Advocacy, Activism and Civil Responsibility to Be Debated

What civic responsibilities do colleges have? Should professors advocate for certain points of view? Should they encourage political activism? Are college professors and administrators responsible for maintaining objectivity and "balance" inside and outside the classroom? Stanley Fish, dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will debate Elizabeth Minnich, senior fellow with the Association of American Colleges & Universities' Office of Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiatives at Hamilton on Saturday, April 9 at 10:30 a.m. in the Chapel. Hamilton history professors Maurice Isserman and Douglas Ambrose will provide commentary.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of the College's "Hamilton Today," a weekend-long series of programs designed to give alumni and supporters an in-depth view of the College.

Stanley Fish

Fish, who taught at the University of Illinois as well as Duke, Columbia, John Hopkins, UCLA, University of Maryland and University of California, Berkeley, writes a monthly column on campus politics and academic careers. In recent years, Fish has appeared on MacNeil/Lehrer, "The McLaughlin Show," "Firing Line," CNN, "Hardball with Chris Matthews," CSPAN, and has been profiled by The New York Times Magazine, Chicago Tribune Magazine, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Elizabeth Minnich

Minnich is the author of Transforming Knowledge, a book that received the Association of American Colleges and Universities' Frederick W. Ness Award for "best book in liberal learning" of its year. An extensively revised second edition was published in November, 2004. As an academic administrator, Minnich has been a dean and/or director at The New School (now Lang) College, Sarah Lawrence College, Hollins College and Barnard College. She has also been a dean at the Union Institute & University's Graduate College for Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.

Other free public lectures during Hamilton Today weekend include:

• "The Founding of America," an analysis of social and political philosophies during the Founding Era, will be presented by Hamilton professors Douglas Ambrose and Robert Martin on Saturday, April 9, at 9 a.m. in the Red Pit (#109) in the Kirner-Johnson Building.
• "Globalization and Public Policy" will be presented by Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz on Friday, April 8 at 8 p.m. in the Hamilton Chapel.
• "Social Security Reform: Implications for U.S. Economy, Policy and Poverty," will address the pros and cons of proposed changes, economic analysis of causes and consequences of reform and the role of Social Security in preventing poverty among the elderly via a panel discussion. It will feature Hamilton professors Vivyan Adair, Ann Owen and Gary Wyckoff. The event will be held on Saturday, April 9 at 2 p.m. in the Red Pit (#109) in the Kirner-Johnson Building.

The Levitt Center Speaker Series brings the experiences of policy analysts, policy makers and policy administrators to campus.  "The U.S. Budget:  Power, Politics and Priorities" is the 2004-2005 Speaker Series theme.