September 20, 2017
SVSU to host Visiting Scholars and Artists Series
SVSU to host Visiting Scholars and Artists SeriesSaginaw Valley State University will host several engaging guest speakers for the annual Visiting Scholars and Artists series. The series will bring guest lecturers to SVSU to speak on topics including neuroscience, political bipartisanship, and methods for motivating uninspired students. The speakers include a United States congressmen, an expert in immigration, and a philosophy professor exploring the science of free will. All events are free of charge and open to the public.
Hispanic Heritage Month speaker: "Cuba and its Exile: Political Generations"
Silvia Pedraza
Thursday, Sept. 21
4 p.m.
Founders Hall
Silvia Pedraza is a professor of sociology and American culture at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include the sociology of immigration, race, and ethnicity in America, as well as the sociology of Cuba's revolution and exodus. Her work includes "Political Disaffection in Cuba's Revolution and Exodus," published by the Cambridge University Press in 2007.
Rush Lecturer: "Community Engagement through Student-Centered Geospatial Research"
Andrew J. Miller
Thursday, Sept. 28
4 p.m.
Founders Hall
With the help of his colleagues and several key internal and external partnerships, Miller has made geospatial techniques an integral part of the geography curriculum and community outreach at the university. Most notably, Miller and his students have undertaken community-engaged research projects supporting the Saginaw Crime Prevention Council, the City of Saginaw, and most recently, Mid-Michigan Health in Midland.
Dow Visiting Scholar/Beutler Forum: "Free Will and Neuroscience"
Alfred Mele
Thursday, Oct. 5
7 p.m.
Ott Auditorium
Mele is the William H. and Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University. He is the author of 11 books and over 200 articles. He is past director of the Big Question in Free Will project and current director of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control project, which provides incentives and opportunities for collaborative philosophical and scientific research on self-control.
O'Neill Lecture: "Promoting Civil Discourse and Fostering Bipartisanship in Today's Politics"
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee
Thursday, Oct. 19
7 p.m.
Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts
Born and raised in Flint, Kildee was elected to represent Michigan's 5th congressional district beginning in 2013. Kildee was instrumental in working to free Amir Hekmati —a U.S. Marine and Flint native — who was detained as a political prisoner for four years in Iran. The congressman also was at the forefront of supporting families affected by the Flint water crisis.
Barstow Lecture: "The Invention and Legacy of the Amboyna Massacre"
Alison Games
Monday, Oct. 30
4:30 p.m.
Founders Hall
Games is the Dorothy M. Brown Distinguished Professor of History at Georgetown University. Games teaches courses on a variety of topics including early America, the Atlantic world and European expansion, and global interaction. She has authored three books. She has also participated in fellowships with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Huntington Library, and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study.
Dow Visiting Scholar: "The Motivation Breakthrough: Turning on the Tuned-Out Child"
Richard Lavoie
Saturday, Nov. 4
9 a.m.
Ott Auditorium
Lavoie has served as a visiting lecturer at numerous universities and presented his message to over 500,000 parents and professionals throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Lavoie has delivered keynote addresses for all three of the major special needs advocacy associations in the United States including the Learning Disabilities Association, Council for Exceptional Children, and Children with Attention Deficit Disorder.
Dow Visiting Scholar: "Literacy: The Full Story"
Anne Ruggles Gere
Wednesday, Nov. 8
7 p.m.
Gilbertson Hall, Room 202
Chair of the joint Ph.D. program in English and Education, and director of the Sweetland Center for Writing at the University of Michigan, Gere regularly teaches courses on writing assessment, composition studies and literacy. Among her current projects, Gere is completing a longitudinal study of 160 student writers across their undergraduate degree. Gere has published a dozen books and over 100 articles.