Six Leadership and Social Change Series Events Slated for Academic Year

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Winthrop University begins its Leadership and Social Change Series this week to help create a national model for students to learn how to effect change on the local, state, national and international levels.

The series will consist of six Tuesday common time events between September and March, three each semester, with a concluding keynote speaker in April as the seventh and final event.

The series resulted from events in the fall of 2017 when Winthrop students held activities on campus and in the community concerning race relations, said Jennifer Disney, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science. "There were several faculty who supported the students in their endeavors, including reminding them at public forums and campus conversations that there are many faculty experts on campus they can consult who have studied protest movements and political change who could be a resource for future organizing," Disney said.

Winthrop President Dan Mahony suggested Disney head a Leadership and Social Change Cultural Event Series. Students could learn to be proactive, utilizing the expertise on campus and building on the university's strategic initiatives on civic engagement and diversity.

"The overall purpose of the series is to help our students think strategically and intentionally about how they can use civility and respect to engage in critical conversations and compromise in an attempt to achieve positive change in our world," Disney said. "This series fulfills the requirements for a cultural event because the events are effectively workshops led by faculty and staff experts designed to spark conversations around potentially uncomfortable yet inspirational topics."

The series covers civil rights movement, police-community relations, diversity and global social movements. The final event in April is the Leadership and Social Change Series Closing Keynote Address that will be given by Cynthia Enloe, research professor in the Department of International Development, Community, and Environment at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and author of 14 books. She will offer a concluding keynote address utilizing her global expertise in political science and women's and gender studies.

Here are the events:

*Tuesday, Sept. 19
Electoral Politics and Civic Engagement: Constitution Day Recognition
Karen Kedrowski, Katarina Moyon and John Holder
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Richardson Ballroom

*Tuesday, Oct. 24
Organizing for Social Change: Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement
Adolphus Belk Jr., Nathaniel Frederick and Kinyata Adams-Brown
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Dina's Place

* Tuesday, Nov. 7
Organizing for Social Change: Intersectionality and Diversity
Jennifer Leigh Disney, Sherell Fuller and Jeannie Haubert
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Dina's Place

*Tuesday, Jan. 23
Art and Journalism: Communicating Social Justice
Karen Derksen, Guy Reel and Karen Stock
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Dina's Place
 
* Tuesday, Feb. 27
Police-Community Relations
Adolphus Belk Jr., Ken Scoggins and Brad Tripp
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Dina's Place

* Tuesday, March 27
Social Protest in Comparative Perspective: Lessons from Around the Globe
Jennifer Leigh Disney, Maria Aysa-Lastra and Ginger Williams
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Dina's Place

* Monday, April 16
Concluding Keynote Speaker: Cynthia Enloe, research professor in the Department of International Development, Community, and the Environment at
Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts
7 p.m., Dina's Place

The series is sponsored by the Office of The President, the Women's and Gender Studies Program, and the Departments of Political Science and Sociology, Criminology, and Anthropology.

For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media service manager, at 803/323-2404 or at longshawj@winthrop.edu.