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From Idea to Novel: A Writer and Activist at Work - Rick Bass
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Author and environmentalist Rick Bass is the author of more than twenty books, including the autobiographical Why I Came West and the short story collection The Lives of Rocks. A Texan by birth, Bass worked as a gas and oil geologist in Mississippi after earning a degree from Utah State University. His career as an author grew out of a pastime of writing short stories during his lunch breaks. In 1987 Bass moved to the Yaak Valley in the northern Rockies, where he has been active in protecting the land from roads and logging and serves on the board of the Yaak Valley Forest Council and Round River Conservation Studies. His first short story collection, The Watch, set in Texas, won the PEN/Nelson Algren Award; and his 2002 collection, The Hermit's Story, was a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year. His latest novel, Nashville Chrome, draws on the rise and fall of the Brown trio, the true-life country music trailblazers who pioneered the 1950s sound from which the novel takes its title.

Putting Labels Aside: Not Left, Not Right, Just Forward - John Avlon
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - John Avlon is a founding leader of No Labels, an organization of citizens who are asking their leaders to put labels aside and do what is best for America. John Avlon was the youngest and longest-serving speechwriter in Mayor Giuliani's City Hall. After the attacks of September 11th, 2001, he and his team were responsible for writing the eulogies for all firefighters and police officers lost at the World Trade Center. He is senior political columnist for The Daily Beast, a CNN contributor, and the author of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America as well as Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics.

Exercise is Medicine - Steven Blair
7:00 PM – Bessie Myers Auditorium, Mary Greeley Medical Center, 1111 Duff Ave - Steven Blair is a recognized authority on exercise and its health benefits. He is coauthor of Fitness after 50, Active Living Every Day, and Physical Activity and Health and was the senior scientific editor for the first U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health. He has done extensive research using the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, which examines the impact of diet, physical activity and other lifestyle factors on mortality. Blair is currently on the faculty at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, where he holds joint appointments in the Department of Exercise Science and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Prior to that, he was a researcher and then president and CEO of the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit research and education center recognized as a leader in exercise science. The 2010-11 Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair in Human Sciences. The Bessie Myers Auditorium is located near the North Entrance of Mary Greeley Medical Center.

Courage to Stand - Tim Pawlenty
11:00 AM – Campanile Room, Memorial Union - Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is credited with balancing Minnesota's budget three times without raising taxes, despite record budget deficits. During his two terms in office he approved new benefits for veterans and members of the military, enacted a property tax cap, reformed the way teachers are paid through a performance pay plan, instituted free-market health care reforms, and mandated an increase use of renewable sources. Pawlenty served ten years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, including four years as House Majority Leader. He earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota and has practiced law in the private sector. His new biography is titled Courage to Stand.

Fighting Hunger: A DNA Engineer’s Path to Science and Success - Charles Stewart, Jr.
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Charles Stewart, Jr., is a research associate at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he works to understand how plant enzymes make an array of chemicals important to medicine and agriculture. Using the 3D protein structure as a roadmap, he studies the evolution of protein function and how proteins can be engineered to improve the quality and quantity of the world's food supply. Stewart was the first graduate of Science Bound, Iowa State's program to increase the number of ethnically diverse Iowa youth pursuing science, technology, engineering and math careers. He earned a degree in agricultural biochemistry from Iowa State in 2000 and was a member of the George Washington Carver Internship Program. He also served as National President of the Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences. Stewart went on to earn a PhD in plant biology from Cornell University.

The Caucus Cup: ISU College Republicans v. ISU Democrats - A Debate
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - The ISU Democrats will debate the College Republicans on an issue of the day for the chance at the Caucus Cup. The winner claims the trophy for a year and will defend the Cup at the 2012 First Amendment Day celebration. This year's issue is the enactment of laws limiting gun ownership. The College Republicans are led by Logan Pals. The ISU Democrats are led by Patrick Thomas. Tom Beell, professor in broadcast journalism, will moderate. The judges are Jean Goodwin, English Department; Dick Doak, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication; and Charles Dobbs, History Department. The First Amendment Day Committee will also present the "Champion of the First Amendment Award." Part of the 2011 First Amendment Day Celebration.

Turkish Foreign Policy: An Update - Fatih Yildiz
7:00 PM – Pioneer Room, Memorial Union - Fatih Yildiz is the Consul General of Turkey in Chicago, a position to which he was appointed in September 2010. His diplomatic career has included service as First Secretary and Counselor at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C.; with the Permanent Delegation of Turkey to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; and at the Turkish Embassy in Sarajevo. Yildiz joined the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994 as an attach at the Deputy General Directorate for Balkan Affairs. He has also held positions in the Cabinet of the Undersecretary and, most recently, as director of the Department of Human Resources. He earned his degree in International Relations from Middle East Technical University in Ankara.

The Race for Equality and Education - John Carlos
12:45 PM РSun Room, Memorial Union - John Carlos, an Olympic medalist in track and field, is remembered for his "Silent Protest" against racism and economic oppression at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The iconic image of he and teammate Tommie Smith raising a black-gloved fist during the victory ceremony is one of sports history's most memorable moments. Born in Harlem, New York, he attended East Texas State University and then San Jos̩ State University on track and field scholarships. After winning the bronze medal in the 200 meters at the 1968 Olympics, he continued his education and won the NCAA Track & Field National Championship in 1969. He followed his track and field success with a brief career in the NFL, and later worked for PUMA, the Olympics, and the City of Los Angeles. Part of the 2011 Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity.

The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer - Jane Smiley
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley has written on such topics as politics, impulse buying, farming and marriage. She now adds John Atanasoff, the Iowa State physics professor credited with inventing the first digital electronic computer, to that list. Her body of work includes a dozen books of fiction, including A Thousand Acres and her 2010 novel, Private Life; four books of nonfiction; and essays and short stories appearing in such publications as Harper's, The Nation, Vogue and The New Yorker. Smiley earned an MFA and PhD from the University of Iowa and previously taught at Iowa State University as a distinguished professor of English. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001. Part of the National Affairs Series on Innovation.

Stuff White People Like - Christian Lander
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Christian Lander takes a satirical look at upper-middle-class white culture on his blog and in his book Stuff White People Like. He continues his anthropological study of how to survive modern white society in his sequel Whiter Shades of Pale. Lander was working in corporate communications at a California interactive agency when he started his blog, "Stuff White People Like," a tongue-in-cheek comprehensive list of everything upper-middle-class Caucasians enjoy, from The Wire and McSweeney's to eating outside and self-importance. When the site amassed 20 million hits, he caught the eye of Random House, publisher of both of his books.