Search For Lectures

A History of Roadside Attractions - Erika Nelson
8:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Erika Nelson is director of the World's Largest Things, a nonprofit corporation for the study of roadside vernacular architecture, including such Iowa attractions as Audubon's Albert the Bull, Adair's talking Happy Chef, Stanton's Swedish coffeepot water tower, and the Pocahontas landmark statue. Nelson is the founder and curator of the traveling roadside museum The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things. Her artist-in-residence projects have covered such topics as storytelling and quiltmaking and Art Car development, and her many installations and exhibits include Domesticated: Deconstructing the American Dream and CanFormations. She has a BFA in illustration from Central Missouri State University and an MFA in textiles from the University of Kansas. This public talk will follow the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society banquet.

Gender, Leadership and the Natural Order - Rosalind Chait Barnett
1:15 PM – Benton Auditorium, Scheman Building, Iowa State Center - Rosalind Chait Barnett is Director of the Community, Families & Work Program and a senior scientist with the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. She will discuss the media's use of gender stereotypes in the debate about women in leadership positions. Her research has encompassed such topics as workplace flexibility and employee health, employee-friendly after-school programs, and adult caregivers and job performance. Her many publications include Same Difference: How Gender Myths Are Hurting Our Relationships, Our Children, and Our Jobs; She Works/He Works: How Two-Income Families Are Happier, Healthier and Better Off; and Gender and Stress. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D in clinical psychology from Harvard University. Part of the 2008 Women's Leadership Summit.

Plants and Climate Change: A Mini Conference
1:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Join Iowa State faculty and visiting scholars for a discussion of issues related to climate change. Iowa State participants include: Steve Howell, Gene Takle, Kendall Lamkey, Matthew Liebman, Diane Bassham, Patrick Schnable, Rob Anex, and Catherine Kling. Visiting scholars include: Jian-Kang Zhu, University of California, Riverside; Stephen Long, Illinois Urbana-Champaign; and Rattan Lal, Ohio State University.

Brave New Iowa: Stem Cells, Cloning and the Sanctity of Human Life - Wesley J. Smith
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Author and lawyer Wesley J. Smith is a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, an attorney for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, and a special consultant for the Center for Bioethics and Culture. His writing and opinion columns on assisted suicide, bioethics, legal ethics, and public affairs have appeared in such publications as Newsweek, New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He has authored or coauthored eleven books, including Forced Exit: The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Legalized Murder; Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America; Power Over Pain, A Consumer's Guide to Obtaining Good Pain Control; and A Consumer's Guide to Brave New World. Smith is the author of the Internet blog "Secondhand Smoke" and hosts a biweekly podcast, "Brave New Bioethics."

Pearls, Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead - Madeleine Kunin
7:30 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Madeleine Kunin is a former three-term governor of Vermont and Ambassador to Switzerland. She also served as U.S. deputy secretary of education. Kunin is currently the Marsh Scholar Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont, where she lectures on history and women's studies. She is the author of Living a Political Life, The Big Green Book, and, most recently, Pearls, Politics and Power, an insider's view of the role of women in politics. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts and master's degrees in journalism from Columbia University and English literature from the University of Vermont. Mary Louise Smith 2008 Spring Chair in Women and Politics.

The Cuban Revolution and Agriculture - Mary-Alice Waters
6:30 PM – Gallery, Memorial Union - Mary-Alice Waters is the president of the Pathfinder Press and the editor of New International magazine. She has written a number of books on political topics and is a journalist and activist. Among the books she has edited or authored - including 18 titles on the Cuban Revolution in World Politics - are: Our History is Still Being Written: The Story of Three Cuban-Chinese Generals in the Cuban Revolution; Feminism and the Marxist Movement; and Making History. Waters will be the featured presenter in a panel discussion including students and faculty. A reception will precede the lecture and panel discussion, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The Great Debate: Private Equity and Its Impact on the Global Economy - Josh Lerner
10:45 AM – 2117 Gerdin Business Building - Josh Lerner is the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at the Harvard Business School. He worked for several years on issues concerning technological innovation and public policy, at the Brookings Institution, for a public-private task force in Chicago, and on Capitol Hill. He then earned a Ph.D. from Harvard's Economics Department. He is the author of The Venture Capital Cycle, The Money of Invention, and Innovation and Its Discontents. His research focuses on the structure and role of venture capital and private equity organizations as well as the impact of intellectual property protection on the competitive strategies of firms in high-tech industries. The College of Business F. Wendell Miller Lecture.

Is Global Warming Affecting Hurricanes? Kerry Emanuel
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Kerry Emanuel is a professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests focus on tropical meteorology and climate, with a specialty in hurricane physics. Emanuel is the author or coauthor of over one hundred peer-reviewed scientific papers and two books, including Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes, recently released by Oxford University Press. It received the 2007 Louis Battan Author's Award from the American Meteorological Society. Sigma Xi Spring Lecture.

The 11th Hour - A Documentary
6:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - This documentary is narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio and explores the perilous state of our planet, and the means by which we can change our course. Contributing to this crucial film are noted politicians, scientists and other ambassadors for the importance of a universal ecological consciousness. (92 minutes)

Earth Day Forum: Iowa State's Role in the Energy and Climate Crisis
4:30 PM – South Ball Room, Memorial Union - This panel of Iowa State University faculty and administrators will discuss how ISU is helping address the current energy crisis, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to safe levels. The topics covered will include reducing the university's contribution to climate change, advancing relevant research, and educating and promoting behavior change among the university community. Panel participants include: Vice President for Business and Finance Warren Madden; Associate Dean, College of Design, Kate Schwennsen; Geological and Atmospheric Sciences Professor Gene Takle; and Dean of Students Pete Englin. Audience participation is encouraged. The documentary The 11th Hour will follow.