Ivy Tech’s O’Bannon Institute to bring experts on equality, education to campus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2013

Ivy Tech’s O’Bannon Institute to bring experts on equality, education to campus

Ivy Tech Community College’s Bloomington campus is hosting its 10^th Annual O’Bannon Institute on April 10 through 12. Friday’s full day of panel conversations will focus on this year’s theme of Building the Next Great Generation, and will address generational differences, educational models, and equality.

The day will close with a final conversation at 2:30 p.m. with Judy O’Bannon, former Indiana First Lady and proponent of civic engagement, moderated by Bob Zaltsberg, editor, The Herald-Times. Zaltsberg will talk with O’Bannon about her reflections of the last 10 years of the O’Bannon Institute for Community Service.

O’Bannon has spent much of her life supporting and promoting efforts to strengthen communities in Indiana and around the world. She actively speaks and writes on issues facing society today. She is host of the Emmy-winning, WFYI-TV produced television series Communities Building Community. She travels extensively abroad on humanitarian missions, and has served in a variety of leadership roles.

Friday’s event takes place on Ivy Tech-Bloomington’s main campus at the Connie and Steve Ferguson Academic Building in the Hoosier Times Student Commons. Registration and continental breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by opening remarks at 9 a.m.

Panel discussion schedule and member list is as follows:

Panel One The Next Greatest Generation: Boomers, Gen X, Y or Z?9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Moderator: Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, Lawyer, WRTV Commentator, Publisher of IndyPolitics.org
Katharine Byers, Ph.D.: Associate Professor and Director of the BSW Program, Indiana University School of Social WorkRabbi Jonathan Greenberg: Vice President of External Relations, Illinois Policy InstituteRobert Soto: Associate Professor of Sociology, Ivy Tech Community College-BloomingtonGary C. Steinhardt, Col. USAR (Ret): Past Department Vice Commander of The American Legion Indiana Department

Panel Two The Greatest Innovation: Education – But whose model?10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Moderator: Bryan Newton, Associate Vice President for Marketing & Enrollment Management, Aiken Technical College
Gerardo Gonzalez: Professor of Higher Education Administration and Dean, Indiana University School of EducationBrent Kent: Indiana State Director, StudentsFirstDavid Pillar: Principal, Jackson Creek Middle SchoolDr. Suellen Reed: Former Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Panel Three The Greatest Debate: Equality – How and when do we ever achieve it?1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Moderator: Debby Knox, WISH-TV News Anchor
Byron Bangert: Chair of the Bloomington Human Rights Commission, Retired MinisterJean Capler: President of Fair Talk, Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in LGBT issuesSheila Suess Kennedy: Professor of Law and Public Policy at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Purdue University IndianapolisDanny Lopez: Special Assistant to Governor Mike Pence and Executive Director for the Indiana Commission on Hispanic/Latino AffairsGeorge Taliaferro: First African American Player Drafted by the NFL

Tom Brokaw, 38-year NBC broadcast journalist and author, will headline the Institute’s Fundraising Dinner on Thursday, April 11 at the Bloomington Monroe County Convention Center. Tickets are no longer available. The event has sold out at more than 400 seats. Proceeds benefit the Ivy Tech Center for Civic Engagement.

Previous keynote speakers of the O’Bannon Institute Fundraising Dinner include Judy O’Bannon in 2004, Senator Birch Bayh in 2005, Senator Alan Simpson in 2006, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in 2007, Sam Donaldson in 2008, Doris Kearns Goodwin in 2009, Mrs. Laura W. Bush in 2010, James Carville and Mary Matalin in 2011, and George F. Will in 2012.

Each year as part of the Institute, Ivy Tech students, faculty, and staff participate in a Day of Service in our communities. The Day of Service is Thursday, April 11, preceding the Fundraising Dinner, and more than 100 volunteers will give their time to local organizations that day. To kick off the event, Ivy Tech will host its annual Excellence in Civic Engagement awards ceremony on Wednesday, April 10 to recognize faculty, staff and community partners for excellence in volunteerism.

The O’Bannon Institute for Community Service was launched ten years ago by Ivy Tech’s Bloomington campus as an annual opportunity for the community to come together to discuss topics related to nonprofits, education and political and civic service. Previous speakers at the Institute have included former U.S. Senators, Pulitzer prize-winning authors, Governors, political advisers and columnists, and Laura W. Bush, former First Lady of the United States.

Admission for Friday panel discussions and closing conversation is with a canned good or free-will monetary donation at the doors for Hoosier Hills Food Bank. Continental breakfast and lunch are provided, but reservations are required. Log on http://obannon.ivytech.edu to reserve your seat, or contact (812) 330-6001 or email tphelps@ivytech.edu.

Further information about the 10^th Annual O’Bannon Institute for Community Service can be found online at http://obannon.ivytech.edu.

About Ivy Tech Community College

Ivy Tech Community College (www.ivytech.edu) is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.

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