UC's ‘Life of the Mind’ series accepting nominations for March 6 lecture

Life of the Mind is an annual lecture series featuring interdisciplinary conversations with University of Cincinnati faculty from a variety of disciplines around a one-word theme. The spring lecture, scheduled for 2:30-4:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 6, will again focus on the theme of “Next.”

The Life of the Mind Steering Committee seeks nominations for the featured UC faculty presenter. Each featured UC faculty presenter:

• is an accomplished UC faculty member with national/international reputation,
• has a proven record of scholarship or creative works,
• is recognized as an expert in their field of study, research or creation of works,
• is experienced at presenting their work to an audience outside the classroom,
• is an excellent and engaging speaker able to relate to a non-specialist audience,
• and has a provocative topic of study/research/creative work.

The Life of the Mind Steering Committee is looking for speakers to explore the nature of “Next” — How is the term used, co-opted, and even exploited in your discipline or for a variety of purposes, such as political, economic, social justice, religious, medical, entertainment, or educational? For example, “Next” can signify opportunities, as the world was reminded when Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon as part of the Apollo campaign, or when Albert Sabin took the next step in medicine with the development of the Sabin polio vaccine. Yet for some communities, “Next” may mean less rather than more. Who decides what is “Next”? Whether in our community or around the globe will “Next” signal the power of change or will it sound a warning knell to remember past lessons learned?

E-mail melissa.norris@uc.edu to request a nomination form. Completed forms must be submitted by 5 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23. Self nominations are welcome.

The Life of the Mind Steering Committee will review all nominations and select the Featured UC Faculty Presenter. Members of the Steering Committee are: Co-chairs Cynthia Ris and Xuemao Wang, Caleb Adler, Jenny Doctor, Yonatan Eyal, Helene Harte, Jenny Mackiewicz (ex-officio), Melissa Cox Norris (ex-officio) and Michael Sharp. Life of the Mind is sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost with support from the Office of the President. It is organized by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, University of Cincinnati Libraries and Faculty Senate.

For more information, or to view past lectures, visit the Life of the Mind website at http://libraries.uc.edu/lifeofthemind.html.