute to the vulnerability of American middle-class families.

In 2008, Warren was tapped by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to chair the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). TARP was created to manage the $700 billion bank bailout and stabilize the country’s financial system in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

Two years later, President Barack Obama appointed Warren as assistant to the president and special advisor to the secretary of the treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In those roles, Warren helped design the CFPB, a federal agency charged with protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive practices by financial companies.

An Oklahoma native, Warren is a graduate of the University of Houston and the Rutgers School of Law. She and her husband live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Governor Frank Licht ’38 Lecture

The Governor Frank Licht ’38 Lecture was established in 1987 by friends and family in memory of Rhode Island Governor Frank Licht, a 1938 Brown graduate, and endowed by a gift from former Rhode Island First Lady Dottie Licht. Frank Licht served the public in all three branches of Rhode Island government, beginning with his role as state senator in 1949, continuing into his appointment as an associate justice of Rhode Island Superior Court in 1956 and finally, serving as governor. The Licht Series brings newsmakers and prominent public affairs speakers to Brown.