Class is back 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. November’s schedule includes speakers on topics like the changes with the Miss America organization, homelessness and the future of health care in Arkansas.
Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or by calling (501) 683-5239. And if you can’t attend in person, you can stream most programs live by clicking here.
Finding Your Voice: Empowering Educators and Students through Passion & Poetry
Thursday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. | Ron Robinson Theater
Stacey James McAdoo, winner of the 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year award, will take the stage at Ron Robinson Theater to discuss her award-winning classroom activities and her teaching philosophy. McAdoo will also share the stage with some of her students for a poetry performance. McAdoo’s many accomplishments include authoring two books, “Sweet Melanin Messages” and “Baring My Soul,” as well as sponsoring a spoken word youth collective called Writeous Poets.
Regina Hopper – How Hard is Change? Miss America, Public Policy, and Leadership
Monday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. | Sturgis Hall
CEO and President of the Miss America Organization Regina Hopper will discuss her ties with the organization dating back to her time as Miss Arkansas in 1983, as well as changes to the competition. In June, the Springdale native made the news by announcing that the swimsuit portion of the event will be replaced by a live interactive session with the judges.
Sarah Ioanides
Thursday, Nov. 8 at Noon | Sturgis Hall
Sarah Ioannides, music director of Symphony Tacoma, is known for her dynamic presence on the podium. Before moving to Tacoma, she was the music director with the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra from 2005-17 and the El Paso Symphony between 2005-11. Under her leadership, both Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphony Tacoma have received ArtWorks grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for creativity in collaborations, community and commissioning projects.
Stuart Newberger – “The Forgotten Flight”
Thursday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. | Sturgis Hall | Book signing to follow
Renowned international terrorism litigation attorney Stuart Newberger has helped American victims of state-sponsored terrorism find justice. In his book, “The Forgotten Flight: Terrorism, Diplomacy and the Pursuit of Justice,” Newberger discusses his experience representing the families of seven Americans that were killed in the 1989 UTA 772 attack, which killed all 170 passengers. Newberger reveals how French investigators cracked the case and takes readers behind-the-scenes during the diplomatic talks with the Libyan government.
Global Solutions Roundtable as Part of the Global Leaders Summit
Monday, Nov. 12 at Noon | Sturgis Hall
This roundtable is part of the 2018 Heifer International Global Leaders Summit. The discussions will focus on a new financial engineering program that could potentially revolutionize financing for global technology deployment for less developed countries. The panel will include James Schwinn, a financial engineering expert with over 30 years of experience with ING Barings and Citibank; Shawn Bradley, Director of NA Sales for Paris-based DANONE; and Mark Grobmyer, GSI Chairman.
Nick Schifrin
Monday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. | Sturgis Hall
Nick Schifrin is PBS NewsHour’s foreign affairs and defense correspondent. Prior to PBS, Schifrin was Al Jazeera America’s Middle East correspondent. He led the channel’s coverage of the 2014 war in Gaza, reported on the Syrian war from Syria’s Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian borders and covered the conflict in Crimea. He won an Overseas Press Club award for his Gaza coverage and a National Headliners Award for his Ukraine coverage.
Schifrin is a visiting fellow at the Clinton School, where he lectures and teaches a foreign policy class. He is a Council on Foreign Relations term member and an Overseas Press Club Foundation board member. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Matthew Desmond – “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City”
Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 4:30 p.m. | UA Little Rock, University Theatre | Book signing to follow
Matthew Desmond will be the featured speaker this fall during the UA Little Rock Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series. Desmond, a social scientist and professor at Princeton University, wrote “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” which explores the impact of eviction on the lives of the urban poor and its role in perpetuating racial and economic inequality. The book tells the stories of eight families living in Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods. As part of his research, he lived in tenement houses and a trailer park, spending time with residents and landlords. Desmond concludes that eviction is a cause of poverty.
For his work, Desmond was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. He also received a MacArthur “Genius” Award in 2015. His latest project is The Eviction Lab at Princeton University, where researchers and students have built the nation’s first database of evictions. They have collected more than 83 million records from 48 states.
Facing Washington: From Gilbert Stuart to the Dollar Bill
Wednesday, Nov. 14 at Noon | Sturgis Hall
Susan P. Schoelwer, the Robert H. Smith Senior Curator at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, will discuss the tradition of Washington portraiture and the struggles that artists felt to accurately capture this unprecedented role as head of state. Discussing a variety of portraits, Schoelwer will discuss how these artists facing Washington devised three basic strategies for representing this temporary elected head of state: the historic military commander, the contemporary civilian statesman and the timeless classical hero.
Bill Meyer – “Three Breaths and Begin: The Place and Potential for Meditation in the 21st Century Classroom”
Thursday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. | Sturgis Hall | Book signing to follow
While the power of mindfulness and meditation have become well-known in the culture at large, their use in education is just beginning. “Three Breaths and Begin” is about mindfulness practice, written by a schoolroom teacher who has shared these practices with students, teachers, and parents. Meyer discusses exactly how a teacher can use meditation techniques each and every day. From the very beginning of introducing the practice to students by creating a space within the classroom, to meditating on field trips, in a sports setting, and in the midst of tragedy, Meyer sets forth scripted meditations for any situation a classroom might face.
Rebecca Harper
Friday, Nov. 16 at Noon | Sturgis Hall | Book signing to follow
Rebecca Harper is an assistant professor of literacy in the Department of Advanced Studies and Innovation at Augusta University. She received her Ph.D. in Language and Literacy from the University of South Carolina. She is the author of “Content Area Writing that Rocks (and Works!)” and “Content Literacy Lowdown: Making It Work in All Classrooms.” Her research interests include content area literacy, student conceptualization of writing, teacher beliefs and critical literacy.
Health Care Symposium at Bowen Law School: The Future of Health Care in Arkansas
Friday, Nov. 16 (UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law
The symposium’s keynote speaker is Glen Tullman, the chairman and CEO of Livongo Health. Livongo Health is a company that works to empower people with chronic conditions, beginning with diabetes, to live better lives using a combination of innovative technology paired with personalized and context-sensitive information.
Registration is $20, and online payments are accepted. The registration link can be found on the website. This year’s topic is “The Future of Health Care in Arkansas,” and speakers include local and national health care professionals and policymakers.
Justin Driver – “The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for America’s Constitutional Rights”
Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 6 p.m. | Sturgis Hall | Book signing to follow
Justin Driver is the Harry N. Wyatt Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. A graduate of Brown, Oxford and Harvard Law School, Driver clerked for Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O’Connor.
Driver is also an editor of the Supreme Court Review. Before attending law school, Driver received a master’s degree in education from Duke and taught civics and American history to high school students. His first book, “The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind,” was published by Pantheon in September 2018.
Joy Moore – “The Power of Presence”
Wednesday, Nov. 28 at Noon | Sturgis Hall | Book signing to follow
As the mother of Wes Moore, who authored a bestselling memoir about overcoming the obstacles that face a fatherless young black man, Joy Moore is constantly asked how she did it. Joy’s answer is “presence.” In “The Power of Presence,” Moore explores seven pillars of presence – heart, faith, mind, courage, financial freedom, values, and connectedness – that all parents can use to positively influence their children.
Kathy Izard – “The Hundred Story Home”
Thursday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. | Sturgis Hall | Book signing to follow
“The Hundred Story Home” leads readers on a journey that begins with the question, “Where are the beds?” and ends with over one hundred formerly homeless people living in homes of their own.
Kathy Izard was enjoying a comfortable existence when she came face to face with the reality that while her service at the community soup kitchen was important, it would never solve the bigger needs of the homeless population. Kathy realized that she had been called to take on what seemed like an insurmountable task – to build housing for Charlotte’s homeless.