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Past Events

Monday, 14 Sep 2015

Why We Should Care About the World & Want to Change It - Nicholas Kristof
8:00 PM – Stephens Auditorium, Iowa State Center - Doors open at 7:15 | Free admission | No tickets required Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer-Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times, co-authored two bestselling books that inspired PBS documentaries: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide and A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity. The documentaries are part of the Global Women and Girls Lead Initiative to promote women's empowerment worldwide. In addition, Kristof and journalist Sheryl WuDunn work to support local programs for women and children around the globe through their Half the Sky Movement and other partner initiatives. Kristof graduated from Harvard University, studied law at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and later studied Arabic in Cairo and Chinese in Taipei. He has traveled extensively, beginning as a student backpacking around Africa and Asia, writing articles to cover his expenses. His op-ed column for the New York Times appears twice a week. Part of the World Affairs Series: Redefining Global Security No podcast will be available for this event.

Friday, 11 Sep 2015

Town Hall Meeting with Senator Rand Paul - Presidential Caucus Series
7:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - No tickets required Senator Rand Paul, MD, of Kentucky was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and is an outspoken champion for fiscal responsibility and returning government to its limited, constitutional scope. His Senate committee assignments include the Committees on Foreign Relations; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Paul, who grew up in Texas and attended Baylor University, is a graduate of Duke Medical School. Prior to his election to Congress, Paul owned a private ophthalmology practice and performed eye surgeries for eighteen years. He frequently provides free eye exams and surgery to needy families and individuals through the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic, an organization he helped found. Since 1987, the Presidential Caucus Series has provided students, faculty, and community members with an opportunity to question presidential candidates or their representative before the precinct caucuses.

Wednesday, 9 Sep 2015

The U.S. Supreme Court on Free Speech, Obamacare, Same-Sex Marriage and Lethal Injections - Panel Discussion
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Panelists discussing recent Supreme Court rulings include Drake Constitutional Law Center Director Mark Kende, ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis and Dirk Deam, senior lecturer in Political Science. Iowa State Bioethics Program Director Clark Wolf will moderate. Constitution Day Event and part of the National Affairs Series: When American Values Are in Conflict

Tuesday, 8 Sep 2015

Sex Trafficking in the USA - Documentary & Discussion
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - "Sex Trafficking in the USA" is the first episode of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's new documentary, A Path Appears. The Department of Justice estimates that there are 300,000 children at risk of being trafficked into sexual slavery in the United States. Reporters Kristof and WuDunn introduce us to the complex circumstances behind these shocking numbers and some of the survivors. They also document growing efforts to reshape law enforcement's response to prostitution and trafficking and the work of anti-trafficking organizations. National Affairs Series: When American Values Are in Conflict George Belitsos, Retired Youth & Shelter Services CEO, will provide opening remarks. Following the 84-minute film, Teresa Downing-Matibag, executive director of the Network Against Human Trafficking and a lecturer of sociology at Iowa State, will lead a discussion. Participants include Ruth Buckels, the mother of a human trafficking survivor, and Mike Ferjak, who leads the Iowa Department of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Friday, 28 Aug 2015

Town Hall Meeting with Carly Fiorina - Presidential Caucus Series
3:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - No tickets required Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, was previously senior vice president of AT&T. She led the successful spinoff from AT&T of Lucent, working her way up and eventually being named group president for the global service provider business. After leaving Hewlett Packard, she joined former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to found the One Woman Initiative that later merged with Opportunity International, where Fiorina served as Global Board Chair. Over the past 15 years, Opportunity International has created 10 million jobs through $6.8 billion in micro loans. She also became the Chairman of Good360, an organization that has distributed more than $8 billion in donated goods around the world. She has an undergraduate degree from Stanford and an MBA from the University of Maryland. Since 1987, the Presidential Caucus Series has provided students, faculty, and community members with an opportunity to question presidential candidates or their representative before the precinct caucuses.

Friday, 1 May 2015

For More We Turn To Jessica Williams from "The Daily Show"
8:00 PM – Stephens Auditorium - No tickets required | Doors open at 7:15 | General admission seating Jessica Williams is a correspondent with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and was recently featured on the cover of Wired Magazine. An actress, writer, and comedian from Los Angeles, she threw herself into cut-throat world of improv and sketch comedy after graduating from California State University, Long Beach. She performed with "ComedySportz: The College Team" and at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and in 2014 she made appearances on Season 3 of the hit HBO show Girls. Although Williams is known for being an "all around funny lady," her message is not to be dismissed. She frequently takes on the issues of race, racism, and privilege and is quickly establishing herself as part of the American media machine.

Thursday, 30 Apr 2015

Intersections of Journalism with Computer Science & Data - Brant Houston
3:00 PM – Oak Room, Memorial Union - A reception will precede the event, 2:30-3:00 pm. Brant Houston is a professor and Knight Chair of Investigative Reporting in the College of Media at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He will discuss how computer-assisted reporting has become an integral part of journalism and how increased collaboration between journalists and computer scientists has led to more sophisticated reporting. Houston is the author of four editions of the textbook Computer-Assisted Reporting: A Practical Guide and co-author of the fourth and fifth editions of the Investigative Reporter's Handbook. He is co-founder of the Global Investigative Journalism Network and chair of the Board of Directors for the Investigative News Network, which he helped launch in 2009. College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Signature Research Initiative

Thursday, 23 Apr 2015

The Global Fight to Stop Human Trafficking - Father Shay Cullen
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Father Shay Cullen is a priest from Ireland who has worked protecting women and children and their human rights in the Philippines since 1969. He established the Preda Foundation in the Philippines in 1974 with projects to educate and free children from brothels and jails and give them a chance to heal in therapeutic recovery shelters and be reintegrated free from traffickers, violence and abuse. He is the author of Passion and Power, writes a weekly column in the Manila Times, is a media commentator on the issues of trafficking and human rights violations, and has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize and other Human Rights Awards. World Affairs Series

Clean Energy: A New Age of Abundance - Panel Discussion
7:00 PM – 1414 Molecular Biology - Jim Kennedy is the CEO of Th-REE Consulting providing services to the financial, mining and nuclear energy industry on strategic issues related to Rare Earths, Thorium and the U.S. regulatory environment. He has served as an adviser to the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.S. Congress. John Kutsch is the executive director of the Thorium Energy Alliance and a design engineer who runs the Whole World engineering consulting firm. He works with federal and state legislatures to develop thorium energy and rare earth element processing infrastructure in the United States. He has two decades of experience developing materials, mechanisms, and products for industrial, energy, and medical clients. The student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers does not endorse any viewpoints expressed in this presentation.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs? - Timothy Rowe
7:00 PM – South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Timothy Rowe is a paleontologist whose research focuses on the evolution and development of vertebrates. He is the J. Nalle Gregory Regents Professor of Geology at University of Texas, Austin, as well as director of the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory, which holds one of the largest research collections of vertebrate fossils in America. Co-founder and director of the High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility, he is a leader in developing digital technologies to analyze and visualize the skeleton along with the soft tissues that the skeleton supports. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Keck and Intel Foundations, and the American Chemical Society. Phi Beta Kappa Lecture