Campus Conversation Series September, 2016

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

This week, on Wednesday, we continue the new year-long Campus Conversations series with the first Open Forum, entitled The Summer of 2016: Race, Police and Violence: Can We Imagine a More Just Future?

Our monthly conversations focus on recent events in the news: violence, the role of police, terrorism, the election and more, and are designed to help us understand these events in context and to provide an opportunity for conversation and sharing of diverse points of view.

The first conversation in the series, titled The Summer of 2016: Race, Police and Violence: What is Going on and Why?, took place on September 14th. Over 100 people attended a panel discussion by UIC faculty members Barbara Ransby (moderator), Teresa Cordova, Beth Richie, Juliana Stratton and Amy Watson. A video recording of that panel is on the provost’s website http://provost.uic.edu/campus-conversation/.

Part two will take place this Wednesday, September 21, from noon to 1 p.m. in Student Center East (Room 605) and will be an open forum that will provide more opportunity for conversation and dialogue on the issues raised by the panel discussion last week. There is no requirement that you went to the panel or that you view it online in order to participate in the Open Forum. I encourage everyone to attend, especially students who may have questions and views that they want to share. This is a great opportunity to talk, listen, and learn from each other.

In October, the theme of the conversation will be The Election of 2016: Engagement, Conflict & the Common Good. The first part – What’s Going on and Why? – will be on October 5th at noon in Student Center East.

I hope you will join me and your fellow students, faculty and staff for these campus conversations.

Susan Poser
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs