Above: University Research and the American Agenda Conference, Nov. 13-14, 2008

Past

April 11, 2011 The Massachusetts Legislature’s Special Joint Committee on Redistricting held its Worcester-area public hearing at Clark University. The hearing was an opportunity for members of the public to make suggestions to legislators about how they should redraw Massachusetts’ congressional and state legislative districts in light of the results of the 2010 census. Massachusetts will lose one of its 10 seats in Congress as a result of its population growing at a lower rate than the national average over the past decade. Click here for the legislature’s Web notice of the hearing.     Read more...Public Hearing  Watch Video

April 5, 2011 Growing a Sustainable Future: Reasons for Urgency and Hope" Albert, Norma and Howard '77 Geller Endowed Lecture Series - Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator and Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere

As an advocate for science, Jane Lubchenco is well known in international and national arenas. She is a former president of the International Council for Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Ecological Society of America. She was a presidential-appointee for two terms on the National Science Board, which advises the president and Congress and oversees the National Science Foundation. Lubchenco is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Royal Society, and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World. She served on the Pew Oceans Commission and the Joint Oceans Commission Initiative. Lubchenco has received numerous awards including a MacArthur ("Genius") Fellowship, nine honorary degrees, the 2002 Heinz Award in the Environment, the 2003 Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest, the 2004 Environmental Law Institute Award and the 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science's Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology.

Sponsored by: George Perkins Marsh Institute and Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

2011 Family Impact SeminarThe Mosakowski Institute presented its annual Family Impact Seminar for state legislators at the State House in Boston March 2011. "Men at Risk: The Physical, Mental, and Social Health of Men in Massachusetts" included presentations by Clark Psychology Professor Michael Addis and two colleagues from other institutions. Click here to view the full report. Listen here for WBUR interview with Professors Addis and Mahalik

March 28, 2011 "Gerrymandering" Come see the new documentary film that asks, "Are voters choosing their representatives? Or are politicians choosing their voters?" Higgins University Center, Grace Conference Room. 7:00 P.M. A discussion followed the screening of the film. 

December 1, 2010 "How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education" NO ISSUE IN AMERICA IS MORE IMPORTANT, AND FEW MORE CONTENTIOUS, THAN THE QUALITY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION. Diane Ravitch, an eminent educational historian and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, offered her unique perspective on where the movement to reform American education has gone wrong, and shared her ideas for how to improve our schools and the life prospects of our children.

October 28, 2010 "Public Knowledge, Public Policy:  How can community information make a difference?" "Knowledge is Power," said Sir Francis Bacon. University research produces knowledge every day, but its power often fails to materialize. Worcester’s neighbor to the south, Providence, has been harnessing the power of knowledge for the betterment of the city and its residents for nearly two decades. Pat McGuigan, Executive Director described the work of the Providence Plan, an innovative public-private partnership that uses data, GIS mapping, and community dialogue to help shape Providence’s future. Watch Video

October 24, 2010 Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) Annual Conference

The Conference featured a variety of panels and workshops on topical issues relevant to current and future climate activists. MCAN conference goers ran the gamut from local officials to climate activists to average citizens of Massachusetts concerned about the threat of global warming. The conference, which attracted over 200 people this year, was held for the ninth time and for the first time out of the metro-Boston area. Sponsored by the George Perkins Marsh Institute and the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise at Clark University. For more information, e-mail rjohnston@clarku.edu or call 508-751-4619

September 24, 2010 In celebration of David P. Angel’s Inauguration as Clark’s Ninth President, The Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise presented a panel on "The Great Recession and Its Impact on Families" to alumni, faculty, students and staff at Clark’s Traina Center for the Arts. Watch a video of the symposium session

September 9, 2010  With a significantly increased minority population, effective minority responsiveness and representation throughout the public sector in medium-sized cities such as Worcester, MA is central to the city’s overall success. Based in part on results of a thirty-question survey purposively distributed to African-American residents of Worcester, the community roundtable provided a forum for area leaders to discuss the significance of the data collected and to strategize for next steps. Clark Professor Ravi K. Perry discussed how the survey results and related data detail African-American Worcester residents’ opinions on city government efforts to present their interests, how African-American Worcester residents’ views on city public services and quality of life differ from whites’ views on similar questions in other surveys, and explained why most respondents identified a lack of leadership in the black community and expressed dissatisfaction with a number of political representation issues. Dr. Perry was joined by various community leaders, Clark faculty, and students and held a Q&A session after his presentation. Watch slide video

March 3, 2010 Individuals with Disabilities: The Next Civil Rights Movement, The last half century has witnessed a succession of social movements in the United States aimed at securing equal rights for African-Americans, women, and gays and lesbians. Individuals with disabilities, argues Steven Rothstein, must be the next to claim full equality under law and in society. Rothstein, the President of the Perkins School for the Blind, one of the world’s leading institutions for educating the blind and deaf-blind,traced the progress that has been made in the twenty years since the enactment of the Americans With Disabilities Act and set out an agenda for future action.  Co-sponsored with Difficult Dialogues. Watch Video