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Past Events

Monday, 8 Oct 2018

Watergate 45 Years Later: What Have We Learned? - Panel Discussion
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Kathie Obradovich, Des Moines Register opinion editor, will moderate a program where panelists will discuss lessons learned from Watergate and their applicability today. Panelists are Nick Kotz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Edward Mezvinsky, congressman representing Iowa's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1977, who served on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings; and Jonathan Yarowsky, General Counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate hearings. The Edward M. Mezvinsky papers are held in the Iowa State University Library Special Collections and University Archives.

Beyond Legacy: Archives and History
4:00 PM – Upper Rotunda, Parks Library - Dr. Meredith Evans is a trained archivist, a professional librarian, and a published scholar, with specialties in development of exhibition and record-keeping programs, records management and digital library program initiatives, and reference services in libraries and archives. As director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Dr. Evans administers and directs all aspects including archival, exhibit, public, and education programs. Previously, she served as associate university librarian at Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. Evans holds degrees from Clark Atlanta University, North Carolina State University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Evans’ presentation will focus on the importance of presidential and political papers. She is president of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum.

Friday, 5 Oct 2018

From Adversity to Empowerment - Elizabeth Smart
7:00 PM – Stephens Auditorium, Iowa State Center - No tickets | General admission seating Doors open at 6pm – Enter through the north, ticket office doors A campus resource fair will precede the lecture, 6:00-7:00pm, in the lower level of Stephens Auditorium. Representatives from ISU Police, Student Health and Wellness, and other university and community programs assisting with trauma, recovery, and personal safety will be onsite to share information. A book signing will immediately follow the lecture in the Celebrity Café, on the lower level. Elizabeth Smart spent nine months in captivity after being abducted from her home in 2002 at age 14. It was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time. In the years after her rescue, Smart has transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate, inspire, and foster change. She created the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to help prevent crimes against children and worked with the Department of Justice to create a survivors’ guide. She has chronicled her experiences in the book, My Story. Her most recent book, Where There’s Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up, offers a powerful message of hope in our ability to overcome trauma. Iowa State Students – 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-serve basis, and may not be saved. 

Thursday, 4 Oct 2018

Making T-Shirts Out of Pop Bottles - Mike Draper
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Mike Draper is the owner of RAYGUN, the Des Moines-based t-shirt company known for its Iowa-themed apparel with its own quirky and unique sense of humor. RAYGUN has been called “The Greatest Store in the Universe” by RAYGUN. With locations in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Kansas City, the company sells about $4 million worth of words on things every year, employing 65 people in the process. Its headquarters in Des Moines is only about 6 blocks from the hospital where Mike was born, so, geographically speaking, Mike has not come very far in life. Celebrating 10 Years of the Live Green! Initiative Come early to learn more about what Iowa State students are doing to promote sustainability on campus, in our communities, and around the world. Student organizations will share information and displays prior to the talk, 6:15-7:00pm.

Soil Carbon Sequestration for Climate Change Mitigation: What We Can Expect - William Schlesinger
4:10 PM – 2050 Agronomy Hall - Dr. William Schlesinger, member of the NAS and former director of the Cary Institute and former Dean of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Improved soil management is increasingly pursued to ensure food security for the world’s rising global population, with the ancillary benefit of storing carbon in soils to lower the threat of climate change. While all increments to soil organic matter are laudable, we suggest caution in ascribing large, potential climate change mitigation to enhanced soil management. We find that the most promising techniques, including applications of biochar and enhanced silicate weathering, are not likely to balance more than 5% of annual emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion. 2018 William H. Pierre Memorial Lecture in Soil Science

Wednesday, 3 Oct 2018

Controversy and the U.S. Supreme Court - A Panel Discussion
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Join a discussion on recent Supreme Court rulings on issues including gerrymandering, President Trump’s travel ban, and the right to refuse service for religious reasons. Participants include Dirk Deam, senior lecturer in Political Science; Clark Wolf, Iowa State Bioethics Program Director, philosophy professor and expert in philosophy of the law; and Mark Kende, the James Madison Chair on Constitutional Law at Drake Law School. They will also discuss any shift in the balance of the court caused by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy and the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. Constitution Day Event and part of the National Affairs Series: Building a Better Democracy

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Candidate Debate
3:10 PM – Gallery, Memorial Union - The Sustainable Agriculture Colloquium will host candidates for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in advance of the upcoming November 6 elections. Participants include Democratic candidate Tim Gannon and Libertarian candidate Rick Stewart. A meet and greet with the candidates will immediately follow the 1-hour debate. Questions will be taken in advance, and the debate will be moderated by Neil Hamilton, director of the Drake University Agricultural Law Center. Submit questions by e-mail to kneu@iastate.edu by 5:00 p.m. on September 30. Include your name and town of residence.

Tuesday, 2 Oct 2018

Unlocking Your Inner Entrepreneur - Sara Wyant
7:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - One of the luckiest days of my life was when I got fired from a job I loved. Sara Wyant is president of Agri-Pulse Communications, with offices in Washington DC and Camdenton, Missouri. As a veteran farm policy reporter, she is well recognized on Capitol Hill as well as with farm and commodity associations across the country. The Agri-Pulse newsletter and website include the latest updates on farm policy, commodity and conservation programs, trade, food safety, rural development, and environmental and regulatory programs. Wyant is a graduate of Iowa State and grew up on a farm near Marengo. William K. Deal Endowed Leadership Lecture and part of CALS Week

Thursday, 27 Sep 2018

Equity in Physical Activity for People with Disabilities - James Rimmer
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - James Rimmer has been developing and directing physical activity and health promotion programs for people with disabilities for more than 30 years. He is the inaugural Lakeshore Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Promotion and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and director of the Lakeshore Foundation/UAB Collaborative. Rimmer is on the NIH National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research advisory board. He was also the first researcher with a focus on the fitness of people with disabilities to be named to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Science Board. The 2018 Pease Family Scholar in Kinesiology

Wednesday, 26 Sep 2018

Statewide Democratic Ticket Conversation and Meet-and-Greet
5:30 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Hear speeches, ask questions, and meet the Democratic candidates for statewide office in Iowa. Participants include Deidre DeJear, candidate for Iowa Secretary of State; Rob Sand, candidate for Iowa Auditor of State; and Tim Gannon, candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.