Tag Archives: Clinton School of Public Service

Today at noon at the Clinton School: Brandon R. Brown looks at the stories and lessons INSIDE APOLLO

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Image result for brandon r. brownToday (October 17) at noon, the Clinton School presents a look inside the Apollo missions.

In celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo, the nation’s attention returned to the minute-to-minute missions, the brave astronauts, and the political machinery that launched the program.

We can also pause to ask: How exactly did the engineers solve so many daunting problems from scratch – from unstable engines and extreme temperatures to the many unknowns of regions beyond Earth’s orbit? This presentation will crawl into Apollo’s chariot, revisiting some fascinating and lesser known engineering stories, informed at every step by interviews with the Apollo-era engineers. Importantly, what did we learn and what are we still learning from America’s first moon missions?

Brandon R. Brown is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of San Francisco, where he has also served as department chair, associate dean for sciences, and director of external affairs. His research work has spanned high-temperature superconductivity and sensory biophysics. His writing for non-physicists includes two books, “Planck” (2015) and “The Apollo Chronicles” (2019), as well as columns and articles in Scientific American, Smithsonian, Slate and other outlets. He completed a bachelor’s degree in physics at Rice University, a Ph.D. in condensed matter physics at Oregon State University, and post-doctoral training in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

All Clinton School Speaker Series events are free and open to the public. Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or by calling (501) 683-5239.

Tonight, the Clinton School presents Dr. Ibram X. Kendi discussing his book HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST, in partnership with Philander Smith College and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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Image result for how to be an antiracistIn partnership with Philander Smith College and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Clinton Schoool of Public Service presents Ibram X. Kendi discussing his book How to be an Antiracist tonight (October 7) at 6pm.

The event will take place at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. A booksigning will follow.

Ibram X. Kendi is one of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist voices. He is a New York Times-bestselling author and the Founding Director of The Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University in Washington, D.C. A professor of history and international relations, Kendi is an ideas columnist at The Atlantic. He is the author of “The Black Campus Movement,” which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize, and “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction.

His recently released book, “How to be an Antiracist,” weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.

Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.

This event is in partnership with JusticeCon 2019 and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. JusticeCon is organized by the Social Justice Institute at Philander Smith College, which brings together students, activists, thought-leaders, knowledge-seekers and renowned speakers to share ideas and inspire one another in the pursuit of social justice. Limited seating is available.

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This evening at the Clinton School – Theo Witsell discusses his Bicentenary interpretation of Thomas Nuttall’s exploration of the Arkansas Territory

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Image result for theo witsellThe year 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of the great botanist and naturalist Thomas Nuttall’s year-long journey of discovery through the Arkansas Territory, present day Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Tonight at 6pm, as part of the Clinton School Speaker Series, Theo Witsell will discuss Nuttall’s trek and the implications it has for today.

Nuttall would be the first trained naturalist to record observations and collect specimens in most of the territory. His first-hand account of this trip, later published as “A Journal of Travels into the Arkansas Territory in the Year 1819,” provides some of the earliest reliable information on the natural history of the region. These observations and his surviving botanical specimens are central to our understanding of what the region was like before it was forever altered by the ravages of human progress.

To commemorate the bicentennial of Nuttall’s trip, Theo Witsell, Ecologist and Chief of Research for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the Curator of the ANHC Herbarium, worked for the past several years on a “200 years later” reinterpretation of all the natural history observations he made in Arkansas Territory.

This included retracing his route using both historical and modern geospatial datasets, updating the nomenclature and taxonomy of all the plants and animals he mentions, and weaving his own observations gained over the past 24 years conducting field work for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. The aim is to provide a fairly detailed interpretation of Nuttall’s natural history observations, and discuss changes in the landscape since his trip, specifically as they relate to ecological and biological diversity.

All Clinton School Speaker Series events are free and open to the public. Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or by calling (501) 683-5239.