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Past Events

Tuesday, 3 Nov 2009

End Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Let Gays and Lesbians Serve Their Country Honorably - Lt. Dan Choi
6:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Lt. Dan Choi is a West Point graduate, Iraq war veteran and Arabic linguist - and a gay American. He served as platoon leader, company executive officer, battalion and brigade staff officer, Iraqi Arabic language instructor, civil-military and reconstruction engineer serving in 10th Mountain Division (Ft. Drum, NY) and South Baghdad, Iraq (The Triangle of Death). Then Lt. Choi announced he was gay on The Rachel Maddow show on March 19, 2009. Less than one month later, the Army announced they would initiate discharge proceedings against Lt. Choi for violating Don't Ask Don't Tell. Lt. Choi is fighting his discharge proceedings and is a founding member of the organization KNIGHTS OUT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender West Point Graduates.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Global Aerospace Market - Dennis Muilenburg
6:00 PM – Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall - Dennis Muilenburg is president of Boeing Corporation's Global Services & Support division. He leads all aspects of the company's $8 billion business providing after-delivery support for military platforms and systems and a broad array of defense and government services. Prior to his current assignment, Muilenburg served as vice president and general manager of the Boeing Combat Systems division and program manager for Future Combat Systems (FCS), a major U.S. Army modernization initiative. Muilenburg earned a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University and a master's degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington. Part of the Globalization, Technology, and Culture Series.

Tuesday, 27 Oct 2009

The Environmental Significance of Biodiversity - Shahid Naeem
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Shahid Naeem is professor and chair of Columbia University's Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology. He leads a research group studying the ecological consequences of biodiversity loss and has been actively involved in bringing the science of biodiversity to conservation, restoration, and policy development. In particular, his work has demonstrated how an ecosystem's loss of species affects its ability to resist invasion by other species, its production and nutrient cycling, and its overall stability. Naeem is coauthor of Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Wellbeing: An Ecological and Economic Perspective. He earned a PhD in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley, and has held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington. Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture.

Preparing Leaders to Meet Future Global Challenges - Charles Manatt
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Iowa State alum Charles Manatt has had a distinguished career in law, business, and politics, holding such positions as chair of the Democratic National Committee in 1981, cochair of the 1992 Clinton-Gore presidential campaign, and U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic under President Clinton. An attorney who earned his J.D. from George Washington University, Manatt is the founder of the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, which offers international legal and consulting services for a variety of industries. He also founded First Los Angeles Bank and served as its chairman from 1973 to 1989. Manatt's professional service extends to the educational and nonprofit sectors as well. He is an Emeritus Governor of the ISU Foundation, was a national vice-chair of Iowa State's Campaign Destiny and is now an executive committee member for Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose. The William K. Deal Endowed Leadership Lecture.

Farmscape: A Docu–Drama
6:00 PM – Cardinal Room, Memorial Union - Join Iowa Poet Laureate Mary Swander and a cast of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences "Celebrities" for a special performance of Farmscape. The production documents our changing rural environment by recreating interviews with people involved in how we grow our food and live our lives in rural America. You'll take delight in a sip of Zinfandel at a new winery, savor the taste of organic vegetables on the way to a local farmer's market, gaze at restored wetlands and prairie, visit a hog confinement and a slaughtering plant, and experience the David and Goliath story of a family farmer up against the economic forces of the 3,500-acre agribusiness operation next door. In the end, you'll understand that farming completely changed the ecosystem of the prairie. A hundred and fifty years later, this landscape is dramatically changing again. Part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Monday, 26 Oct 2009

U.S.-Spanish Relations in the 21st Century - Jorge Dezcallar
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Jorge Dezcallar, ambassador of Spain to the United States, joined the diplomatic corps in 1971. During his professional career, he has been posted in Spanish diplomatic representations in Poland, New York, Uruguay, Morocco, and the Holy See. He has served in the Technical Cabinet of the Prime Minister as well as in such positions of Deputy Director General for North Africa and the Middle East, Director General of Foreign Policy for Africa and Continental Asia, Director General of Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador in Special Mission for the Foreign Policy and Common Security, and director of Center of Defense Information. Before his assignment in the United States, he was working for a private company. Born in Palma de Majorca, he has a degree in law. The Manatt Phelps Lecture in Political Science.

Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009

Workshop - Finding Purpose and Direction in Your Life - Virginia Blackburn
12:00 PM – Pioneer Room, Memorial Union - Dr. Virginia Blackburn's research and teaching expertise is in Business Strategy, and she has expanded on these theories to develop a framework for helping people determine their unique Life Strategy. The short session is designed to be very interactive and entertaining. Dr. Blackburn is an associate professor of management who has published widely and won a number of university -wide teaching awards. For more information on Work/Life please visit www.provost.iastate.edu/worklife.

Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009

The Future of American Agriculture - Kathleen Merrigan
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, is the former director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment Program at Tufts University, where she was on faculty in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. As a staffer on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, she helped shape the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which created national standards for organic foods and a federal program to accredit them. She has also served as administrator of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, which oversees the agency's organic program. Merrigan holds a doctorate in Public Policy and Environmental Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She will speak about her initiatives in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she is second in command. Part of the National Affairs Series.

Monday, 19 Oct 2009

From Honduras in Crisis: A View from the Rural Poor - John Donaghy
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - John Donaghy will report on the condition of the Honduran poor during the ongoing political crisis following President Zelaya's forced departure. Efforts continue to set up talks between interim leader Roberto Micheletti and deposed President Manuel Zelaya, who is in the Brazilian embassy. John Donaghy is the former Director of Campus Ministry and Coordinator of Charity, Justice, and Peace Ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center at Iowa State University. In June 2007 he began ministry in southwestern Honduras with the diocese of Santa Rosa de Copén. He is now associate director of the local diocesan social development agency. Part of the World Affairs Series: Can We Save the World?

Thursday, 15 Oct 2009

U.S. Leadership in the Global Fight Against Slavery - Luis CdeBaca
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Ambassador Luis CdeBaca has worked under three presidential administrations to combat human trafficking and modern-day forms of slavery. He was recently appointed by President Obama to direct the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the Department of State, which is dedicated to pressuring foreign governments to free persons forced to work, under threat of violence, for no pay beyond subsistence. He served formerly as Counsel to the House Committee on the Judiciary, where his portfolio included national security, intelligence, immigration, and civil rights. CdeBaca attended Iowa State University and received his law degree from the Michigan Law School. World Affairs Series, Constitution Day Speaker and part of the Latino Heritage Month Celebration.