*Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling (501) 683-5239.
“Looking Ahead to 2017: A Preview of the Upcoming Legislative Session”
Friday, January 6, 2017 at 12:00 noon (Sturgis Hall) *In partnership with Arkansas Public Media
– This past election cycle was one of the most interesting and closely followed in recent history. “Looking Ahead to 2017” will feature a panel discussion that will focus on important issues impacting citizens of Arkansas at the local, state, and federal level, including healthcare, energy production, the justice system, and education reform. With more citizens interested and engaged in the political process than ever, community discussions about Arkansas’s future have never been more important. The upcoming legislative session begins Monday, January 9. Panelists for the discussion will include Senator Bart Hester (R), Senator Joyce Elliott (D) and Dr. Jay Barth.
“The 2016 Election Aftermath and What Comes Next,” Gabriel Debenedetti, political reporter for POLITICO
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 12:00 noon (Sturgis Hall)
– Gabriel Debenedetti is a political reporter for POLITICO. Before joining the magazine in 2015, he spent three years covering national politics for Reuters in Washington and New York. A New Jersey native, Debenedetti graduated from Princeton University, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Princetonian.
“Building a Healthy Economy from the Bottom Up: Harnessing Real-World Experience for Transformative Change,” Anthony Flaccavento
Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. (Sturgis Hall) *In partnership with Heifer International *Book signing to follow
– Anthony Flaccavento has been farming for the past 23 years in the Appalachian region of Virginia, and working on sustainable economic development for more than three decades. His consulting firm, SCALE, works with communities around the nation and world to build healthier food systems and stronger, more diverse local economies, including work in Arkansas with Heifer International, the Root Cafe and a farmers cooperative. In his recent book, Building a Healthy Economy from the Bottom Up, he describes many examples of communities – including rural, small town and urban areas – that are building sustainable economies from the bottom up while also generating community capital, increasing civic dialogue, and fostering sustainability efforts.
“The Real Reason Behind the Refugee Crisis,” a panel discussion and photography exhibition
Friday, January 13, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall) *In partnership with the United States Holocaust Museum
– Since its outbreak in March, 2011, the conflict in Syria has cost the lives of more than 400,000 people, displaced more than 11 million, and involved numerous atrocities and crimes against humanity. What began as a democratic uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has transformed into a violent struggle between local, national, regional, and international forces. In August, 2013, a police photographer, code-named Caesar, smuggled 53,275 photographs out of Syria. The images have been touted by Western officials as clear evidence of war crimes. The pictures, most of them taken in Syrian military hospitals, show corpses photographed at close range, and virtually all of the bodies—thousands of them—show signs of torture. Join us for a panel discussion and photo exhibition featuring Stephen Rapp, former US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice; Jim Hooper, former managing director of the Public International Law and Policy Group; and Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force.
“Southern Fried: Going Whole Hog in a State of Wonder,” Rex Nelson
Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 12:00 Noon (Sturgis Hall) *Book signing to follow
– For decades, Rex Nelson has been traveling Arkansas. He learned to love the back roads, small towns, and people of the state while going on trips with his father, who sold athletic supplies to high schools. They sat in old Depression-era gyms built by the Works Progress Administration, ate in small-town cafes, and waded in streams on warm spring days. Throughout his career as a sportswriter, political writer, senior staff member in the governor’s office, presidential appointee to the Delta Regional Authority, and now corporate communications director for Simmons Bank, Nelson has written millions of words about Arkansas and its people. In this collection of columns from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Nelson brings to life the personalities, communities, festivals, and tourist attractions that make Arkansas unique.
“A Town Hall with Rock Region Metro”
Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. (Sturgis Hall) *In partnership with the Rock Region Metro
– The discussion will center on public transit and associated concepts. Rock Region Metro wants to hear from local citizens about what they want to see in our community, what concerns they have, and what actions they would like to see the agency undertake to help move their vision forward.
“Sister Act,” a panel discussion
Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 12:00 Noon (Sturgis Hall) *In partnership with the Arkansas Repertory Theatre
– After witnessing a violent crime committed by her mobster boyfriend, flamboyant lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier is placed deep undercover in the witness protection program. Posing as a young nun in a convent, she struggles to fit in with the Mother Superior’s strict rules and regulations. Sharing her love for music, she injects modern panache into the choir’s stodgy performances. This soon turns their struggling church on its head and teaches the sisters the meaning of soul, and in return, they teach her the meaning of community. Based on the 1992 movie of the same name, Sister Act will be showing at The Arkansas Repertory Theatre until February 26, 2017. We invite you to join the cast and crew for a panel discussion about this production and more.
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