AUSTIN, Texas — The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs is hosting the second annual Barbara Jordan Memorial Forum on Diversity in Public Policy on Feb. 21 in The University of Texas at Austin’s Bass Lecture Hall.
Founded in 1996 by the school’s Public Affairs Alliance for Communities of Color, the forum commemorates the late LBJ School of Public Affairs Professor Jordan’s commitment to the value of diversity in public policy. This year’s event will focus on the question that Jordan posed to the Democratic Convention in 1976, “Who will speak for the common good?”
All forum events are free and open to the public and are sponsored by the LBJ School of Public Affairs in cooperation with the UT Austin School of Law and Motorola.
Events include a tribute to Jordan’s commitment to diversity in public policy at 2 p.m., followed by a keynote address. The tribute will be delivered by former LBJ School of Public Affairs Professor Mary Beth Rogers, who now is the chief executive officer of KLRU, Austin’s PBS affiliate. Rogers is the author of a biography of Jordan that will be published by Doubleday/Bantam this fall.
“Minority Students and National Testing: Opening Doors or Building Walls?” is the topic of the panel discussion to be held at 3:30 p.m. in Bass Lecture Hall. Panelists include Melissa Chabran, U.S. Department of Education; Dr. Jack Christie, chairman of the Texas State Board of Education; Albert Kauffman, regional counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); Dr. Sharon O’Neal of the Texas Education Agency and Susan Sclafani, chief of staff with the Houston Independent School District.
In connection with the forum, the LBJ School of Public Affairs is hosting a “Careers in the Public Sector” fair for students at the Thompson Conference Center from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For additional information, contact Patricia Osorio-O’Dea of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at (512) 502-9058, or email at lpas234@uts.cc.utexas.edu.
