Institute Insider

The Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy will host “Green Chemistry in Minnesota: Opportunities and Challenges for Leadership” from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, in Cowles Auditorium. Researchers and practitioners will talk about innovative ways to introduce green practices into the design, manufacture, and application of chemical products. The conference fee is $25. Register online at www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/stpp/events.html.

The Women and Politics Reading Group will discuss She’s No Lady: Politics, Family, and International Feminism by Senior Fellow Emerita Arvonne Fraser at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, in Freeman Commons (205 HHH). A longtime political activist, Fraser has dedicated her life’s work to advancing women’s rights around the world. She also co-founded and directed the Center on Women and Public Policy. In her memoir, Fraser recounts her Depression-era upbringing, the early days of the DFL Party, and her career in government and in the non-profit sector. All are invited to attend.

The Humphrey Institute commencement ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 18, at Ted Mann Concert Hall. Journalist Fred de Sam Lazaro will deliver the commencement address. A reception will follow.

Front Runners will hold its next monthly series of networking, inspiration, strategizing, skill building, and peer support workshops for women interested in changing the world through electoral politics. Women candidates and elected officials will talk about their campaign experiences from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, in Freeman Commons (205 Humphrey Center). All are welcome. There is no charge to attend.

The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance will co-host a conference on “The True Workings of Single Payer Health Systems: Lessons or Warnings for U.S. Reform,” May 9 and 10 at the Humphrey Institute. A host of policy makers will be joined by preeminent national experts including Bob Berenson, Lynn Blewett, Lawrence Brown, Jon Christianson, Roger Feldman, Sherry Glied, Scott Greer, Michael Gusmano, Lawrence Jacobs, Theodore Marmor, James Morone, Mark Peterson, Adam Oliver, Michael Scandrett, Michael Sparer, Deborah Stone, Kip Sullivan, Carolyn Tuohy, and Joe White. The conference is sponsored by the University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center and the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance in partnership with the Journal of Health Policy, Politics, and Law. For a detailed conference agenda, visit www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/cspg.

The deadline for registration is Tuesday, May 6, 2008. The fee for the conference is $89.00 ($29.00 for students with valid id) payable by credit card or check. Fee is inclusive of meals during the conference and all materials. For more information, contact Lea Chittenden at (612) 625-2530.

The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) will host a graduate admissions fair for prospective students from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, in the Humphrey Center atrium. Admissions officers from 20 of APSIA’s member schools—including the Humphrey Institute—will be available to answer questions about master’s and doctoral degree programs in international affairs. All are welcome. There is no charge to attend. The APSIA graduate fair is presented in partnership with the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs’ admissions office. For more information, contact the Humphrey Institute at hhhadmit@umn.edu or (612) 624-2909.

The following schools will be represented:

American University
Columbia University
Duke University
Georgetown University
George Washington University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Princeton University
Saint Petersburg State University
Syracuse University
Tufts University
UC-San Diego
University of Denver
University of Maryland
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Pittsburgh
University of Southern California
University of Washington
Yale University

What is civic agency? How do you tell stories about community-based activism? Senior Fellow Harry Boyte, co-director of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, will talk about "Civic Agency and the Reporter's Role" from 12:45 to 2 p.m. on Monday, April 28, in Freeman Commons (205 HHH). He will address why it is important that journalists write about civic agency. He also will talk about how civic activists can successfully share their stories as agents of change. All are welcome to attend.

Charles M. Denny, Jr., the 2007–08 Louis W. Hill, Jr., Fellow in Philanthropy, will conclude his one-year fellowship with a public presentation of his research on corporate philanthropy and citizenship. All are welcome to the Hill Symposium from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on April 29 in Cowles Auditorium. Please RSVP to hhhdeans@umn.edu.

Political scholar Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, will talk about his new book, The Spirit of Democracy, from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, in Cowles Auditorium. One of America’s preeminent experts on democracy, Diamond will give his analysis on future prospects for freedom around the world. A panel discussion among Diamond, Humphrey Institute Dean J. Brian Atwood, and University of Minnesota political scientists Lisa Hilbink and August Nimitz will follow. The program is co-sponsored by the Humphrey Institute and the University’s Department of Political Science’s Pro-Seminar in Comparative Politics. Registration is requested at (612) 625-5002.

The Freeman Center for International Economic Policy will sponsor a global policy workshop with visiting history professor Taner Akcam from 12:45 to 2 p.m. on April 22 in the Stassen Room (170 HHH). Akcam will talk about "Contemporary Politics of Turkey and the Armenians." All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

The Humphrey Institute will co-host a panel discussion on diplomacy and democracy building around the world at 6 p.m. on April 28 in Cowles Auditorium. The program - presented in partnership with the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, and the American Academy of Diplomacy - will reveal what it takes to promote and sustain democracy abroad. Ambassadors and on-the-ground personnel from such regions as the Middle East, Latin America, and Yemen will give first-person accounts of their work and its challenges. The program is free and presented in partnership with the Minnesota International Center. Registration is requested at (612) 625-5002.

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne will talk about his new book, Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right, from noon to 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, in the Humphrey Forum. All are welcome. The program is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.

The Center for Integrative Leadership (CIL) will hold its second annual research symposium, "Integrative Leadership: Crossing Boundaries for the Common Good," Sunday, October 5, through Tuesday, October 7, 2008. Invited speakers Mark Gerzon, Nan Keohane, and Bruce Avolio will join participants in exploring integrative leadership theory and practice. Research “incubator conversations” will flesh out research questions for which 10 $2,500 grants will be awarded. Contact Angela Stehr at stehr002@umn.edu or (612) 625-5209 with any questions.

All are invited to the next Dean’s International Forum from 9 to 10 a.m. on Friday, April 11, in Freeman Commons. Dean Brian Atwood will join Andrew Natsios in conversation about the future of American foreign assistance programs. Natsios and Dean Atwood previously served as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). They will talk about their time with USAID and comment on the future of such programs designed to reduce poverty. Refreshments will be provided.

Senior Fellow Tim Penny and futurist Joel Barker will headline the 2008 Center for Integrative Leadership conference, “Making Communities Work: Leadership across Public, Private, Nonprofit, and Geographic Boundaries,” April 21–22 in Cowles Auditorium. Presented in partnership with University of Minnesota Extension, the conference will provide community leaders, scholars, and community development professionals with an opportunity to examine how communities can come together to address some of the most pressing and complex societal problems: coping after a factory leaves town; tapping technology for economic growth; and putting a rural community on the map, for example. The conference also will provide a platform for analyzing how theories of leadership and community development inform the concept of integrative leadership. Registration for the two-day event is $80 per person. Find out more and register online at www.extension.umn.edu/MakingCommunitiesWork.

The Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center, in collaboration with the Association of Minnesota Counties, the League of Minnesota Cities, and the Minnesota School Boards Association, will host the second annual Local Government Innovation Awards from 2 to 5 p.m. on Monday, April 21, in Cowles Auditorium. The awards program recognizes outstanding cities, counties, and public schools that have used inventive practices to improve local services. The awards ceremony is free and open to the public, but registration is requested. To attend, please RSVP to pnlc@umn.edu.

The Sawyer Seminar series concludes with a lecture from Hany El-Banna at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, in Cowles Auditorium. El-Banna is the co-founder and president of Islamic Relief, the largest Western-based international Muslim relief and development NGO. Islamic Relief aims to provide rapid relief in the event of human and natural disasters and to establish local development projects to eradicate poverty, illiteracy and disease. El-Banna will talk about “The Global Role of Muslims in Humanitarian Aid.”

The Sawyer Seminar continues with a presentation by Andrew S. Natsios, the Distinguished Professor in Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, at 4 p.m. on April 10 in Cowles Auditorium. Natsios managed the U.S. Agency for International Development’s reconstruction programs in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sudan from 2001 to 2006. President George W. Bush also appointed him Special Coordinator for International Disaster Assistance and Special Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sudan. He will give a first-hand account of “The Crisis in Sudan and the Humanitarian Response.”

The Sawyer Seminar will feature a lecture by Mark Juergensmeyer, director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies and professor of sociology and religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, at 4 p.m. on April 9 in the Wilkins Room (215 HHH). Juergensmeyer is an expert on religious violence, conflict resolution, and South Asian religion and politics. His widely read book, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, is based on interviews with violent religious activists around the world—including individuals convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, leaders of Hamas, and abortion clinic bombers in the United States.

Water quality impacts everything—from our food and our health to the environment and the economy. The 2008 Freeman Lecture will focus on the implications and complexities of policy decisions we make about water resources from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, at the Humphrey Institute. Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, will deliver the morning keynote address from 9 to 11 a.m. Steve Morse, executive director of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, will follow Oberstar’s remarks with a luncheon address. The program will conclude with afternoon panel discussions about water policy issues in Minnesota, such as the Great Lakes Compact, regional water access, and the quality of water resources throughout the state. The Freeman Lecture is free and open to the public, with a nominal charge for lunch ($20 for the general public; no charge for high school and college students). Seating is limited, so pre-registration for the program and lunch is required. Please register online at www.freemanforum.org. Questions can be directed to (651) 645-9403.

The Freeman Center for International Economic Policy will sponsor a global policy workshop with visiting scholar Kaye Husbands Fealing from 12:45 to 2 p.m. on April 8 in the Stassen Room (170 HHH). Husbands Fealing will talk about "Technological Change and Regional Prosperity in a Globalized Economy." All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Awards will be held on Tuesday, June 3, at the McNamara Alumni Center. Ward B. Chamberlin, Jr., public broadcasting pioneer and co-founder of AFS Intercultural Programs, will receive the dean’s award. Chamberlin will be honored along side local leaders to be selected this spring through a nomination process. Individual tickets to the dinner and program are $125. Please contact Julie C. Lund at (612) 624-1190 or julie@umn.edu for more information.

The Perspectives on Public Affairs (PPA) discussion group will meet from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, in Freeman Commons (205 HHH). Visit the PPA website at www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/pnlc/Perspectives.html to download the article for discussion, "It's Not Just About the Money: Governmentality and Resistance in Post-Reform Welfare Offices" by Celeste Watkins. Professor Joe Soss will host the meeting. Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP to Jeremy Gordon at gord0215@umn.edu.

The Center for Democracy and Citizenship will co-sponsor “Represent! Civic Videos by Area Youth” with the Weisman Art Museum from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 29. Teen video artists and civic activists from Hope Community, Inc., in Minneapolis and various community-based programs in West Saint Paul will come together to share their concerns, questions, and vision for the future through conversation and film. Find out more online.

Security expert Bruce Schneier, author of Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World, will talk about the “Theater of Security” from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, at the Weisman Art Museum. In his book, Schneier explains how security works and attempts to bring the reader beyond fear to start thinking sensibly and creatively about security. The Humphrey Institute will co-sponsor this program as part of the Weisman’s new exhibition Paul Shambroom: Picturing Power.

Front Runners will hold its next monthly workshop for women interested in electoral politics from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, at the State Capitol. Participants will meet with women legislators and discuss the changing role of women in government. A capitol tour will conclude the workshop, but spots are limited. Please RSVP to Debra Fitzpatrick at harex004@umn.edu. For more information, visit the Center on Women and Public Policy website.

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr St�re will address the relationship between “Norway and the United States in the 21st Century” from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, in Cowles Auditorium. Since 1989, St�re has held a number of senior posts with the Norwegian government. Before taking up his current post, he was chief of staff at the World Health Organization. And from 2003 to 2005, he was secretary-general of the Norwegian Red Cross. He became Norway’s minister of foreign affairs in 2005. The visit from the minister is presented in partnership with the Royal Norwegian Consulate General, the Minnesota International Center, and the Humphrey Institute. Admission to the public forum is free, but advance registration is requested. Please register online at www.micglobe.org or call (612) 625-4421.

The public health crises around the world present complex challenges with no easy answers. Internationally renowned leadership expert Ronald Heifetz will lead a conversation about using adaptive leadership techniques to effectively tackle public health issues. All are invited to this free program from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, in Cowles Auditorium. Heifetz will be joined in conversation by Jan Malcolm, Courage Center CEO, and Humphrey Institute Senior Fellow Jay Kiedrowski, board member for UCare Minnesota. Patrick Marx, a leadership consultant and facilitator, will moderate the discussion. The program is co-sponsored by the Center for Integrative Leadership and the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.

The Freeman Center for International Economic Policy will sponsor a global policy workshop with Assistant Professor Jerry Zhao from 12:45 to 2 p.m. on March 25 in the Stassen Room (170 HHH). All are welcome to attend. Zhao holds a Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Georgia and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in urban planning from Tongji University, Shanghai (China). In his earlier career as an urban planer, he consulted for many local governments across China. His presentation will address China’s one-child policy. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

Once the 2008 presidential candidates are selected, greater attention will be paid to possible running mates. What should we look for in the next vice president? What political factors might influence the selection of a running mate in 2008? The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance and the preeminent journal on the presidency, Presidential Studies Quarterly, will sponsor a conference on the vice presidency featuring Vice President Walter F. Mondale from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Monday, March 24, in Cowles Auditorium. Leading experts from around the country will address these questions with Vice President Mondale and discuss the selection of the vice presidential nominees. The program is free and open to the public, but advance registration is requested at cspg@umn.edu.

The Humphrey Institute will host a panel discussion of the “Opportunities and Challenges of Nonprofit Advocacy” from noon to 2 p.m. on March 13 in the Humphrey Forum. Minnesota’s nonprofit organizations have a long history of advocacy and public policy development. The discussion will offer a broad national view of nonprofit organizations and a local analysis of the advocacy being done by nonprofits throughout Minnesota. The panelists include leading academic Jeff Berry, Tufts University; Marcia Avner, director of public policy for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits; and Susie Brown, public policy director at Family and Children’s Service.

Lunch will be served. Please RSVP to Karen McCauley at meyer094@umn.edu or (612) 624-2465. This event is co-sponsored by the Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center, the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, and the Cowles Endowment for the Study of Public Service.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are essential to American competition and to development and progress. With limited financial resources, how should our country balance impending social needs with the potential benefits of scientific research? And how should the United States evaluate potential research projects? Visiting economist Kaye Husbands Fealing will talk about “The Science of Science and Innovation Policy” from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, March 11, in Cowles Auditorium. She will present her work as a science adviser at the National Science Foundation. A panel of respondents will follow her remarks. The discussion is sponsored by the Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy.

The Freeman Center for International Economic Policy will sponsor a global policy workshop with Assistant Professor Greta Friedemann-Sanchez from 12:45 to 2 p.m. on March 11 in the Stassen Room (170 HHH). All are welcome to attend.

Her research on rural development in Latin America (Colombia) explores the links between agro-industrial employment in the context of structural adjustment programs and the individual and gendered experience of employment and socioeconomic development and change at the household level. Specifically, Friedemann-Sanchez looks at the role of property ownership, social capital, and domestic abuse in the intrahousehold bargaining process. She also studies family caregivers of U.S. service members who have sustained polytraumatic and blast related injuries, exploring the socioeconomic and health related costs and benefits of being a caregiver.

The Dean's International Forum will feature Edith Mussukuya-Kerre from 9 to 10 a.m. on Friday, February 29, in Freeman Commons (205 HHH). Mussukuya-Kerre was recently appointed to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). She previously served as the coordinator of a project in Sub-Saharan Africa that assessed environmental, socio-economic, health, and community-based impacts on transboundary waters. She will talk about the assessment and her work to develop policies in Sub-Saharan Africa to manage shared natural resources.

Mussukuya-Kerre has a distinguished career in international development consulting in four key areas: environment conservation, agricultural development, community agroforestry, and water resource development. She has managed her own consulting firm in Kenya since 1991.

All are welcome. Refreshments will be provided.

The Freeman Center for International Economic Policy will host the next global policy workshop from 12:45 to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 26, in the Stassen Room (170 HHH). University of Minnesota law professor Thomas F. Cotter will talk about “TRIP’s and Essential Medicines.” The TRIPs (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement requires adherence by all 151 member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO). But TRIPs has been controversial since its inception in 1995, in large part because of its obligation to extend patent protection to pharmaceuticals (or at least to do so over time). Cotter will present a short overview of patents and essential medicines in the context of TRIPs and give an update on recent developments. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.

The next meeting of the Perspectives on Public Affairs (PPA) conversation group will take place from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 28, in Freeman Commons (205 HHH). Please visit the PPA website to download the article that will be the basis for discussion, "The Rise of Nonstate Actors in Migration Regulation in the United States and Europe: Changing the Gatekeepers or Bringing Back the State?" Professor Kathy Fennelly will host the discussion. Light snacks will be provided. Please RSVP to Jeremy Gordon at gord0215@umn.edu.

The Humphrey Institute will host and co-sponsor a half-day program on “Defining the Economic Challenges of East Asia” from 8 to 11 a.m. on Friday, February 22. The program will explore the economic relationship between Japan and the United States, the pace and depth of East Asian economic integration, and China’s economic challenges. Registration is complimentary for faculty and students and $25 for the general public. To register, call (612) 627-9357 or e-mail jasm@us-japan.org no later than February 20.