Series of Public Events Celebrate New Fellowship

The University of Scranton’s Slattery Center for the Humanities will formally launch The Sondra H’87 and Morey Myers H’12 Distinguished Visiting Fellowship in the Humanities and Civic Engagement at a lecture on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 5 p.m. in the Moskovitz Theater in The DeNaples Center. The lecture will be presented by Wayne Winborne, executive director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University-Newark, which is the largest archive of jazz history in the world and houses more than 150,000 recordings and 6,000 books.

The lecture is free of charge and open to the public.

Winborne has served as advisor and consultant to numerous artists and jazz musicians and has worked with filmmakers, playwrights, and theater producers. He produced recordings for the MaxJazz, HighNote, and Savant labels, including “Daybreak” by Bruce Barth and “Feeling Good” by Mary Stallings. He also taught jazz history and appreciation at Stanford University.

Prior to his appointment at Rutgers, Winborne ran his own consulting firm, the Winborne Group, and was vice president for business diversity outreach at Prudential Financial. Previously, he was director of program and policy research at The National Conference for Community and Justice, program officer at the Ford Foundation, senior research coordinator at the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, and adjunct lecturer in psychology and research methods at New York University and the City University of New York’s Baruch and Medgar Evers Colleges. He earned degrees from Stanford University and New York University.

On Friday, Oct. 25, the University will host a day-long series of panel discussions about “The Crisis of Democracy Today: What Can the Humanities, Law, and Civic Activism Do to Address the Challenge?”  The event is open to the public, free of charge.

Opening remarks will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall, followed at 10 a.m. with a panel discussion on how the humanities can address the current crisis of democracy. Brent Glass, Ph.D., director emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, will provide an introduction. Panelists include Jamil Zainaldin, Ph.D., president of the Georgia Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities; Fredrik Logevall, Ph.D., the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and professor of history; Ana Ugarte, Ph.D., assistant professor of world languages and cultures at The University of Scranton; and Rebecca Beal, Ph.D., professor of English and theatre at The University of Scranton. Hank Willenbrink, Ph.D., associate professor of English and theatre at The University of Scranton, will serve as moderator.

Following a luncheon, a panel discussion on how civic activism can address the current crisis of democracy will begin at 1 p.m. Harold Baillie, Ph.D., emeritus professor of philosophy at The University of Scranton, will provide an introduction. Panelists will be Gail Kitch, founder of Miranda Consulting; Kevin Klose, professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland; Sister Carol Rittner, Distinguished Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Stockton University, New Jersey; and Julie Schumacher Cohen, director of community and government relations at The University of Scranton. Aiala Levy, Ph.D., assistant professor of history at The University of Scranton, will serve as moderator.

A panel discussion on how law can address the current crisis of democracy will begin at 3 p.m. Michael Fairbanks ’79 H’06, chairman of the board, Silver Creek Medicines and fellow at the Weatherhead Institute for International Affairs at Harvard University, will provide an introduction.  Panelists will be David Cole, J.D., legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy, Georgetown University; Nomi Stolzenberg, J.D., Nathan and Lilly Shapell Chair in Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; Marcia Greenberger, J.D., founder and co-president emerita of the National Women’s Law Center; and President Judge Michael Barrasse, J.D. ’78, G’78. Joel Kemp, J.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of theology and religious studies at The University of Scranton, will serve as moderator.

Sondra and Morey Myers will provide concluding remarks at 4:30 p.m.

About the Gail and Francis Slattery Center for Humanities

In May 2019, the University established the Gail and Francis Slattery Center for Humanities to advance the University’s liberal arts tradition and enhance the core role it plays in the formation of students to become “men and women for others.” The Center, named after the parents of benefactor and current University Trustee James M. Slattery ’86 and his wife, Betsy, will serve as a national model for humanities in action. Through the Center’s programs, elevated discourse on an array of topics and civic engagement will be encouraged by members of the University community, as well as by residents throughout the greater Scranton area.