Elon University and the (Burlington, N.C.) Times-News will hold a panel discussion on Improving Race Relations in America on Jan. 19 from 7-8:15 p.m. in McKinnon Hall of the Moseley Center.
Business, economics and race will be the theme for the third iteration of the “Community Connections” campus programs taking place during the 2015-16 academic year. Community Connections in a partnership between Elon University and the Times-News of Burlington, N.C.
“Many members of the Alamance County and Elon University communities have expressed a desire for a civil, authentic conversation about the ways to understand and improve race relations in the United States,” said Assistant Professor Jason Husser, Faculty Fellow for Civic Engagement and moderator of the series. “Our first forum in September was a successful introduction. This upcoming event will dive deeper into a critical component of race relations in the United States – the role of economics and business opportunity.”
Madison Taylor, editor of the Times-News, wrote in a recent column: “Last month we decided our first forum topic would be Race Relations. But after a few minutes of discussion on Monday, we quickly determined that a single one-hour forum would hardly be enough to cover such a complex subject and quickly decided to make Race Relations the theme for all of our forums this coming school year. This offers a great opportunity for a running discussion about what is arguably the most important issue in America today.”
The discussion takes place from 7-8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, in McKinnon Hall inside the university’s Moseley Center. The event is free and open to the public.
The panelists will provide broad perspectives about business, economics and race while encouraging a conversation with the audience.
Panelists:
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Blanca Nienhaus
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John A. Peterson, Jr.
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Steve Bednar
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Shelby Scales
Husser will open the evening and facilitate the conversation beginning at 7 p.m. After opening remarks, the audience willl hear from the four invited panelists.
During the program, audience members will be encouraged to ask into a microphone or write any questions they would like to have addressed to continue the conversation.
By 8:15 p.m. the moderator will close the conversation and invite all participants and audience members to continue sharing their views informally at a reception following the event.
Community Connections forums take on a lively format. They consist in large part of a well-informed panel having an open conversation with audience members.
The goal of Community Connections forums is to create thoughtful dialog with members of the university community as well as those who in live in Alamance County and the surrounding area. Previous forums have explored issues surrounding on race relations, domestic violence, hunger, downtown revitalization, health care, gun violence and education.
Please email Jason Husser if you have any questions.