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Seeking Justice When a Teenage Victim Fights Back
11:00 PM – 127 Curtiss - Pieper Lewis was 15 when she fatally stabbed her rapist, Zachary Brooks (37 years-old), more than 30 times in June 2020 in a Des Moines apartment. She pleaded guilty in June 2021 to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury. Pieper’s legal team, led by Assistant State Public Defenders Matthew Sheeley, Magdalena Reese, and Paul White, worked tirelessly to seek justice for Pieper who faced up to 20 years in prison and a felony record for killing the man who abused, sexually assaulted, and trafficked her as a juvenile. Polk County District Judge David Porter sentenced Pieper to 5 years of probation at the Fresh Start Women's Center in Des Moines (a transitional facility for women), a deferred judgment (allowing for expungement of Lewis’ criminal record), and ordered her to pay $150,000 in restitution to Brooks’ family. Mr. Sheeley, Mr. White, and Ms. Reese will discuss their handling of Pieper's case, the defenses available to Pieper in the event of trial, the current of Pieper's case, and the public policy implications of punishing individuals who commit criminal acts that are directly related to their status as victims of human trafficking.

Challenges to U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East: The War in Ukraine
6:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Mouin Rabbani is a researcher, analyst, and commentator specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the contemporary Middle East. He has previously served as Principal Political Affairs Officer with the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Head of Middle East with Crisis Management Initiative/Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, and Senior Middle East Analyst and Special Advisor on Israel-Palestine with the International Crisis Group. Rabbani is Co-Editor of Jadaliyya and Contributing Editor of Middle East Report. At Jadaliyya he edits the Quick Thoughts feature and is host of the Connections podcast A graduate of Tufts University and Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Rabbani has published, presented and commented widely on Middle East issues, including for most major print, television and digital media. A reception will be held following the lecture to allow for further discussion, questions and answers with Mr. Rabbani. This event will be recorded and available for two weeks on the Lectures website at https://www.lectures.iastate.edu/recordings/available-recordings

GPSS 2023 Conference Keynotes
6:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Michael Brown and Rachel A. Smith, both assistant professors in Student Affairs and Higher Education, will present on their models and research findings related to gradate student support, wellbeing, and community generation. Dr. Michael Brown is an assistant professor in Student Affairs and Higher Education in the School of Education in the College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University. His research focuses on the development of undergraduate and community college curriculum, pedagogy, and technology with a focus on how curriculum, pedagogy, and technology shape students’ academic momentum, career aspirations, and social and academic networks. At ISU, he serves as the program coordinator for the Masters degree in Student Affairs and co-directs Game2Work, a multi-disciplinary research community focused on developing serious games that expand educational and workforce opportunities. He also co-leads, with Dr. Rachel Smith, the College Networks Lab. Dr. Brown’s research has been published in Teaching and Teacher Education, the Journal of Higher Education, and Computers & Education and has been featured by Iowa Public Radio, Inside Higher Ed, and the New York Times. Rachel A. Smith is an assistant professor of student affairs and higher education in the School of Education at Iowa State University. Her research relies on social network analysis and mixed methods to examine the roles higher educational institutions play in organizing student relational patterns and their associations with educational outcomes. Her recent work has focused on learning communities and the experiences of undergraduate and graduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has taught graduate courses on student affairs administration, U.S. college students, research methods, and assessment. She earned a Ph.D. and M.S. in Higher Postsecondary Education from Syracuse University and holds a B.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Industry Perspectives and Emerging Trends in the Global Agriculture
7:00 PM – Dolezal Auditorium, 127 Curtiss Hall - Carl and Marjory Hertz Lecture on Emerging Issues in Agriculture The Carl and Marjory Hertz Lecture on Emerging Issues in Agriculture was created in memory of the founders of Hertz Farm Management Inc. to inspire generations of industry leaders, research scientists, and young professionals to reach their full potential. Carl and Marjory Hertz Biography Tim Glenn, executive vice president of the seed business unit at Corteva Agriscience, has spent more than 30 years serving in the agriculture industry. His global leadership has spanned all facets of the industry including seeds, crop protection, sales, marketing, integrated operations and commercial effectiveness. Glenn is an Iowa State graduate, having earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1988. He also has a Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara Leavey School of Business. Currently, he is a member of the Iowa Business Council and serves as vice chair for the Food Bank of Iowa Board of Directors. During his presentation, Glenn will share his journey in the agricultural industry, which took him across several continents and multinational companies, ultimately leading to his current position with Corteva. He will also review trends that have shaped agriculture as a growth industry and provide an outlook for future drivers. Glenn will present a unique perspective of how companies and other stakeholders can continue to support farmers in this vital industry as they work to meet demand in the changing global marketplace. The recording for this event will not be available for one week due to processing time.

9MM Beats 9-1-1 Every Time
6:30 PM – 205 Carver - Paige Roux is the host of TPUSA’s weekly show, Reloaded, hosted on TPUSA LIVE. Each week, Paige carefully explains the intricacies of America’s most popular firearms, shares important firearm safety protocols, and even shoots some of her favorite weapons at her own private range. Paige is a Senior Firearms Instructor and Training Coordinator for Shooter’s World in Phoenix, Arizona — one of the largest chains of indoor firing ranges in Arizona! This event is NOT available for extra credit card scanning and no recording will be available.

Frederick Douglass Patterson's America: Reimagining a Democracy
6:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Jontyle Theresa Robinson is curator and assistant professor at the Legacy Museum at Tuskegee University. She is also a United Negro College Fund/Mellon Faculty Fellow for the National Humanities Center. She curated and coauthored “Bearing Witness: Contemporary Works by African American Women Artists,” the first exhibition/catalogue of contemporary African American women artists touring America, for the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art’s contribution to the 1996 Olympics. She is presently conducting research for the thirty-year anniversary of “Bearing Witness,” a digital version of the 1996 exhibition, and an exhibition and catalogue called “Revelations from Bearing Witness” for 2026. The College of Veterinary Medicine is currently celebrating the centennial of the graduation of Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson, who was the fourth Black graduate of the veterinary college. Dr. Patterson went on to become the president of Tuskegee Institute where he established their College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Engineering, and the aviation program that later developed into the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame during his presidency. He is also the founder of the United Negro College Fund and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Reagan, one of only two ISU graduates to receive this prestigious honor.

Presumed Guilty: The FBI's Baseless Hunt for IP Theft by Chinese Academics
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Xiaoxing Xi is the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Physics at Temple University. Prior to joining Temple in 2009, he was a Professor of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. He received his PhD degree in physics from Peking University and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, in 1987. After several years of research at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center, Germany, Bell Communication Research/Rutgers University, and University of Maryland, he joined the Physics faculty at Penn State in 1995. Xi’s research focuses on the materials physics underlying the applications of oxide, boride, and transition metal dichalcogenide thin films, epitaxial thin films and heterostructures at the nanoscale. Using various deposition techniques including Laser Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Hybrid Physical-Chemical Vapor Deposition, his group specializes in atomic layer-by-layer growth of artificial oxide heterostructures, magnesium diboride thin films for electronic and radio frequency cavity applications, iron pnictide superconductor thin films, and thin films of 2D layered materials transition metal dichalcogenides. He has published over 350 papers in refereed journals and holds three patents in thin films of high-Tc superconductors and magnesium diboride. Since 2015, he has spoken out actively for open fundamental research and against racial profiling and received the American Physical Society 2020 Andrei Sakharov Prize for his effort.

The Neurobiological Basis of Trauma-Informed Care
7:00 PM – Campanile Room, Memorial Union - Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Rosinia Barbara Hansen Lecture in Early Childhood Development Experience shapes the architecture of the brain and informs behavior. The effects of traumatic experiences on young children are well documented and sobering. By understanding the neurobiological basis of trauma, early childhood professionals will be uniquely positioned to provide trauma-informed care that is developmentally appropriate and fosters resilience. Understanding the emotional regulation and stress response systems provides an evidence base for trauma informed care. Recent research findings have demonstrated that it is essential for young children to have a consistent, predictable, and nurturing care provider who can help protect them from adverse experiences. That person might be you!

Mini-Forest Revolution: Using the Miyawaki Method to Rapidly Rewild Our Communities
5:30 PM – 3580 Memorial Union - Shivvers Lecture Hannah Lewis graduated from Iowa State University in 2007 with a MS in Sustainable Agriculture and Sociology. She is the author of Mini-Forest Revolution: Using the Miyawaki Method to Rapidly Rewild the World, published in June 2022 by Chelsea Green. Hannah lives in Minneapolis, where she works for the non-profit Renewing the Countryside to build sustainable local and regional food systems and plant mini-forests.

Who Is a Sincere Believer? Religious Freedom and Its Limits
5:30 PM – 2630 Memorial Union - Author and speaker Charles McCrary. In Indiana, liberal Jews are arguing that a law banning abortion violates their religious freedom, including their sincere belief in bodily autonomy. In Arizona, a group of Native Americans protest the construction of a copper mine, since it will destroy land they sincerely believe to be sacred. Throughout the country, white evangelicals argue their sincere beliefs entitle them to disobey antidiscrimination laws. Under the law, who gets to be considered a "sincere believer," and what do sincere believers get to do? This talk will explore the history and contemporary politics behind these vexing questions. Charles McCrary is a postdoctoral research scholar at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. The ISU Book Store will be on site selling copies of McCrary's recent publication, "Sincerely Held: American Secularism and Its Believers."