March 5 | Women and Politics Reading Group
5 p.m., Freeman Commons (205 HHH)

The Center on Women and Public Policy will host the Women and Politics Reading Group at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, in Freeman Commons (205 HHH). This month’s selection is Saturday’s Child: A Memoir by Robin Morgan, a former child actor who became a prize-winning author and a national leader in the women’s movement. In Saturday’s Child, she writes about her personal and professional life and her decades-long fight for civil rights.

March 6 | Women’s Human Rights Film Series
12:45 p.m., Humphrey Forum (please note the change in date and time)

The Women’s Human Rights Film Series will feature a free screening of View from a Grain of Sand at 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, in the Humphrey Forum. The movie captures the last 30 years of Afghanistan’s history as lived by three Afghan women. The event is sponsored by the Center on Women and Public Policy.

March 11 | “The Science of Science and Innovation Policy”
10:30 a.m. –noon, Cowles Auditorium

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.

March 13 | “The Opportunities and Challenges of Nonprofit Advocacy”
Noon–2 p.m., Humphrey Forum

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 by March 7 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.

Continue reading this entry

February 12, 6 p.m.: Political observer Ted Van Dyk, author of Heroes, Hacks, and Fools: Memoirs from the Political Inside (University of Washington Press 2007), will discuss his book at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 12, in the Humphrey Forum. He will talk about his long career as a presidential candidate adviser and offer his take on the 2008 presidential race. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Books will be available for purchase.

February 13, 12:45 p.m.: Merritt Clapp-Smith, a planner with the St. Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development, will talk about redevelopment plans for the Ford Plant site from 12:45 to 2 p.m. in Room 184 of the Humphrey Center.

Continue reading this entry

January 9, 6 p.m.: The Center on Women and Public Policy will host the next Front Runners workshop at 6 p.m. on January 9 in Freeman Commons (205 HHH). Front Runners is a once-a-month series of networking, strategizing, skill building, and peer support workshops for women interested in changing the world through electoral politics. The January workshop will teach participants how to advance their goals through Minnesota’s precinct caucus system. There is no charge to attend, and all are welcome.

January 18, 2 p.m.: Join the Center on Women and Public Policy for a lecture and book signing with feminist writer Jessica Valenti, editor of Feministing.com, at 2 p.m. on January 18 in Freeman Commons (205 HHH). Valenti will talk about feminist blogging and sign copies of her book Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters.

January 22, Noon: The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance invites you to a discussion about “The State of Minnesota’s Republican Party and Conservative Movement” from noon to 1:30 p.m. on January 22 in Cowles Auditorium. The panelists include Steve Sviggum, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry commissioner; Bill Cooper, former chair of the Minnesota Republican Party; Representative Mary Liz Holberg; and Jeff Blodgett, executive director of Wellstone Action.

January 23, 5 p.m.: The Women and Politics Reading Group will discuss The Education of Jane Addams by Victoria Bissell Brown at 5 p.m. on January 23 in Freeman Commons (205 HHH).

January 30, 12:45 p.m.: Hennepin County commissioner and Humphrey Institute alumnus Peter McLaughlin will talk about the work being done in the aftermath of the I-35W bridge collapse. The discussion will be held from 12:45 to 2 p.m. on January 30 in the Humphrey Forum. This program is co-sponsored by the alumni services office and the State and Local Policy Program.

January 30, 5:30 p.m.: The Women’s Human Rights Film Series will continue at 5:30 p.m. in the Humphrey Forum with a free screening of Killer’s Paradise, a documentary on the brutal killing of women in Guatemala.

Save the date!

February 13: Merritt Clapp-Smith, a planner with the St. Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development, will talk about redevelopment plans for the Ford Plant site from 12:45 to 2 p.m. in the Wilkins Room (215 HHH).

February 13: The Center on Women and Public Policy will host a Front Runners workshop at 6 p.m. in Freeman Commons (205 HHH).

February 27: The Women’s Human Rights Film Series will feature Crimes of Honour at 5:30 p.m. on February 27 in the Humphrey Forum. Filmed in Jordan and on the West Bank, Crimes of Honour examines the practice of femicide, or honor killings, found throughout the Islamic world. There is no charge to attend.

February 28: The Sawyer Seminar will feature a lecture about human rights and humanitarianism by Harvard law professor David Kennedy at 4 p.m. on February 28 in Cowles Auditorium.