Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom

Please save the date for the annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom, which will take place on Thursday, November 9, 2023, from 4:00 to 5:30 pm. This event is sponsored by the Faculty Senate as a showcase event underscoring the U-M community’s collective interest in academic freedom. The invited speaker is Jonathan Friedman, Ph.D., who is the director of free expression and education programs at PEN America. He will be delivering a lecture entitled “Academic Freedom 2024: Educational Gag Orders, State Censorship, and the Fight for Higher Education.” An abstract is provided below.

The lecture is open to the public and will be given in Honigman Auditorium, 100 Hutchins Hall, at the University of Michigan Law School. More information on the event will be updated here: https://myumi.ch/zwVAZ. A reminder email will also be sent closer to the date of the event. 

Sincerely,
 
Luke McCarthy, Ph.D., J.D.
Director, Faculty Senate Office
facultysenateoffice@umich.edu
 

Abstract

Across the country, state legislators are increasingly making clear their intentions to pass laws to tighten control over — or outright censor — public education in schools, colleges and universities. On campuses, this movement threatens to upend commitments to the free exchange of ideas and institutional autonomy in curricular, research, and hiring decisions, putting academic freedom in peril. Professors are already attesting to a chilled climate, in which they have become concerned with running afoul of new laws delimiting teaching about race, gender, American history, and LGBTQ+ identities. This talk will summarize the current state of play concerning this rising menace, why it must be confronted, and how the higher education community has a unique role to play in communicating this anti-democratic threat to the public. It will offer a clarion call and suggestions for how to create campuses that serve academic freedom for all in the lead up to the 2024 election and beyond.

In Conversation with Shalanda Baker: Equity & Justice in the Energy Transition

Shalanda Baker Portrait

Shalanda Baker PortraitThe Honorable Shalanda H. Baker is the Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy and Secretarial Advisor on Equity. Prior to her Senate confirmation, she served as the nation’s first-ever Deputy Director for Energy Justice. Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration, she was a Professor of Law, Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University.

Moderated by Liesl Eichler Clark, U-M Director of Climate Action Engagement

This event is FREE event and open to the public. Although you may have a ticket, it does not guarantee you a seat. We will be seating ticket holders first and recommend you are in your seat 10 minutes before the start of the event. We will start to let in general public seating 10 minutes prior to the event.

RSVP

MICDE Ph.D. Student Seminar: Mingyan Tian

MICDE Ph.D. Seminar Series: Mingyan Tian

Topic: Pricing Physical Water Risk: Machine Learning Approaches to Quantify the Impact of Corporate Water Use Efficiencies in the Financial Markets

Corporate financial risk in their operations resulting from climate change and water resource limitations result in volatility in the capital markets. This has become a regulatory focus under the Task for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), forcing companies to disclose how climate is impacting their financial performance. This includes water risk exposures in water security and the impact of floods in supply chains, logistics, and operations resulting from water access. Corporate water intensity, a proxy for climate transition risk, relates water use efficiency to operational and capital asset risks. This information is generally not disclosed in financial or sustainability reports and is difficult for investors or regulators to assess, and for risk managers to address. This seminar focuses on the development of econometric models to price water risk in equities with the aim of informing corporate decision-makers and external stakeholders to assess and benchmark the financial valuation of water risk and to allow for comparison across industry sectors.

Zoom link

A2 Climate Teach-In

The First Annual A2 Climate Teach-In flyer

The First Annual A2 Climate Teach-In builds on this legacy by addressing another critical issue which has been clouded by misinformation and a lack of coordinated action.

As in 1965 and the many subsequent Ann Arbor teach-ins, this teach-in is not just about teaching and learning — it’s about about community building and creating momentum for action. It’s about bringing together individuals, climate action organizations, congregations, local government, and higher education to learn from each other, support each other, and find new ways to collaborate. 

1:30 p.m. Opening keynote speaker: Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor

3:30 p.m. Closing Presentation: Shelie Miller, Ph.D., Professor, Director, Program in the Environment; Jonathan W. Bulkley Collegiate Professor of Sustainable Systems; University of Michigan Distinguished Faculty Fellow in Sustainability

RSVP

Climate Change and Environmental Justice: What is the role of social workers to promote change?

The impacts of climate change on the world is overwhelming. The increase in droughts harm food production and human health. Flooding has led to the spread of disease and damages to ecosystems and infrastructure. Climate change impacts are seen throughout every aspect of the world we live in. However, climate change impacts are uneven across the country and the world. The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare has proposed 12 Grand Challenges for the social work profession to address, which includes to “create social responses to a changing environment.” Due to the impacts of climate change, social workers must be equipped to tackle climate change and to engage in strategies to promote environmental justice. This interactive webinar, informative in nature, explores definitions related to climate change, environmental justice, and climate grief. We will identify the role that social workers play in the environmental justice movement, including ways it can be addressed at all levels of practice.

Course link

Planet Party

Flyer depicting the Earth in the corner of a starry background and event description saying "Planet Party! April 16th, 2023. Join us on the Diag for a full day of music, food, games, and more! Learn more about sustainability, environmental issues on and around campus, and how you can make an impact in the fight against climate change"
Come to the diag on April 16th to learn about current events relating to climate change and sustainable innovations, opportunities to get involved on and off campus, actions people can take to support sustainable development right now, ways to lead a more sustainable life, and recommendations for how to continue learning about the environment. The event will feature informational tables, games, speakers, and sustainable giveaways (including snacks and cosmetics!).
 

UMSN Global Health Summer Institute

2023 Global Health Summer Institute

UMSN Global Health Summer Institute

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE MAY 15 & 16, 2023

CLIMATE CHANGE & HEALTH EQUITY: REDUCING RISK & PROMOTING RESILIENCE

Live keynote presentations and breakout sessions from experts in the field that will provide synchronous learning opportunities to exchange knowledge and build dialogue with leaders in global health

Thanks to the support of our various sponsors, you can now submit an application for a scholarship to attend the conference for free! (Visit website link below)

Now accepting abstracts for Flash Presentations! Abstracts can be submitted by clinicians, scholars, and students to highlight completed or ongoing projects related to global health research, evidence-based practice, or policy. (Visit website link below)

See more information and register on our website: https://nursing.umich.edu/global/global-health-summer-institute

It’s an Emergency! What are we doing about it? Environmental Justice & Emergency Response in Detroit

Panel Discussion with Keynote from Jacqueline Patterson

Registration required. For in-person, refreshments served at 5:30 pm and the Program is 6:00-8:00 pm. In addition to Ms. Patterson, the event includes a Detroit Community Panel, moderated by Laprisha Berry Daniels (Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice):

  • Ricky Ackerman (Eastside Community Network);
  • Tammara Howard (What About Us & Belvidere Community Youth Block Club);
  • Theresa Landrum (48217 community organizer & activist);
  • Vincent Martin (Detroit community activist);
  • Lula Odom (retired from International Chemical Workers Union Council for Worker Health & Safety Education, Cincinnati).

The disproportionate impacts of disasters for communities of color have been documented repeatedly for both natural and human-caused disasters. In Michigan:

  • More than 500,000 Michigan residents live within one mile of a facility storing large amounts of extremely hazardous chemicals;
  • Those residents are disproportionately Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and confront daily risks of spills, explosions, and other environmental disasters at the facilities, as well as from the transport of chemicals to and from them through their communities;
  • Children of color are more than two times as likely as white children in Michigan to live in the shadow of facilities housing hazardous substances.

This event, organized by Detroit community leaders with support from local academic institutions, will:

  • Discuss why emergency preparedness and response is an environmental and climate justice issue;
  • Describe gaps and challenges in Detroit’s emergency preparedness and response, from and environmental and climate justice perspective;
  • Share recommendations for improving emergency preparedness and response for environmental and climate justice communities.

Registration link

Rooting for Change: Science & Justice Panel

Rooting for Change: The Economics, Society, and Politics of Food
Fri, March 24 at 11:30am, Michigan League, Koessler Room (Third Floor)

Students, faculty, and community members will share their perspectives on food justice and sustainability. A zero-waste meal will be provided by MDining.

Featured panelists:
Kiley Adams is from Puyallup, Washington, and is currently pursuing a dual degree in medicine and sustainability and development at the University of Michigan. She is interested in the intersection between human and non-human health and like thinking about how food systems, air and water quality, and accessibility to safe outdoor nature areas all collide to influence human health.
Nayethzi Hernandez is a graduate student at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). Her passions include food sovereignty, environmental justice, transformative food systems, reducing barriers to education, indigenous sovereignty, and climate justice.
Alexandra Talty is a writer and multi-media journalist covering water ways, food production and the environment – or any combination of the above. She is a 3rd generation surfer and volunteer ocean lifeguard and also runs a hobby oyster farm.

Registration link

Earth Day 2023: Justice in Focus

School for Environment and Sustainability

After three years of COVID, we are emerging from multiple crises: global pandemic, economic downturn and mass inflation, and a crisis of racial inequality. Earth Day 2023: Justice in Focus seeks to put justice and Earth in the same conversation, removing the silos of environment, human social systems, and political ecology. The University of Michigan, led by the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment at the School for Environment and Sustainability, will bring forth a critical dialogue with emerging and powerful leaders on the frontlines. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from local and national leaders on the inner workings of organizations, solutions, and leadership that emerged through the pandemic.

Registration link