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Civil Discourse in an Uncivil Age: Media and the 2020 Election - Alexander Heffner
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Alexander Heffner is the host of The Open Mind on PBS. He has covered American politics, civic life, and millennials since the 2008 presidential campaign. His work has been profiled in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Des Moines Register and numerous other outlets. This lecture will provide students with the opportunity to engage with Mr. Heffner about their importance in the Iowa Caucuses and the 2020 elections. Students will be able to register to vote at the event.

Science, Technology, and Faith - Aaron Dominguez
7:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Aaron Dominguez is the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the Catholic University of America, a particle physicist, and a devout Catholic. He will speak about how faith is part of what inspires him to study the origins of the universe in his own research in experimental high-energy physics. Dominguez served previously as the Associate Dean for Research and Global Engagement and a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). He has a strong history of research and grant activity, including a National Science Foundation CAREER grant and a cooperative agreement with the NSF for $11.5 million. Sigma Xi Lecture Series

City Council Ward 4 Candidate Forum
5:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Come out for an evening where you will be given an opportunity to ask questions to the city council Ward 4 candidates, Joe Van Erdewyk, Rachel Junck, and Chris Nelson. During the forum, moderator, Dr. Kelly Shaw will be asking each candidate questions that relate to problems in the city of Ames. Students and community members will also have a chance to ask the candidates questions throughout the event.

Can Iowa Agriculture Survive - Dr. Jeremy Jackson and Seth Watkins
3:00 PM – Design 101 - Mr. Seth Watkins and Dr. Jeremy Jackson will discuss one of the most popular and critical topics of study at Iowa State University and the rest of the state of Iowa, which is the environmental, socio-cultural and economic effects of Iowa’s current agricultural system within and outside of its borders. Dr. Jackson is emeritus professor of oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography where he led the Center for Marine Biodiversity. He studies threats and solutions to human impacts on the environment and the ecology and evolution of tropical seas. Seth Watkins is the fourth generation of his family to care for Pinhook Farm, which was established near Clarinda in 1846. Today Pinhook Farm includes both owned and rented acres that support a beef cow calf operation, crop production, and an outfitting business.

In Our Backyards: How the Prison Boom Transformed Rural America - John Major Eason
7:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - John Major Eason is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of Big House on the Prairie: Rise of the Rural Ghetto and Prison Proliferation. His research re-examines theories about community, health, race, and punishment with a rural versus urban lens. Before pursuing a career in academic, Eason was a church-based community organizer focusing on housing and criminal justice issues. Eason holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago and an MPP from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Beal Distinguished Lecture in Rural Sociology

Environmental Martyrs and the Fate of the Forest - Rob Nixon
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Rob Nixon, a nonfiction writer and public intellectual working in the environmental humanities and postcolonial studies, will address the current surge in environmental martyrdom against the backdrop of the resource wars in the Amazon and beyond. The talk will offer an international perspective on the value of our planet's inhabited forests and the threats to their viability. Nixon asks: What is the relationship between the sacrificial figure of the environmental martyr and the proliferation of sacrifice zones under neoliberal globalization? And what is the relationship between the fallen martyr and the felled tree? Nixon holds the Barron Family Professor in Humanities and the Environment at Princeton University. He is the author of four books, most recently Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. In conjunction with the 2019-2020 Department of English Goldtrap Speaker Series

Making Government Better Through Open Science: Real-life Examples of Truly Smarter Cities - Tom Schenk
5:00 PM – Pioneer Room, Memorial Union - The growth of the "Smart City" movement promises improvements in efficiency and quality of life for people who live and visit cities. It also raises questions on the ethical uses of data, privacy protection, and responsible uses of technology. Tom Schenk Jr. will discuss how adopting open science principles can help smart cities thrive by providing transparency and also leveraging a large community of researchers and citizen scientists. Schenk is a researcher and author on applying technology, data, and analytics to make better decisions. He’s currently the director of analytics at KPMG, where he leads the smart city and government analytics practice. He served previously as Chief Data Officer for the City of Chicago, led education research for the State of Iowa, and has held a variety of positions within academia.

The Importance of Harvest Weed Seed Control - Dr. Michael Walsh
4:10 PM – 18 Horticulture Hall - Dr. Michael Walsh is the director of weed research at the University of Sydney (Australia). He has led research and development activities focusing on farming machines that reduce weed population densities by destroying weed seeds before they return to the soil during crop harvest operations. Dr. Walsh’s talk is part of the Staniforth Lecture series in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State.

Town Hall with Elizabeth Warren
6:30 PM – Stephens Auditorium - Elizabeth grew up on the ragged edge of the middle class in Oklahoma and became a teacher, a law professor, and a US Senator because America invested in kids like her. Elizabeth is widely credited for the original thinking, political courage, and relentless persistence that led to the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She led the establishment of the agency, building the structure and organization to protect families from financial tricks and traps hidden in mortgages, credit cards, and other financial products. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Elizabeth served as Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP. Her efforts to protect taxpayers and hold Wall Street accountable won praise from both sides of the aisle. In 2012, Elizabeth became the first woman from Massachusetts elected to the United States Senate. As a Senator, she has fought to hold the wealthy and well-connected accountable and ensure our government works for everyone. Elizabeth and her husband Bruce have been married for 39 years. They have three grandchildren and a golden retriever named Bailey. Doors open at 5pm with the event starting at 6:30pm Address for Stephens Auditorium: 1900 Center Drive Ames, IA 50011

The Evolving Identity of the Latino – Alfredo Mirande
6:00 PM РHach Hall Atrium - Alfredo Mirand̩ is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside, and a scholar of Chicano sociology, masculinity, the relationship among law, race, class, and gender. His talk is being hosted by Lazos, a group of Hispanic/Latino men in leadership positions at Iowa State who are actively engaging Latinx students and mentoring them in their college experience and beyond. Alfredo Mirand̩, who was born in Mexico City and raised in Chicago, earned graduate degrees in sociology from the University of Nebraska and a JD from Stanford University. He was a National Research Council Fellow in ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley; a Rockefeller Fellow in sociology at Stanford University; and is the author of nine books, including Hombres y Machos: Masculinity and Latino Culture. [This event was originally scheduled for March 2019 but had to be rescheduled due to travel issues.]