Experts from across multiple disciplines at The University of Texas at Austin are available to speak with the media on topics related to the the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library April 8-10. (The list below is also available as a pdf.) Media seeking information on covering the summit should visit the press page of the summit website.
| African American Political Movements | |
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Eric McDaniel Associate Professor of Government 512-296-3486 (mobile), 512-232-7268 (office), emcdaniel@austin.utexas.edu McDaniel specializes in American politics, including religion and politics, black politics and organizational behavior. His work targets how and why black religious institutions choose to become involved in political matters. In addition, he researches the role of religious institutions in shaping and mobilizing black political behavior. |
| Civil Rights | |
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Robert Hutchings Dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs Contact: Susan Binford, 512-415-4820, susan.binford@austin.utexas.edu Dean Robert Hutchings is available to speak about the overall purpose and goals of the Civil Rights Summit hosted by the LBJ Presidential Library as well as the history of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He can speak about the effectiveness of President Lyndon Johnson as a president and his enduring legacy of legislative achievements. |
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Ranjana Natarajan Director of the Civil Rights Clinic and Clinical Professor of Law 512-232-7222, rnatarajan@law.utexas.edu Clinical Professor Ranjana Natarajan directs The University of Texas School of Law’s Civil Rights Clinic, an experiential education initiative that involves faculty-supervised law students in representing low-income clients in a range of contemporary civil rights matters. From 2003 to 2008, Natarajan worked as an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, where she litigated and advocated on a variety of civil rights and civil liberties issues, including immigration detention, civil rights post 9/11, gender equity and prisoners’ rights. From 2009 to 2013, she directed the UT Law National Security Clinic and can speak about civil rights as it relates to national security, surveillance and technology. Currently she’s working on civil rights cases involving border security and prisoners’ rights in Texas. |
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Shirley Franklin Barbara Jordan Visiting Professor of Ethics and Political Values Contact: Susan Binford, 512-415-4820, susan.binford@austin.utexas.edu, @ATLShirley Franklin served as mayor of Atlanta from 2002 to 2010. She was the first African American woman elected mayor of any major Southern city. Franklin is available to speak about the history of the civil rights movement and current civil rights issues. |
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Ed Dorn Professor of Public Affairs 512-232-4007, eddorn@mail.utexas.edu Dorn has written extensively on civil rights issues in academic articles, books and op-eds. He is available to talk about the history of civil rights and the remaining obstacles in our society to true equity and equality. |
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Robert Wilson Mike Hogg Professor in Urban Policy 512-471-8947, rwilson@mail.utexas.edu Wilson’s current research includes the study of the legacies of President Lyndon Johnson’s domestic policy agenda. |
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John Sibley Butler Director of the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center, Professor of Management Contact: Samantha Harris, 512-471-6746, samantha.harris@mccombs.utexas.edu, @JohnSibButler His books include “Entrepreneurship and Self-Help Among Black America: A Reconsideration of Race and Economics,” “All That We Can Be: Black Leadership and Racial Integration the Army Way,” “Immigrant and Minority Entrepreneurship: The Continuous Rebirth of American Communities” and “Forgotten Citations: Studies in Community, Entrepreneurship, and Self-Help Among Black-Americans.” |
| Civil Rights History and Race Relations | |
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Don Carleton Executive Director of the Briscoe Center for American History 512-592-0061, d.carleton@austin.utexas.edu Don Carleton is executive director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, which houses extensive collections related to civil rights, social movements, congressional history and photojournalism. (Several items currently on display at the LBJ Library are from the Briscoe Center’s collections.) Carleton was the executive producer of “When I Rise,” which documents the story of Barbara Conrad Smith, an African American student at The University of Texas in the 1950s who found herself at the center of a racial controversy. He has published and lectured extensively on historical research methods, the history of broadcast journalism and U.S. political history. |
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Leonard N. Moore Professor of History and Associate Vice President in the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement Contact: Leslie Blair, 512-232-4621, leslieblair@austin.utexas.edu As associate vice president, Moore oversees the Longhorn Center for Academic Excellence and the Longhorn Center for School Partnerships. The center works with first-generation college students, students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. He is also the director of the African American Male Research Initiative, which focuses on educational success and mentoring for young men of color. His class “Race in the Age of Obama,” which he has taught for the past five years, takes a unique look at race relations in America. |
| Civil Rights Law | |
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Jennifer Laurin Professor of Law 512-232-3627, jlaurin@law.utexas.edu Laurin’s primary research interests lie at the intersections of criminal and constitutional litigation and regulation of criminal justice institutions. She can speak about civil rights and criminal justice as well as federal civil rights litigation. Prior to joining The University of Texas School of Law faculty in 2009, Laurin served as a law clerk and spent several years as a litigation associate with the New York City civil rights firm of Neufeld Scheck and Brustin LLP (formerly Cochran Neufeld and Scheck LLP). |
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Joseph Fishkin Assistant Professor of Law 512-232-1813, jfishkin@law.utexas.edu Fishkin researches, writes and teaches on the subjects of employment discrimination, the Voting Rights Act, election law, constitutional law and equal opportunity in the context of education, housing and employment. His latest book, “Bottlenecks: A New Theory of Equal Opportunity,” proposes new ways of changing the opportunity structure to make it less constraining and less unequal. He can speak about civil rights issues surrounding employment discrimination law and voting rights law. Available for print media only. |
| Diversity and Educational Access | |
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Gregory Vincent Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement Contact: Leslie Blair, 512-232-4621, leslieblair@austin.utexas.edu, @DrGJVincent Vincent is vice president for diversity and community engagement at The University of Texas at Austin. Since 2006, the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement has become one of the most comprehensive divisions of its kind in the nation. It has grown to encompass more than 50 units and projects, including the highly regarded UT Elementary School, the university’s Office of Institutional Equity and the Community Engagement Center. He is available to speak about topics related to civil rights law, higher education law, education access and equity, and African American male student achievement. |
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Richard Reddick Assistant Professor of Educational Administration 512-475-8587, richard.reddick@austin.utexas.edu, @DrRichReddick Reddick examines diversity in higher education, particularly mentoring relationships between faculty members and black students. He has co-authored and co-edited books on the black family, historically black colleges and universities, and the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling on diversity in American education. He is available to speak about topics related to diversity in higher education and the sociocultural adaptation of black families. |
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Carolyn Heinrich Sid Richardson Professor of Public Affairs, Director of the Center for Health and Social Policy 512-471-3779, cheinrich@austin.utexas.edu, @CJ_Heinrich In her research Heinrich works directly with governments at all levels, including federal government evaluations of supplemental educational services and other educational interventions. Only available April 8 and in advance. |
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Rebecca Bigler Professor of Psychology 512-415-4297, bigler@austin.utexas.edu Bigler studies the causes and consequences of social stereotyping and prejudice among children, with a particular focus on gender and racial attitudes. She has also worked to develop and test intervention strategies aimed at reducing children’s social stereotyping and intergroup biases. Her work has appeared in top journals in the field of developmental psychology as well as in many major media outlets. |
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Audrey M. Sorrells Associate Professor of Special Education Contact: Sara LeStrange, 512-925-4837, lestrange@austin.utexas.edu Sorrells is associate professor of special education and associate dean of students for research in the Office of the Dean of Students. She spent nearly a decade in K-12 classrooms in rural and urban public schools, teaching diverse students in communities of color, and students at risk and with disabilities. Her research in higher education includes developing effective, evidence-based practices to improve postsecondary outcomes for all students, especially first-year students, veterans and students of color; improving evaluative approaches to program development and implementation; and building capacity to serve all students. |
| Gay Rights | |
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Cary Franklin Assistant Professor of Law 512-232-3646, cfranklin@law.utexas.edu Assistant Professor Cary Franklin is an expert in civil rights and issues of equality and can comment on the subject of same-sex marriage litigation. She has published in several leading law journals and teaches constitutional law and anti-discrimination law classes. |
| Healthcare | |
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Sam Richardson Assistant Professor Public Affairs 512-232-3687, samr@utexas.edu, @Prof_Richardson Richardson is a health care economist by training and has been studying the implications and the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act. Richardson is available to talk about health care policy, Medicaid and Medicare. |
| Immigration and Politics | |
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Denise Gilman Co-Director of the Immigration Clinic and Clinical Professor of Law 512-232-7796, dgilman@law.utexas.edu Clinical Professor Denise Gilman is co-director of The University of Texas School of Law’s Immigration Clinic, which has clients from all over the world. Gilman has written and practiced law extensively in the international human rights and immigrants’ rights fields. Her areas of expertise include immigration, immigrants’ rights, civil rights advocacy and human rights advocacy. Prior to joining the UT Law faculty, she was director of the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs from 2000 to 2005. Gilman is also a faculty member at the university’s Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies. |
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Barbara Hines Co-Director of the Immigration Clinic and Clinical Professor of Law 512-232-1310, bhines@law.utexas.edu Clinical Professor Barbara Hines is co-director of The University of Texas School of Law’s Immigration Clinic and has practiced in the field of immigration law since 1975. Previously, Hines served as the first co-director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Texas Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. She has litigated many issues relating to the constitutional and statutory rights of immigrants in federal and immigration courts including the lawsuit leading to the closure of the controversial T. Don Hutto Detention Center. She frequently comments and publishes on topics related to immigration law and immigrants’ rights. Hines is also a faculty member at the university’s Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies. |
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Victoria DeFrancesco Soto Adjunct Professor of Public Affairs Drvmds@gmail.com, @DrVMDS DeFrancesco Soto’s research analyzes how social identities shape political behavior. Her academic expertise centers on campaigns and elections, political marketing, women, race and ethnic politics, and immigration. DeFrancesco Soto is a contributor to MSNBC and NBC Latino, where her weekly political opinion column appears. She is also a regular political analyst for Telemundo. Through these outlets, she strives to translate social science research into a more relatable form of information for a wide variety of audiences. Available for Spanish language and print only. |
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Nestor Rodriguez Professor of Sociology 512-289-8775, nrodriguez@austin.utexas.edu Rodriguez focuses on immigration reform, U.S. deportations to Mexico and Central America, the unauthorized migration of unaccompanied minors, evolving relations between Latinos and African Americans/Asian Americans, and ethical and human rights issues of border enforcement. |
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Gary Freeman Professor of Government 512-708-0394, gfreeman@austin.utexas.edu Freeman specializes in the politics of immigration and comparative social policy. His most recent writing has been directed at understanding the form of immigration politics in different countries and explaining the integration strategies employed by countries as they grapple with immigrant populations. He is currently working on the question of the linkage between immigration and the welfare state, especially the impact of ethnic and other forms of diversity on the solidaristic foundations of social policies. |
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Martha Menchaca Professor of Anthropology 512-288-1952 (home), 512-471-7537 (office), mmen@austin.utexas.edu Menchaca studies the naturalization process of Mexican immigrants and challenges for immigrant populations in the United States. Research areas include social anthropology, ethnicity, gender, oral history/oral traditions, legal anthropology, immigration, Chicano studies, U.S./Mexican culture and Latin America. |
| Income Inequality | |
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James K. Galbraith Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and Professor of Government 512-471-1244, galbraith@mail.utexas.edu Galbraith is a renowned economist and expert on income inequality. He is available to speak about President Lyndon Johnson’s war on poverty. Galbraith’s new book is “Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis.” Galbraith is available April 9, 10 and in advance. |
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Juliet Walker Director of the Center for Black Business History Entrepreneurship Technology and Professor of History 512-471-5581, jekwalker@austin.utexas.edu Walker specializes in African American black business history from slavery to freedom to document persistent racial economic iniquities. She is available to discuss various topics related to the challenges facing African Americans in business and economic success. Her forthcoming book is titled “Oprah Winfrey: An Entrepreneur.” |
| LBJ and MLK | |
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H.W. Brands Professor of History 512-786-1570, hwbrands@austin.utexas.edu, @hwbrands Brands is a noted historian who has written extensively on the life and times of LBJ. He has written 25 books on U.S. history and biography, two of which were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. |
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Sean Theriault Associate Professor of Government 832-721-3991, seant@mail.utexas.edu Theriault researches American political institutions, primarily the U.S. Congress. His current research is on the Gingrich Senators and how they have transformed the U.S. Senate. Theriault also tracks gay politics and issues such as gay marriage legislation. Available by phone only. |
| Poverty and Social Welfare Policy | |
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Cynthia Osborne Associate Professor of Public Affairs, Director of the Child and Family Research Partnership 512-471-9808, cosborne@prc.utexas.edu Osborne directed the Project on Education Effectiveness and Quality (PEEQ), a statewide project for the Texas Education Agency. She is available to talk about education policy and social welfare on a state or national level. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of social policy, poverty and inequality, family and child well-being, family demography, teacher quality and school entry among disadvantaged children. Only available April 8 and in advance. |
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Yolanda Padilla Professor of Social Work 512-659-0574, ypadilla@utexas.edu Padilla’s research examines the consequences of poverty for Latino children and families, with a focus on health and development in early childhood, the social and economic conditions of Latino children and families, and factors associated with socioeconomic disadvantage among Latinos, including immigration. She is available to speak about topics related to poverty and social welfare policy as they relate to race. |
| Presidential History and Politics | |
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Jeremi Suri Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs 512-232-3989, suri@austin.utexas.edu, @JeremiSuri Suri is an expert on presidential and domestic policy history and is available to speak about policy initiatives of the Obama administration as well as the historical achievements of President Lyndon Johnson. His latest book is “Liberty’s Surest Guardian: American Nation-Building from The Founders to Obama.” |
| Race and the Media | |
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Ben Carrington Associate Professor of Sociology 512-232-6341, bcarrington@austin.utexas.edu Carrington is an expert on issues of race and sports as well as music and mass media. Carrington teaches a course this semester titled “The Sociology of Sport.” He is available to speak about civil rights topics related to sports, American culture and media. |
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Robert Jensen Professor of Journalism 512-471-1990, rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu, @jensenrobertw In his research, Jensen draws on a variety of critical approaches to media and power. He has addressed questions of race through a critique of white privilege and institutionalized racism. Much of his work has focused on pornography and the radical feminist critique of sexuality and men’s violence. |
| Southern Politics | |
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Paul Stekler Professor of Public Affairs and Department Chair of Radio-Television-Film 512-471-6679, stek@mail.utexas.edu Stekler is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and an expert on Southern politics, the Voting Rights Act and civil rights. His critically acclaimed work includes “George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire” and two segments of the “Eyes on the Prize II” television series on the history of civil rights. |
| Sports, Civil Rights and American Society | |
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Michael J. Cramer Executive Director of the Texas Program in Sports and Media 817-798-2301, michael.cramer@austin.utexas.edu As former president of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Stars, Cramer is an expert on the business of sports. He is available to speak about sports, civil rights and their impact on American society and culture. |
| Texas Politics and Voting Rights | |
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Sherri Greenberg Director of the Center for Politics and Governance 512-471-8324, sgreenberg@mail.utexas.edu, @srgreenberg Former Texas state Rep. Sherri Greenberg is available to talk about the political climate in Texas and the implications of changes to the Voting Rights Act. |
| Women’s Rights | |
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Tricia Berry Director of the Women in Engineering Program 512-471-5650, tsberry@mail.utexas.edu, @triciaberry825 Berry is responsible for leading the efforts on recruitment and retention of women in the Cockrell School of Engineering. She concurrently serves as director of the Texas Girls Collaborative Project, connecting Texas organizations, companies and individuals working to advance gender equity in science, technology, engineering and math fields in coordination with the National Girls Collaborative Project. |
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Daina Ramey Berry Associate Professor of History drb@austin.utexas.edu, @lbofflesh Berry’s research interests include 19th century American history, comparative slavery and Southern history, with a particular emphasis on the roles of gender, labor, family and economy among the enslaved. She is currently working on a comprehensive study of slave prices in the United States. In 2010, Berry appeared on the season finale of the NBC show “Who Do You Think You Are?” She assisted film director, producer, writer and actor Spike Lee in tracing his family ancestry. |
