Class is in session. Each month, the Clinton School of Public Service provides engaging public programs covering a myriad of issues, and this month is no different. October’s schedule includes speakers on topics like JFK, women’s rights and hunger in Arkansas.
To reserve your spot, email publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or call (501) 683-5239. And if you can’t attend in person, you can stream most programs live by clicking here.
“Syria’s Disappeared: The Case Against Assad” Documentary and Discussion
Oct. 9, 6 p.m. – Sturgis Hall
In partnership with Syrian Emergency Task Force
Even as the Syrian conflict rages, a legal case is being built against President Bashar al-Assad, who is accused of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes. Through personal testimonies and unprecedented access to regime documents, this documentary film tells the stories of survivors of torture, families of the dead and missing, and regime defectors risking their lives to expose the truth – the torture and murder of civilians on an industrial scale.
“Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women’s Rights and Family Values That Polarized American Politics” with Marjorie Spruill
Oct. 11, 6 p.m. – Sturgis Hall
Book signing to follow
Forty years ago, two women’s movements drew a line in the sand between liberals and conservatives. The legacy of that rift is still evident today in American politics and social policies.
Gloria Steinem was quoted in 2015 in The New Yorker as saying the National Women’s Conference in 1977 “…may take the prize as the most important event nobody knows about.”
After the United Nations established International Women’s Year (IWY) in 1975, Congress mandated and funded state conferences to elect delegates to attend the National Women’s Conference in Houston in 1977. At that conference, Bella Abzug, Steinem, and other feminists adopted a National Plan of Action, endorsing the hot-button issues of abortion rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, and gay rights – the latter a new issue in national politics. Across town, Phyllis Schlafly, Lottie Beth Hobbs, and the conservative women’s movement held a massive rally to protest federally funded feminism and launch a Pro-Family movement.
“Divided We Stand” reveals how the battle between feminists and their conservative challengers divided the nation as Democrats continued to support women’s rights and Republicans cast themselves as the party of family values.
Panel Discussion with Arkansas Repertory Theatre on “The School for Lies”
Oct. 12, noon – Sturgis Hall
In partnership with Arkansas Repertory Theatre
When an expatriate returns to France after years in England, his no-frills style and brutal honesty set him apart from his foppish peers. He decides to spurn popular conventions and retreat from “proper” social circles, only to immediately become smitten with an upwardly-mobile young widow who revels in the newest trends and is pursued by a bevy of suitors.
Based upon Molière’s classic 17th century comedy, “The Misanthrope,” “The School for Lies” feels surprisingly relevant as it exposes the hypocrisies of polite high society with a sharp wit and even sharper observations about human nature. Comic master David Ives adapts this wicked farce for contemporary audiences, contrasting the high-brow characters with low-brow humor and employing present-day language that breathes fresh air into this rollicking satire.
We invite you to join the cast and crew for a panel discussion about this production and more.
“The Awakened Woman” with Tererai Trent
Oct. 12, 6 p.m. – Sturgis Hall
Book signing to follow
Through one incredible woman’s journey from a child bride in a small Zimbabwe village to one of the world’s most recognizable voices in women’s empowerment and education, this manifesto inspires women to pursue their sacred dreams through nine essential lessons brought forth from ancient African wisdom.
Before Tererai Trent landed on Oprah’s stage as her “favorite guest of all time,” she was a woman with a forgotten dream. As a young girl in a cattle-herding village in Zimbabwe, she dreamed of receiving an education but instead was married young and by eighteen, without a high school graduation, she was already a mother of three. Trent encountered a visiting American woman who assured her that anything was possible, reawakening her sacred dream. Tererai planted her dreams deep in the earth and prayed they would grow. They did, and now not only has she earned her Ph.D. but she has also built schools for girls in Zimbabwe, with funding from Oprah.
The Awakened Woman: Remembering & Reigniting Our Sacred Dreams is her accessible, intimate, and evocative guide that teaches nine essential lessons to encourage all women to reexamine their dreams and uncover the power hidden within them – power that can recreate our world for the better.
“The Road to Camelot: Inside JFK’s Five-Year Campaign” with Thomas Oliphant and Curtis Wilkie
Oct. 17, 6 p.m. – Sturgis Hall
Book signing to follow
A behind-the-scenes, revelatory account of John F. Kennedy’s wily campaign to the White House, beginning with his bold, failed attempt to win the vice-presidential nomination in 1956. A young and undistinguished junior plots his way to the presidency and changes the way we nominate and elect presidents.
Now acclaimed, award-winning journalists Tom Oliphant and Curtis Wilkie provide the most comprehensive account, based on a depth of personal reporting, interviews, and archives. The authors have examined more than 1,600 oral histories at the John F. Kennedy library; they’ve interviewed surviving sources, including JFK’s sister Jean Smith, and they draw on their own interviews with insiders including Ted Sorensen and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
From the start of the campaign in 1955 when his father tried to persuade President Johnson to run with JFK as his running mate, The Road to Camelot reveals him as a tough, shrewd political strategist who kept his eye on the prize. This is one of the great campaign stories of all time, appropriate for today’s political climate.
Dr. John Monahan
Oct. 18, TBD – Sturgis Hall
A psychologist, Monahan teaches and writes about how courts use behavioral science evidence, violence risk assessment, criminology and mental health law at the University of Virginia Law School. He is the author or editor of 17 books and more than 250 articles and chapters.
Most recently, he has served as the Special Advisor for Global Health Partnerships at the US Department of State (2010-14) as well as Counselor to the Secretary and Director of Global Health Affairs at the US Department of Health and Human Services (2009-10). Monahan served as the founding Executive Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and as a Visiting Professor at Georgetown Law School (2007-08).
Monahan served on the Obama-Biden and Clinton-Gore transition teams, and has worked on numerous campaigns.
“America’s Navy and Unmanned Warfare Systems” with Michael Novak
Oct. 19, noon – Sturgis Hall
Michael Novak is the Deputy Director for Unmanned Warfare Systems on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. In this position, he is responsible for rapid prototyping and development of unmanned systems across all domains. Successful efforts are matured to Milestone B and transitioned to traditional resource sponsors. Previously he was the Deputy Director for Warfare Integration where he was responsible for assessing the relative warfighting systems investment priorities; developing the Navy’s Shipbuilding plan; and integrating the overall warfighting program.
2017 Health Care Policy and the Law Symposium: The Cost of Health Care in Arkansas
Oct. 20, 8:15 a.m. – UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law
In partnership with Arkansas BlueCross BlueShield, UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and UAMS
Registration is now open for the Health Care Policy and the Law Symposium scheduled for Friday, October 20 at the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. This year’s topic is “The Cost of Health Care in Arkansas,” and the speakers include local and national health care professionals and policy makers, including Governor Asa Hutchinson, Children’s Hospital CEO Marcy Doderer, and others. The keynote speaker is Michael Chernew, Ph.D., the Leonard D. Schaeffer Professor of Health Care Policy and the director of the Healthcare Markets and Regulation (HMR) Lab in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.
Little Rock Salutes – U.S. Navy Band Mid-South
Oct. 20, 7 p.m. – First Security Amphitheater
In partnership with LRCVB and the city of Little Rock
The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau (LRCVB), the City of Little Rock and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service will host three United States military bands from August through October, as part of a free Little Rock Salutes concert series in Riverfront Park celebrating our community members who are or have served in the military as well as our local first responders.
The last of the three bands is the U.S. Navy Band Mid-South. Established in 1942, this diverse group of 35 professional Navy musicians and active duty personnel performs music from Bach to John Philip Sousa, to pop, rock, and jazz.
Foodbank: Community Conversation about Hunger in Arkansas
Oct. 23, noon – Sturgis Hall
In partnership with Arkansas Foodbank
Join us for a community discussion and conversation about hunger in Arkansas. Learn how hunger impacts Arkansas residents, from children to adults. Arkansas recently ranked at the bottom nationally in food insecurity. Hear from organizations and individuals throughout the state working to change that statistic.
Daniel Lippman, Co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook
Oct. 26, 6 p.m. – Sturgis Hall
Daniel Lippman is a reporter for POLITICO and a co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook, the most indispensable morning newsletter for the biggest influencers in politics.
Before joining POLITICO, he was a fellow covering environmental news for E&E Publishing and a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New York. He has also interned for McClatchy Newspapers and Reuters. During a stint freelancing in 2013, he traveled to the Turkish-Syrian border to cover the impact of the Syrian civil war for The Huffington Post and CNN.com.
He graduated from The Hotchkiss School in 2008 and from The George Washington University in 2012. Daniel hails from the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and enjoys playing tennis, seeing movies and trying out new restaurants in his free time.
“The Workers Cup” film screening and discussion
Oct. 30, 6 p.m. – CALS Ron Robinson Theater
In partnership with the Arkansas Cinema Society
When FIFA selected Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, the petroleum-rich country used its vast and wealthy resources to begin constructing state-of-the-art stadiums and facilities utilizing millions of migrant workers. “The Workers Cup” follows a group of these men – from India, Kenya, Nepal, and Ghana – who, stuck in isolated camps, working arduous hours for unlivable wages, eagerly escape into a corporate-sponsored “workers welfare” soccer tournament of their own.
While the tournament amounts to little more than a marketing ploy for those at the top, the laborers embrace the rare opportunity to let loose, compete, and prove themselves bona fide soccer champions.
Director Adam Sobel’s, a North Little Rock native, stirring and keenly observed documentary juxtaposes the freshly installed stadiums where the workers compete with the squalid and cramped corridors they return to at night. With an empathetic lens, Sobel showcases the collective willpower and humanity of men who refuse to allow trying circumstances sink their one shot at winning a tournament in the very stadiums the workers of Qatar sacrificed so much to construct.