Devon Powers is associate professor of advertising at Temple University. She is the author of two books and the co-editor of another. Her research explores historical and contemporary consumer culture and the dynamics of cultural intermediation, circulation and promotion. Her work has appeared in Journal of Consumer Culture, New Media & Society, Critical Studies in Media and Communication, and Popular Communication, among others. She is the chair (2018-2020) of the Popular Communication division of the International Communication Association.

Free public session featuring Michael Giarrusso, Associated Press global sports editor. Part of the ongoing "Conversation Series" conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

Stephen D. Solomon is the Marjorie Deane Professor of Journalism at New York University. His latest book, "Revolutionary Dissent: How the Founding Generation Created the Freedom of Speech," explores how the raucous political protest of the nation’s founding period gave meaning to our freedoms of speech and press at a time when it was a crime to criticize public officials. Solomon is at work on a book that will tell the story of the birth of the Bill of Rights. He teaches First Amendment law and is the founding editor of NYU’s website, FirstAmendmentWatch.org, which provides news, commentary, and legal and historical background on today’s many conflicts over freedom of expression. Solomon earned his bachelor's degree from Penn State and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Annual student-driven philanthropic event, THON, that raises money to battle pediatric cancer.

What is a “natural disaster”? While we often blame fatalities on weather and acts of God, the truth is people’s risk from disasters isn’t natural at all but determined by factors entirely within society’s control. In this witty, incisive, and personal journey through the aftermath of the Chicago heat wave of 1995 that killed more than 750 people, Judith Helfand fearlessly challenges the disaster preparedness industry and government leaders to admit that the real disasters we need to address first are those of “slow violence” – like poverty, racial discrimination, and lack of opportunity. Filmmaker is scheduled to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Free public lecture by award-winning digital communications professional Brandi Boatner, sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America. Free and open to the public.

What: Climate science devil’s advocate workshop series

When: 29 January 2020: Wednesday 6:30-7:30 pm

Where: Webster’s bookstore café

133 E Beaver Ave, State College, PA 16801

Why: Without practicing to articulate climate science evidence before the next time you are called to do so is to ensure more than just your own failure.

Who: Folks not fluent in communicating climate science evidence in a one-on-one discussion.

How: 1-on-1 5-minute devil’s advocate improv scenarios with peer feedback

Bring: phone + coffee mug + appetite

Award-winning photojournalist Steph Chambers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will discuss and share samples of her work. Chambers was a member of the Post-Gazette’s staff that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. For the past four years, she has been honored as Photographer of the Year in the National Press Photographers Association’s Mid-Atlantic region clip contest. Her visit is sponsored by the Norman Eberly Professor of Practice Endowment.

Free public session for all students featuring Bellisario College alumnus Bjorn Trowery, director of communications at Human Rights Watch, sponsored by the Ad/PR Club. Session will focus on how diversity can be an asset in the workplace and how to change looking at diversity from being just the right thing to do vs. going beyond and taking it to another level.

Speakers:

Yubraj Acharya, "Reducing Inappropriate Dispensing and Consumption of Antibiotics through Behavioral Interventions."
Guangqing Chi, "Demography of the socio-environmental systems: From high latitudes to high altitudes”
Heather Randell, "Climate Change and Child Nutrition: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia"
Asher Rosinger, "Water insecurity, water salinity, and implications for chron-ic health among Pastoralists in Northern Kenya"
Alexis Santos, "Revisiting the demography of disaster: Mortality, health and migration in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria"
Brian Thiede, "Flooding and Fertility in Bangladesh”