Royal Purple

Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Haley Smith Nobel Prize winner Jodi Williams was one of the distinguished speakers who visited campus earlier this year

Spring 2004 brought a gift to the UW-Whitewater campus in the form of an endless amount of established and dynamic speakers: the College of Letters and Sciences' Contemporary Issues Lecture Series.

For the previous nine semesters, the college has brought in a handful of speakers, including Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel Peace Prize winners and best-selling authors. These events have become popular as teaching tools for instructors and, subsequently, as extra credit opportunities for students.

"One thing that we try to do is bring in speakers that faculty members can tie into their classes," Associate Professor Susan Johnson said. "So, when we are thinking about topics to feature we are also thinking about which classes the topics match up with."

Some past topics include the war in Iraq, health care, social and political activism, domestic violence and changes in American community; and that's just this past year.

The lecture series hit the ground running since it's inception in 2004, and the college should be commended bringing such a popular series of lectures to this campus because bringing big names the likes of Seymour Hersh and Howard Zinn requires a bit of work.

"Each speaker is selected a bit differently," Johnson said. "Sometimes there is a particular topic that we would like to see addressed and then try to find a speaker with some prominence in that area."

Johnson said the people involved with the selection recognized global health as a major issue for students so they decided to bring in a speaker with prominence in such a field: Laurie Garrett, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, to speak last fall.

Some speakers even suggest others to come to this campus.

Johnson said Anthony Shadid, the first speaker during the fall 2007 semester, was recommended to them by National Public Radio's Anne Garrels.

Garrels spoke on campus in 2006 and when asked by Johnson and others if she was going to write a follow-up to her book "Naked in Baghdad" she said that she wasn't sure but suggested Shadid's book. Those involved read the book, liked it and Shadid was speaking on campus months later.

Some universities aren't blessed with opportunities like the ones seen at UW-Whitewater, and that's too bad. The benefits of having these speakers on campus for just a few days are immeasurable.

The lectures are free and are attended by students, faculty and members of the Whitewater and surrounding communities.

They've gained recognition by newspapers in Madison and people in other communities, and as their popularity grows so will prominence of the speakers.

Although it may seem like a simple event, these lectures are one of the biggest assets to this university. They are free teaching tools for teachers and a chance to invigorate their students. For students, they're a free learning tool and often times a chance to gain extra credit.

Applause to the College of Letters and Sciences for all the work involved with these lectures; may they appear before students and others on this campus for years to come.

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