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Beating Mindless Eating - Brian Wansink
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, is internationally recognized for his research on food psychology and its implications for consumer marketing, medicine and human nutrition. His work has contributed to the introduction of "100 calorie" packages to prevent overeating and the use of taller glasses in some bars to prevent the overpouring of alcohol. From 2007 to 2009 he served as executive director of USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, the Federal agency in charge of developing 2010 dietary guidelines and promoting the Food Guide Pyramid. He is the John Dyson Professor of Consumer Behavior at Cornell University, where he directs the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.

Sex, Love and the Modern Family in American Culture: A Psychological Perspective - Doug Haldeman
7:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Doug Haldeman is a counseling psychologist whose work focuses on the LGBT community, including the harmful psychological effects of conversion therapy and societal homophobia. He is the author of numerous scholarly publications, including "Changing Sexual Orientation: From Fiction to Fact," a work that offers guidance for practitioners working with individuals questioning their sexual orientation. An active member of the American Psychological Association, Haldeman is recognized within his profession for helping mental health professionals and the general public better understand the cultural needs of LGBT people. He earned his PhD from the University of Washington and has a private practice in Seattle.

The West before Lewis and Clark: Three Lives - Elliott West
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Elliott West, Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas, is a specialist in the social and environmental history of the American West. His book The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado received five awards, including the Francis Parkman Prize and PEN Center Award. His other books include The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story, The Way to the West: Essays on the Central Plains, and Growing Up With the Country: Childhood on the Far-Western Frontier. West has twice been chosen as the University of Arkansas's teacher of the year and in 2009 was one of three finalists for the Robert Foster Cherry Award recognizing the outstanding teacher in the nation. He earned his PhD from the University of Colorado and joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas in 1979. President Steven Leath will offer opening remarks. The Donald Benson Memorial Lecture in Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Echoes and Conversations with Norie Sato
4:10 PM – 1352 Gilman Hall - Join acclaimed public artist Norie Sato as she discusses the contexts, importance of site, and the site's function in her public art installations. Sato has completed two public art projects at Iowa State - "e+l+e+m+e+n+t+a+l" (2010-11) at Hach Hall and "One, Now, All" (2000) for the Palmer Building. A reception will follow from 5:30 to 7:00 pm in the Hach Hall lobby.

Federal Information Technology - Steven VanRoekel
12:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Steven VanRoekel is the second Chief Information Officer of the United States and an Iowa State alumnus. Prior to his position in the White House, he held two positions in the Obama Administration: executive director of Citizen and Organizational Engagement at USAID and managing director of the Federal Communications Commission, FCC, where he oversaw all operational, technical, financial, and human resource aspects of the agency. He also led the FCC's efforts to introduce new technology and social media into the agency. Mr. VanRoekel worked at Microsoft Corporation from 1994 to 2009, most recently as a senior director in the Windows Server and Tools Division. He received a bachelor's degree in management of information systems from Iowa State. Part of the National Affairs Series. A reception will precede the lecture at 11:30 a.m. in the Great Hall.

The Future of African & African American Studies in Iowa - James Randall
7:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - James H. Randall taught for more than thirty years in English and African American Studies at Coe College. His courses have included African American, African, and Caribbean literature and African American history. He has also taught African American literature courses at the University of Iowa and worked with the African American Museum of Iowa in Cedar Rapids. Randall grew up in rural North Carolina, where he worked in the tobacco fields and did other farm work and attended segregated schools from the first grade through college. He earned his bachelor's degree at North Carolina A&T State University and a master's in English at Carnegie-Mellon University. He is the Stead Family Professor of English Emeritus at Coe College.

Lecture: Gender, Culture and Politics at the Chicago World's Fair - Wayne Wiegand
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Among the most popular attractions at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair was the Woman's Building, an exhibit hall filled with the products of women's labor, including a library of more than 8,000 volumes of writing by women. Wayne Wiegand will discuss his new co-authored publication, Right Here I See My Own Books, which situates the Woman's Building Library in its historical context. He examines the significance of this effort to assemble a comprehensive library of women's texts, touching on such topics as the women's movement, literary culture, racial politics, and the professionalization of librarianship. Wayne Wiegand is the F. William Summers Professor of Library and Information Studies Emeritus at Florida State University.

Symphony of the Soil: Film and Discussion with Deborah Koons Garcia
6:00 PM – 2245 Coover Hall - Symphony of the Soil is a multi-film project that explores the world of soil, including how it is formed, its life cycle, human uses and misuses in agriculture, and soil's role in addressing global environmental problems. The project consists of the feature film as well as several short films on topics like dry farming, composting, soil-water relationships, and carbon sequestration. Deborah Koons Garcia's previous film, The Future of Food, was a documentary about genetically modified foods. It is credited with helping pass Mendocino County, California's Measure H, which bans the planting of genetically engineered crops. Though Garcia is an accomplished filmmaker and runs her own production company, Lily Films, she is better known as the widow of Jerry Garcia, the legendary Grateful Dead lead singer and guitarist who died in 1995.

American Foreign Policy after Iraq and Afghanistan - Lee Hamilton
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Former Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton directs the Center on Congress, a nonpartisan educational institution he established in 1999 to improve the public's understanding of Congress: its strengths and weaknesses, its role in our system of government, and its impact on the lives of ordinary people. Hamilton served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1999. For more than forty years he has been an important voice on international relations and American national security. He served as vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, co-chaired the Iraq Study Group with former Secretary of State James Baker and was President of the Woodrow Wilson Center. Hamilton's books include How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, A Creative Tension: The Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress and Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission. The Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science.

Laser Swords and Sandals: Star Wars and Rome - Ralph Covino
6:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - The Star Wars saga has been a cultural phenomenon for over thirty years, and assistant professor of ancient history Ralph Covino is a true aficionado. His talk discusses the influence of so-called sword-and-sandals films like Ben Hur and Spartacus on the Star Wars series as well as the myriad other Roman influences present within the films. Ralph Covino earned his PhD in Ancient History from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and taught both there and at Queen's University of Belfast before joining the faculty at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.