Image courtesy of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.
News and Program notes
J. Larry Allums, Ph.D., Executive Director
Shown here with
Teachers Academy Director Claudia
Allums and Summer Institute Founder Louise Cowan
SOMETHING NEW FOR DALLAS: A FESTIVAL OF IDEAS
Experts tell us that festivals, fairs, parades, and other such activities energize and renew our cities by affording intervals of "anti-structure" that temporarily relieve us of the demands of our structured work lives. On Saturday, November 8th, in the Arts District, we will launch a new venture for Dallas: our first annual Festival of Ideas. Ticket prices begin at $45 ($25 for schoolteachers and students). Here's a thumbnail sketch of the 2008 program:
We will bring four guest speakers–all experts in their fields–into Dallas for the day and match them each with two or three of the best Dallas people in the same fields for some brief presentations and an abundance of conversation and dialogue throughout the day. For this festival day, we're not looking for argument, debate, or set speeches. Above all, we want the day to generate something important–and even pragmatic–for Dallas.
Our Festival will have an urban emphasis with potential for spin-off as we explore the theme for the day: "The Future Of..." Here are the topics, featured guests, and Dallas panelists:
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"American Cities & Suburbs": David Brooks, with Dr. Gail Thomas and Hon. Ron Kirk, moderated by Rod
Dreher "The Environment": Elizabeth Kolbert, with Hon. Tom Leppert, Judy Pesek, and Michael Decker, moderated by Glenn Arbery "Global Issues and their Local Impact": Nicholas Kristof, with Lee Cullum, and panelist TBD, moderated by Krys Boyd "Race, Class, and the Law": Maya Wiley, with Kim Askew and Marcos Ronquillo, moderated by Randy Gordon |
Image courtesy of the Dallas
Center for the Performing Arts.
The Festival will begin at 10 am and conclude at 4:30 pm, and the day will include three events for each of our keynoters and panelists:
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1. 10-11:30 am: Opening Symposium. On stage
will be the four keynote guests and the Dallas'-best panelists, moderated by
Ringmaster Michael Beschloss. Each keynoter will give a brief
statement about "the future of" his or her field, and then the Ringmaster
will get the interaction started. |
|
2.
1-2:30 pm: Four separate, simultaneous Focus Forums of 175-200 each: here
the keynoter will give a presentation pertinent to the "Future Of..." theme
and then will engage with the Dallas'-best panelists in the same field--also
the audience--guided by an expert facilitator. |
| 3. 3-4:30 pm: Four separate, simultaneous Roundtables of 25-30 people each: these are true seminars with Dallas leaders in a wide variety of fields. Around each table will be the featured speaker, the Dallas'-best panelists, and their expert facilitator. Silent-gallery seating included. |
Michael
Beschloss: Award-winning historian of the presidency and author of ten
books. He appears often on PBS , ABC, and NBC news programs, providing
expert analysis of the executive branch. He was recently appointed NBC's
Presidential Historian - the first time a major network has created such a
position.
David Brooks: Regular op-ed columnist for The New York Times and commentator on "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer." Former op-ed editor of The Wall Street Journal. Author of Bobos in Paradise: the New Upper Class and How They Got There and On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense.
Elizabeth Kolbert: Staff writer for the New Yorker and author of the 2006 award-winning Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. Widely acclaimed in her field, she has written on a variety of environmental issues, from the future of the automobile to global warming.
Nicholas Kristof: Op-ed columnist for The New York Times. He has lived on four continents, reported on six, and traveled to 140 countries, every Chinese province and every main Japanese island. Widely recognized for his involvement in the Sudan crisis, he is writing a book about women in the developing world.
Maya Wiley: Founder and Director of the Center for Social Inclusion, a national policy advocacy intermediary organization which works to dismantle structural racism. A civil rights attorney and policy advocate, she has litigated, lobbied the US Congress, and developed programs to transform structural racism in the US and South Africa.
DALLAS PARTICIPANTS TO DATE FOR THE FESTIVAL OF IDEAS
DR. GLENN ARBERY is Senior Editor and film critic for People Newspapers. An Institute Fellow, he is author of Why Literature Matters and editor of the essay collection The Tragic Abyss.
KIM ASKEW is a Partner with K&L Gates law firm. She is Immediate Past Chair of the Section of Litigation of the ABA, the first lawyer of color to have held the chair in this prestigious national position.
KRYS BOYD is host and managing editor of Think, KERA's mid-day talk show. She formerly served as producer and co-host of the Emmy Award-winning public affairs program On The Record.
LEE CULLUM is a journalist and television commentator. An Institute Fellow, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and other international groups and hosts the KERA series CEO.
MICHAEL DECKER is a Principal with Wingate Partners. Treasurer of the World Affairs Council, he is former chair of ENSR, and international environmental and energy development consulting company.
ROD DREHER is a Dallas Morning News editorial columnist and former senior editor at National Review. He is a Fellow of the Institute and author of Crunchy Cons (2006).
DR. RANDY GORDON is a partner with Gardere law firm. An Institute Fellow and former Board member, he holds the LL.M. degree from Columbia and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.
HON. RON KIRK is a partner with Vinson and Elkins law firm. During his public career, he served as Mayor of the City of Dallas from 1995 to 2001 and as Texas Secretary of State in 1994.
HON. TOM LEPPERT is Mayor of the City of Dallas. A businessman as well as a community leader, he has held executive positions at The Turner Corporation, Trammell Crow Company, and other corporations
JUDY PESEK is a Managing Partner for Gensler Architects in Dallas. With over 30 years' experience in interior architecture, she specializes in corporate facilities, with emphasis on sustainable design.
MARCOS RONQUILLO is Managing Partner with Godwin Ronquillo law firm. He is former President of the Dallas Mexican ABA and former Chairman of the Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
DR. GAIL THOMAS is Founding Director of the Dallas Institute and creator of its Center for the City. Currently, she serves as Executive Director of the Trinity Trust Foundation.
2009 HIETT PRIZE PREVIEW–SAVE THE DATE
Our fifth annual Hiett Prize in the Humanities event is set for next April 28th in the Horchow Auditorium of the DMA. Keynote speaker will be Stephen Sondheim, recently described as "the dominant artistic force in American musical theater since the 1970's." Save the date and make plans to join us.
OTHER PROGRAMS FOR FALL
A lot will be happening in Fall '08 besides the Festival of Ideas: our regular groups–Ladies' Night Out, Friday Salon, Speaking of Movies, and Breakfast Books–will resume in September, and we're adding a new Lunch Book Group for all you non-morning people. Also debuting is Au Courant, our young members group. Plan to join us for informed and engaging guests discussing timely, important topics.
OTHER SPEAKERS FOR FALL 2008
DR. JEFFREY GUSKY is a photographer and rural emergency physician living in Dallas. His first book of photography was Silent Places: Landscapes of Jewish Life and Loss in Eastern Europe.
JILL JORDAN is Assistant City Manager of Dallas. Her responsibilities include oversight of the Office of Environmental Quality, Strategic Customer Services, and the Trinity River Project.
DR. BEN JOHNSON is an Institute Fellow, professor of history at SMU, and author of Revolution in Texas: How a Forgotten Rebellion and Its Bloody Suppression Turned Mexicans into Americans.
PROF. PATRICK KELLY is an Institute Fellow and has taught and directed plays at the University of Dallas since 1967, where he is currently Professor in the Drama department.
PROF. TOM MAYO is an Institute Fellow, Associate Professor at SMU's Dedman School of Law and Director of SMU's Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility.
KEVIN MORIARTY is the Dallas Theater Center's fifth Artistic Director and assumes full leadership of DTC during its 50th year. He came to Dallas from the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY.
DR. JOANNE STROUD is a Founding Fellow of the Institute and Director of Institute Publications. She is author of The Bonding of Will and Desire and the 4-volume set Choose Your Element.
Photos on this
page courtesy of Dr. Jeffrey Gusky.
