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Past Events

Wednesday, 27 Feb 2019

More Than Mutts: The History of North America's Earliest Dogs - Chris Widga
8:15 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Dogs have been part of the human experience in the Old World for at least 16,000 years. But when and where do we find the earliest dogs in the Americas? Chris Widga, head curator at the East Tennessee State University Museum of Natural History, is part of an international team studying early dogs and dog domestication. Their research examining DNA recovered from several ancient animals, published in Science, has revealed the unique genetic signature of America’s first dogs, where they came from, and offered insight into their complex evolutionary history of our canine companions. Chris Widga earned his PhD in anthropology from the University of Kansas and is an adjunct professor of geosciences at East Tennessee State University.

But You Don't Look Like You Have an Eating Disorder . . . - Sarah Thompson
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Sarah Thompson, a writer, eating disorder recovery coach, and consultant, will share stories from their own recovery after having an eating disorder for 18 years. Their presentation focuses on barriers and access to eating disorder treatment, including fatphobia, homophobia, and transphobia. Thompson, who identifies as larger-bodied and queer, is a thought leader in the Health at Every Size®, Body Trust®, and LGBTQIA+ communities. They author the popular blog Resilient Fat Goddex and have been featured on such podcasts as Food Psych, Do No Harm, and Fearless Rebelle Radio. Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week Speaker

Tuesday, 26 Feb 2019

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism - Robin DiAngelo
7:00 PM – Stephens Auditorium - Free admission | No tickets | General admission seating LIMITED PRIORITY SEATING Iowa State students may present their ISU Card for limited, first-floor priority seating until 6:30pm. Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility and Is Everyone Really Equal, has had a profound influence on the national discourse on race. She has facilitated trainings on racial and social justice issues for more than 20 years and coined the term "white fragility" in 2011. DiAngelo will discuss her concept of how white Americans are unknowingly socialized to be highly sensitive to and defensive in situations involving race - that is, racially "fragile." She also emphasizes the perspectives and skills white people need to build in order to engage more constructively across race. Dr. DiAngelo is affiliate faculty at the University of Washington College of Education.

Monday, 25 Feb 2019

Stand Up! Speak Up! Youth & the First Amendment - Mary Beth Tinker and John Tinker
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - In 1965, 13-year-old Mary Beth Tinker, 15-year-old John Tinker and 16- year-old Christopher Eckhardt were suspended from their Des Moines, Iowa, school for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. Four years later, the Supreme Court decision that resulted from their lawsuit was a glorious victory for the First Amendment rights of students. Mary Beth Tinker and John Tinker will discuss the significance of their historic Supreme Court case especially in the current political climate. Mark Stringer, ACLU of Iowa Director, will moderate. Part of the National Affairs Series: Building a Better Democracy and the First Amendment Day Series

Thursday, 21 Feb 2019

Security and Virtual Reality - Kate McKinley
7:00 PM – Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall - Kate McKinley is a security leader at Facebook Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality working to ensure that the upcoming platforms we use in work, play, and everyday life are trustworthy, safe, and private. She has worked previously at Mozilla, Netflix, iSEC Partners, and more as a developer, security engineer, and security expert. McKinley will share her unique career path and talk about her current work in VR. Engineers' Week 2019

Monday, 18 Feb 2019

The Sky Is Not the Limit - Capt. Scott Kelly
7:00 PM – Stephens Auditorium, Iowa State Center - Doors open at 6:00pm - Free admission | No tickets | General admission seating LIMITED PRIORITY SEATING Iowa State students may present their ISU Card for limited, first-floor priority seating until 6:30pm. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-seated basis and may not be saved. Capt. Scott Kelly captivated the world and seized the imagination of millions during his record-breaking year spent living on the International Space Station - proving that the sky is not the limit when it comes to the potential of the human spirit. On his trip Scott Kelly, together with his identical twin brother, Mark, on Earth, paved the way for the future of space travel and exploration as the subjects of an unprecedented NASA study on how space affects the human body. Author of the best-selling book Endurance, Kelly shares stories and photos from his travels in space, reflecting on how we affect our planet and where the future of space exploration will go. University Sustainability Symposium Keynote and part of the National Affairs Series and the World Affairs Series. A book signing will immediately follow the lecture in the Celebrity Café on the lower level.

Tuesday, 12 Feb 2019

Food and Faith: Why Eating is a Moral Act - Jim Ennis
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Jim Ennis is the executive director of Catholic Rural Life, a nonprofit organization dedicated to issues affecting rural communities, including a just and sustainable food supply and the spiritual, social, and economic wellbeing of rural America. Before joining CRL in 2008, Ennis was the director of FoodAlliance Midwest. He also has a background in project management and marketing with the Pillsbury Company and the Clorox Company. Jim Ennis earned an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and holds a BS degree from the University of California-Davis, where he studied agricultural and managerial economics. Msgr. James A. Supple Lecture Series

Monday, 11 Feb 2019

Chicano Activism and Immigration - Jimmy Patiño
7:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Jimmy Patiño, an assistant professor of Chicano & Latino Studies at the University of Minnesota, is the author of Raza Sí, Migra No: Chicano Movement Struggles for Immigrant Rights in San Diego. His work presents the perspectives of working-class Mexican-American and Mexican immigrant communities at the border and how different activist organizations from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s debated the problem of undocumented immigration. A native of Houston, Texas, Patiño recalls a childhood of hearing from his grandparents about growing up during the era of Mexican–American segregation, which in part inspired his work on Chicano activism. He earned his PhD from the University of California, San Diego.

Thursday, 7 Feb 2019

The Science of Flirting - Jeffrey Hall
8:15 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Jeffrey Hall is an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas and an expert on flirting and communication in romantic relationships. He will discuss the research for his book, The Five Flirting Styles, and how understanding how you communicate romantic interest may help you improve your chances in love. Hall has published widely on such topics as humor in relationships, making and keeping friends, and social networking and Facebook and has been interviewed by such media outlets as National Public Radio and CNN and Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, TIME Magazine, and Wall Street Journal. He earned his doctorate from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.

It’s All About Me: Left, Right, and Liberalism in Public Life - David T. Koyzis
6:30 PM – 2019 Morrill Hall - Our current political climate can lead Americans to think that left and right represent two warring factions and philosophies that are polarizing the political arena. David T. Koyzis, a Fellow in Politics at the St. George's Centre for Biblical and Public Theology, will show how the labels "left" and "right" mask the dominance of liberal individualism, with one side choosing the market and the other the state as the chosen means of advancing a liberal agenda. Koyzis will discuss alternatives and ways in which Americans can work together for the common good.