Saturday, October 24, 6:30 pm
Chicago, IL

Join us the evening of Saturday, October 24th for dinner, conversation, and mentoring in the homes of longtime ASA members and friends in Chicago. These small gatherings (limited to 20 graduate students each) take inspiration from College Unbound, where shared meals are part of a model of learning that treats conversation, relationship, and community as essential to education.

Please note: you must be enrolled as a graduate student for the Fall 2026 semester to be eligible to attend.

Choose between two extraordinary host groups:

Adam Bush and Lisa Yun Lee: Bush is co-founder and President of College Unbound, an innovative, student-driven college built around the idea that learning is collective and rooted in people’s lives and communities. Lee is Executive Director of Chicago’s National Public Housing Museum and Associate Professor of Public Culture and Museum Studies at UIC, where she teaches in Art History, Museum and Exhibition Studies, and Gender and Women’s Studies. A scholar, cultural activist, and leader of public-facing institutions, she works at the intersection of museums, public history, arts and culture, housing justice, and democratic practice. Together, Bush and Lee offer a chance to talk about scholarship that moves beyond the university—and about building institutions that put ambitious ideas about education, culture, and social change into practice.

Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn: Ayers is a longtime educator, activist, and retired Distinguished Professor of Education at UIC who now teaches at College Unbound, where he continues his decades-long work exploring teaching, democracy, social justice, and education. Dohrn is a lawyer, educator, and longtime advocate for children and young people who founded Northwestern Law’s Children and Family Justice Center and spent more than two decades working in juvenile justice, law reform, and the mentoring of students and young advocates. Their dinner offers a rare opportunity for an intimate conversation about education, activism, scholarship, political commitment, and building a life around the work you care about.

Program: No formal program; just come ready to eat, talk, ask questions, hear stories, and have the kinds of conversations about scholarship, teaching, institutions, activism, careers, and life that rarely fit into a conference session.

Location: Dinner will be held in our hosts’ homes in the same apartment building near the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois. Location details will be provided in your registration receipt. 

The Fine Print: All ticket proceeds benefit a fund to support graduate student dinners at future ASA conferences. Because these gatherings take place in private homes and space is extremely limited, tickets are nonrefundable; however, you may give your spot to another graduate student if you are unable to attend.