Human Rights Close to Home:
Putting the U.S. Under the Magnifying Glass
Human Rights Week 2008
Sunday, Feb 3
4:00pm Introduction: Human Rights O’Leary
Marilyn Fischer, Philosophy (Miriam 119)
Rebecca Whisnant, Philosophy
Gilbert Mulamba, author and filmmaker
Documentary: “The Street Children of Kinshasa” (DR Congo)
5:30pm Jazz Reception Miriam Atrium
Monday, Feb 4
12:00 noon Brown Bag Discussion Torch Lounge
Vernelia Randall, School of Law
"Health of African-Americans as a Human Rights Violation”
1:00pm Film: “The Hospice” (Zambia) Torch Lounge
1:30pm Film: “Crisis Control (AIDS in Ukraine”
2:00pm Film: “Malaria: The Fever Wars”
5:00pm Slide Presentation: Kelly Callahan, Carter Center KU Ballroom
“Neglected Tropical Diseases”
7:00pm Panel Discussion: The Human Right to Health KU Ballroom
Gina El-McFarland, Premier Health Partners Ambulatory Centers
Richard Stock, Director of the Business Research Group
Tuesday, Feb 5
12:00 noon Brown Bag Discussion Torch Lounge
Mario, formerly of Dayton Public Schools Board of Education
1:30pm Film: “Educating Yaprak (Turkey) Torch Lounge
2:00pm Film: “Yemeni Futures” (Yemen)
2:30pm Film: “The Real Leap Forward” (China)
6:00pm Human Rights Art Exhibit Opening ArtStreet Studio D
7:00pm Panel Discussion: The Human Right to Education KU Ballroom
Mike McCormick, Superintendent of Richard Allen Schools
Roberta Weaver, Associate Dean for Community Outreach
Wednesday, Feb 6
12:00 noon Brown Bag Discussion Torch Lounge
Dean Lovelace, Director of Civic Scholars
1:00pm Film: “Warming Up in Mongolia” Torch Lounge
1:30pm Film: “Slum Futures” (Mumbai, India)
7:00pm Panel Discussion: The Human Right to Housing KU Ballroom
Will Blackshear, Montgomery County Recorder
Anita Schmaltz, Enforcement Coordinator of Miami Valley Fair Housing
Thursday, Feb 7
11:00am Panel Presentation: The Human Right to Credit Torch Lounge
Dani Kusner, Anna Young, and Lisa Minnot
7:00pm Keynote Speaker KU Ballroom
Brandt Goldstein, Author of Storming the Courts
Making a Difference at Home: How Law Students Shut Down the First Guantanamo Prison
Friday, Feb 8
3:00pm Economics Honor Society Debate Torch Lounge
“Resolved: that modern nation states have an obligation to ensure that citizens
achieve human rights to health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living”
6:00pm Career Panel/Dinner Barrett Dining Room
Continuous – All Week
Student & Faculty Poster Projects and Lectures Torch Lounge
Artwork on exhibit ArtStreet Studio D
**T-shirts will be sold at all events.
SPEAKER BIOS
Sunday February 3, 2008
Marilyn Fischer Dr. Fischer specializes in political philosophy, American pragmatism, and philosophy of music. She served as director of the Core Program, an integrated, interdisciplinary program through which students can fulfill most of their general education requirements. She is affiliated with the Society for Advancement of American Philosophy, the North American Society for Social Philosophy, and the Society for Women in Philosophy. Dr. Fischer is also a professional violinist and performs with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Gilbert Mulamba Musician, producer, scientist, and human rights activist Gilbert Mulamba is an independent artist and scientist based in the North Carolina. A native of the DRC, Gilbert was born during the post-independence turmoil, during which time his family was fed thanks to UN Food distribution centers. At the age of 9, he started playing on a piano that his father bought from a retired American Missionary. In 1974, Gilbert remembers being one of the many boys running after Mohammed Ali's motorcade to get a glimpse of the Champion during his stay in the former ZAIRE for the rumble in the Jungle boxing match. As an adult, Gilbert was determined to raise awareness regarding the plight of children in his native country, He decided to use his artistic talents and education to produce a film and music to support the cause. The Street Children of Kinshasa is his first solo documentary release. As a talented jazz pianist, Gilbert also uses music to raise awareness. He has recently released his first CD, Trustin’Him. Proceeds from the sale go to help DRC Children. He also established DRCongoChildren, an organization that strives to make the plight of DR Congo children known to the world and provide information on how to help these children get out of the street. The organization fosters a collaborative approach and seeks the effort of people and organizations working together to make difference in the lives of abandoned children of the DRC. Gilbert Holds a Master in education from his country and Master degree in Biology from West Chester University (PA). He went on to work for 7 seven years as a Research Scientist for one of the most influential virologists in the world at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He has authored and co-authored several articles that have been published in journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of Virology. He currently resides in Raleigh, NC with his wife Sylvia and their two children Jessye (11) and Jeremy (7). He works as Scientist with a fortune 500 company. He also serves as musician with Raleigh international Church. He speaks English, French, Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba, understands Kikongo and is currently learning Spanish.
Monday February 4, 2008
Brown Bag Discussion: “Health of African-Americans as a Human Rights Violation”
Vernellia Randall A professor at the School of Law since 1990, Vernellia Randall writes extensively on and speaks internationally about race, women, and health care. She is the recipient of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health Chairman’s Award, and she was named one of the “Top 10 Most Influential African-Americans” on the 2001 Black Equal Opportunity Employment Journal list. Professor Randall hasn’t always been associated with the study or practice of law. “I grew up during Jim Crow in the South,” she says. “If you were a black woman going to college, you either became a nurse or a teacher.” She chose nursing. She did like the profession, though, and had worked in nursing homes while in high school. As a nurse, Professor Randall provided public health nursing services and served as an administrator for a statewide health program in Alaska. Involved in public health work for more than 15 years, Professor Randall focused on eliminating disparities in health care for minorities and the poor. She believed a thorough knowledge of the law would help her become more effective in her mission, so she enrolled in law school. After graduating in 1987 from Lewis and Clark Law School, she became an associate with a Portland, Oregon, law firm specializing in health care law and issues relating to health and disability insurance coverage. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at Lewis and Clark College. She soon turned to teaching full time, wanting to make a “greater intellectual impact.” She has never regretted the decision. “I love the ‘aha!’ moments that students get,” she says. Since coming to the School of Law, Professor Randall has also served as a consultant to the Clinton administration advisory committee on health care reform and as a grant reviewer for the National Institute of Health. She was also an expert witness in the State of Missouri v. Philip Morris trial. She has been recognized in Who's Who in the World since 1995 and Who's Who in the United States since 1998.
Slide Presentation “Neglected Tropical Diseases”
Kelly Callahan Went to war-ravaged Sudan in 1998 as part of a Carter Center program to battle a parasitic infection called Guinea worm disease, also known as the fiery serpent. The worm's larvae are spread through contaminated water. Inside the human body, the threadlike white worms can grow to three feet long, finally emerging through excruciatingly painful open sores. "You often see people infected with several Guinea worms, emerging one by one," she says. "It's a horrible sight." Twenty years ago, more than 3.5 million people had Guinea worm. Today the disease is down to 16,000 cases, thanks in part to Callahan's efforts to filter drinking water. She helped design an ingenious filter, a piece of plastic piping fitted on one end with a cloth filter fine enough to block Guinea worm larvae. Working with volunteers, she oversaw the production and distribution of 9 million filters throughout Sudan. The pipe filters are small enough that people can carry them anywhere, strung around their necks. When she thinks back on her work in Africa, Callahan, 39, now assistant director of program support at The Carter Center in Atlanta, inevitably remembers a Sudanese villager who made an arduous several-day journey to her office in Nairobi, Kenya. "'I'm Daniel,' he told me. He said he'd come on behalf of his village to thank me for bringing them the filters. He showed me the scars where he'd once had Guinea worm. 'No one has been infected since you came,' he said. 'Not one person in the whole village.'"
Panel Discussion: The Human Right to Health
Gina McFarland-El Oversees the Samaritan Homeless Clinic, as vice president for ambulatory care at Premier Health Partners.
Angela Dugger Senior Resource Specialist for Sharing Community Resources in a Prescription Trust (SCRiPT) with Unified Health Solutions
Tuesday February 5, 2008
Brown Bag Discussion: Dayton School Systems
Mario (Ann Marie Gallin) Former Board member of the Dayton Public Schools Board of Education, elected in 1999. Past Co-Chair of Civic Capacity Steering Committee and part of Downtown Dayton Partnership
Panel Discussion: The Human Right to Education
Mike McCormick Superintendent of Richard Allen Charter Schools
Roberta Weaver Associate Dean for Community Outreach
Pam R. Young Director of SOEAP Accreditaion Office
Wednesday February 6, 2008
Brown Bag Discussion: Dayton Housing
Dean Lovelace City Commissioner; In l983, Dean joined the Strategies for Responsible Development (SRD) office at the University of Dayton as the Director of SRD-Neighborhood Development, now the Raymond L. Fitz Center for Leadership in Community. He is currently the Director of Dayton Civic Scholars Program at the University of Dayton. Dean's works as a Community Leadership Consultant with neighborhood concerns began in the early 70s with the Model Cities program, after which he continued his career as a member of the planning staff of the City of Dayton. Later, he served as the coordinator for the city's Northwest Office of Neighborhood Affairs. Dean was elected to the City Commission in a special election November l7, l993 and re-elected to a four year term in November, l995 and November, 1999. Dean's community activities are an extensive testimony to his commitment to this city and its people
Panel Discussion: The Human Right to Housing
Willis Blackshear Willis E. Blackshear is the 33rd Recorder in Montgomery County and the first African American to hold the office of Recorder, in the State of Ohio. Mr. Blackshear is a native of Dayton, where he resides with his wife, Regina. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science/Public Administration from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Blackshear joined the Montgomery County's Treasure's office in 1985, where he performed in various functions until his 2006 appointment to the office of Montgomery County Recorder. Over the years, Mr. Blackshear has endeavored to serve the citizens of Montgomery County through campaign and volunteer work, and is currently serving as a board member for Project Impact. Mr. Blackshear strives to continue serving the public in his position as Recorder. Within the Recorder's office, Mr. Blackshear will further the development of E-Filing, and preserve the strong customer service commitment of the Recorder staff. In 2001, Mr. Blackshear was honored by the Dayton Business Journal as one of the "Most Influential People in the Dayton Area".
Anita Schmaltz Enforcement Coordinator of Miami Valley Fair Housing
David Bohardt Works with St. Mary’s Development Corporation, a non-profit organization providing high-quality, affordable housing to low-income seniors and working families in the Dayton, Ohio, area.
Thursday February 7, 2008
Panel Presentation: The Human Right to Credit
Dani Kusner
Anna Young
Lisa Monnot
Keynote Speaker
Brandt Goldstein Join author Brandt Goldstein, who will speak about his book Storming the Court, the true story of law students and human rights lawyers who took two United States presidents to court to free innocent Haitian refugees detained at Guantanamo Bay in the early 1990s. A legal thriller that takes the reader from the dorms of Yale Law School and the violent slums of Port-au-Prince to the halls of the Supreme Court, Storming the Court was named one of the Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and is now under development as a major motion picture.
Friday February 8, 2008
Debate “Resolved: That modern nation states have an obligation to ensure that citizens achieve human rights to health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living”
Economic Honors Society
Career Panel/Dinner
Bo Shuff Director of Education and Public Policy for Equality Ohio. His primary responsibility is to educate Ohioans and elected officials about issues that are important to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Bo joined Equality Ohio in 2006 after spending three years with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in Washington, DC.
Josie Olsvig Attorney at Law and Coordinator of Mandated Services for the Children Services Division of Montgomery County Job & Family Services.
Melinda Elkins-Dawson Executive Assistant, Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project, University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Mark Godsey Law Professor and Faculty Director of the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project, University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Kelly Bohrer Coordinator of Community Outreach at University of Dayton Center for Social Concern. Previous biology lab coordinator at UD for 6 ½ years. She also serves as a board member for Nazareth Farm, a board member for the Association of Biology Laboratory Education, and Co-Chair of the Faculty Development Committee of the 4-year university section of the National Association of Biology Teachers