Past Conferences and Events
Albert, Norma and Howard '77 Geller Endowed Lecture
This year's Albert, Norma and Howard '77 Geller Endowed Lecture, titled "From Earth Transformed to Sustainability Science", was in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of The Earth Transformed by Human Action Symposium. William C. Clark lectured, with discussions by B.L. Turner II and Robert W. Kates. The lecture took place on April 2nd at 4:00 pm in the University Center (Tilton Hall). This event was co-sponsored by the George Perkins Marsh Institute, the Graduate School of Geography and the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise.
Also associated with the event were two public panel discussions held earlier on the same day:
Panel 1 Discussion: 12:45 – 2:00 pm
Global Change and Adaptation (Lurie Conference Room)
Karen Frey, Ron Eastman, Colin Polsky (Moderator: Tony Bebbington)
Panel 2 Discussion: 2:15 – 3:30 pm
Social Transitions and Global Change (Lurie Conference Room)
Jennie Stephens, Timothy Downs, James Murphy (Moderator: Robert Johnston)
Please contact the Institute Director, Robert J. Johnston, for additional details.
Fields, Factories, and Workshops:
Green Economic Development on the Smaller-Metro Scale
Historian and journalist Catherine Tumber traveled to 25 cities in the Northeast and Midwest to research her book Small, Gritty, and Green: The Promise of America’s Smaller Industrial Cities in a Low-Carbon World (MIT Press, 2012). The lecture was held on Thursday, February 28 and she discussed strategies for developing a productive green economy in the era of climate change, and invited conversation about Worcester’s efforts to meet the challenge.
Tumber spent most of her life in Upstate New York, and now lives in Boston. She is currently a visiting scholar with Northeastern University’s School of Public Planning and Urban Affairs, and a fellow with MassINC’s Gateway Cities Innovation Institute.
Dr. Lee Gurel '48 Lecture
Annual Dr. Lee Gurel '48 Lecture "Measures of Effective Teaching" was held on Wednesday, January 30 at 4:00 p.m. University Center, Tilton Hall. Everyone wants their teacher, their child’s teacher, their nations’ teachers, to be first rate. Many people look back fondly on special teachers who changed their lives. But how do we tell who the great teachers are? Even more important, how can we produce more great teachers and more effective teaching? Dr. Thomas Kane of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, one of the nation’s leading researchers on Education, explored these topics in this year’s Dr. Lee Gurel’48 Lecture.
Read a recent policy brief from Dr. Kane's Measures of Effective Teaching project.
The 2012 Mosakowski Lecture
Ruy Teixeira, one of America's leading political demographers, delivered The 2012 Mosakowski Lecture on Wednesday, October 17 at 4:30 p.m. in Tilton Hall. The lecture was free and open to the public. Prof. Teixeira, the co-author of the classic book, The Emerging Democratic Majority, discussed long term trends in America's population, and their implications for politics and policy.
Power Point Presentation »
Watch Video »
Presidential Politics Past and Present
The Mosakowski Institute along with the Political Science Department hosted Michael Dukakis, Former Governor of Massachusetts and 1988 Democratic Pary Nominee for President on Monday, September 17. His lecture "Presidential Politics Past and Present" can be viewed below.
Political Economy of the World System Conference
Clark is hosted the 36th annual Political Economy of the World System conference, Labor, Democracy, and Global Capitalism, on April 20-22 with support from the Mosakowski Institute. Immanuel Wallerstein, founder of World-Systems Analysis, delivered the keynote address, "Labor versus Capital?" Comedian Jimmy Tingle performed at an event open to the community on Saturday, April 21. [See the agenda]
Family Impact Seminar: Youth at Risk
Clark University, through the Mosakowski Institute, is the Massachusetts affiliate of the national Family Impact Seminar program. On April 4, we presented our third annual seminar for legislators, "Youth at Risk," at the State House. Clark's Family Impact Seminars are directed by Research Assistant Professor Denise Hines of the Psychology Department.
Presentations included:
- How are Youth Doing? Trends in Youth Victimization and Well-Being and Implications for Youth Policy, by Lisa M. Jones, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor of Psychology, Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
- Global and Local Youth Unemployment: Dislocation and Pathways, by Ramon Borges-Mendez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, International Development, Community, and Environment Department, Clark University, Worcester, MA
- Online Predators – Myth versus Reality, by Janis Wolak, J.D., Senior Researcher, Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Attendees were asked to pre-register online or email the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise at mosakowskiinstitue@clarku.edu, or call Lisa Coakley at (508) 421-3872.
Please feel free to contact Denise Hines, Ph.D., Director of the Family Impact Seminar Series for any questions regarding the seminar itself at dhines@clarku.edu or 508-793-7458.
Read article in Worcester Magazine
2012 Albert, Norma and Howard '77 Geller Endowed Lecture
On March 27, Kevin Knobloch, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists, delivered the 2012 Albert, Norma and Howard '77 Geller Endowed Lecture. The title is Science and Democracy in Turmoil: The Fracturing of a Great American Relationship, and the lecture was jointly sponsored by the Marsh and Mosakowski Institutes.
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.
Legislature's Web notice of the hearing »
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 Seminar: The 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.
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, 2010With 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 »
October 19, 2009 Lee Miringoff '73, The Director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion (and Clark alum) is the driving force behind the highly regarded Marist Poll. Dr. Miringoff shared the latest research on American public opinion about President Obama, health care reform, and other current topics. Co-sponsored with the Government Department.
October 14, 2009 Richard Rothstein, The Economic Policy Institute Scholar, former New York Times Education columnist, and author of several books (including Class and Schools and Grading Education) was a panelist at the Mosakowski Institute's inaugural conference last November. He returned to Clark to deliver a lecture on standards and accountability in American public education. Co-sponsored with the Sociology Department. Watch Video »
Mar. 12-13, 2009
Conference: Liberal Education and Effective Practice »
Conference: University Research and the American Agenda »