University of New England

UNE Diversity Lecture Series
Fall 2008

The UNE Diversity Lecture Series for 2008 is a series of events on both the University Campus and Westbrook College Campus around the theme "Privilege, Power & Politics." 

The series is coordinated and sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs in collaboration with an advisory committee and co-sponsored with several academic departments, student affairs and student campus clubs, the Maine Women Writers Collection, ULead program and other UNE faculty and student groups.

Upcoming

December

Tuesday, December 9
Multicultural Holiday Concert and Candle Lighting
5:30 p.m. Ludcke Auditorium
Westbrook College Campus, Portland
Learn about different religious and cultural celebrations including Eid-al-Adha, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Diwali, and the Winter Solstice and how candles and light play an important role in many of these traditions.  Enjoy special foods and dessert buffet and listen to a musical performance by Mark Rust featuring songs and instruments from various cultural traditions on an array of instruments including fiddle, guitar, hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer and banjo.

Past Programs

September

Jennifer Yanco is a research fellow at the African Studies Center at Boston University. Her current work developing anti-racism curricula for schools stems from the conviction that, of all the determinants of health, racism continues to have the most devastating, widespread, and long-term effects, making it the most serious public health issue facing us. Ms. Yanco is also the founder of the “White People Challenging Racism” classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and serves widely as an anti-racist activist and diversity consultant. 

Monday, September 8
“Understanding White Privilege”
ULead Program
8:00 p.m. Multipurpose Rooms, Campus Center
University Campus, Biddeford

Tuesday, September 9
 “Social and Political Determinants of Health: The Costs of Racism” 
CHP Interdisciplinary Seminar
12:00 p.m. Ludcke Auditorium
Westbrook College Campus, Portland

October

Angel Martinez Loredo is the founder of Embracing Diversity, a Bangor-based diversity consulting group committed to educating audiences to appreciate difference.  Mr. Loredo is an accomplished multicultural affairs expert, trainer, educator, and political analyst. He serves as Associate Dean of Students at the University of Maine.  He is also considered by the Spanish speaking media to be the foremost political analyst.

Tuesday, October 14
 “Latino Folklore & Medicine Today”
CHP Interdisciplinary Seminar
12:00 p.m. Ludcke Auditorium
Westbrook College Campus, Portland

“Multicultural Leadership Workshop”
ULead Program
6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Multipurpose Rooms, Campus Center
University Campus, Biddeford

UNE Coming Out Week – October 19-24

Tuesday, October 21
“Election 2008:  The Politics of Same-Sex Couples and Marriage”
Presenter: Darlene Huntress, Public Policy Director at Equality Maine
12:00 p.m. Multipurpose Rooms, Campus Center
University Campus, Biddeford

Wednesday, October 22
 “Marriage and Family Health in the Gay Community” Panel Discussion
Presenters:  Rita Kissen, USM Education & Women’s Studies faculty, author and co-founder of Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in Southern Maine; Betsy Smith, Executive Director of Equality Maine.
CHP Interdisciplinary Seminar
12:00 p.m. CHP Lecture Hall
Westbrook College Campus, Portland

November

State Representative Donna Loring will speak on her newest book In the Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative in Maine (Tilbury House Publishers April, 2008).  Ms. Loring is a tribal member of the Penobscot Indian Nation and holds the position of the Nation’s Representative to the Maine State Legislature. She has been involved in issues such as the drive to change offensive names, the teaching of Native American history in Maine schools, casinos and racinos, and the interpretation of sovereign rights for tribes.  She is an author, lecturer and consultant.

Wednesday, November 5
“Educational Apartheid in Maine”
12:00 p.m. St. Francis Room
University Campus, Biddeford
 
 “In the Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative in Maine”
7:00 p.m. Maine Women Writers Collection, Abplanalp Library, First Floor
Westbrook College Campus, Portland

Sponsored by: the University's Office of Multicultural Affairs, Maine Women Writers Collection; Department of Political Science; Department of English and Language Studies; and Women's Studies program.

All programs are free and open to the UNE community and public.

The UNE Diversity Lecture Series is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs in collaboration with UNE students, faculty, and staff. FMI contact the Director of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs at (207) 602-2461 or dgaspar@une.edu