The Civil Rights Act of 1964 celebrated its 45th year of enactment in 2009. Come hear three MU faculty members discuss the Act from three perspectives:

• Dr. Charles Sampson, Truman School of Public Affairs, will talk about the political/social context in which the Act was passed.
• Dr. Michael Middleton, Deputy Chancellor & Professor of Law, will provide an assessment of the impact of the Act for the first five years following its passage.
• Dr. Jacquelyn Litt, Director of Women and Gender Studies, will share a current perspective and challenge the audience to think about other rights/protections that could be added to the Act.

Release time will be available with supervisor approval.

Date: March 23, 2010
Time: 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Place: Jesse Wrench Auditorium

Dear Friends of the Asian Affairs Center:

We are happy to report that we have our largest groups of teachers, scholars, college and middle school students visiting our campus from Korea, China, and Mongolia this winter. Because we try to ensure that everyone visiting the University of Missouri campus has the opportunity to visit an American home, we have a request. Would you be able to host a couple of visiting scholars to dinner in your home some evening during January? Do you know anyone who might be interested in doing this?

A winter English and leadership experience is being planned for sixth graders from Jellanamdo, Missouri’s sister province in South Korea. It also includes Columbia’s sister city, Suncheon City. Although primarily funded by the province to help the children from this rural area be more nationally competitive, the children have all been selected because of their English ability and their parents’ support for this experience. They have requested a brief home-stay in an American home. We would like to schedule these during the weekend of January 15th to the 19th. They would return to the family home after attending school that Monday for a final night.

If you can help with either of these experiences, would you please contact my colleague at the Asian Affairs Center, Mary Jo Herde by email (herdem@missouri.edu) or phone (882-5624). She will also be happy to provide more information about each of these.

A couple of other things that may be of interest to those interested in Pacific Rim culture and activities include:

• “China’s 30 Years of ‘Opening Up and Reform’- Continuities and Change”
November 17 at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union N- 103 (Stotler III)
Visiting scholar – Professor Lingling Qi – will share her thoughts on China. There is no cost for this excellent program sponsored by the Columbia Friends of China and the Asian Affairs Center.

The Asian Affairs website (http://asia.missouri.edu) has added opportunities for work and study in Korea and China. Several of these are connected to partner institutions of the University of Missouri and should provide a good international experience for teachers, language students, and scholars.

Sincerely,

Sang S. Kim

LTS has made the audio available from Charles Davis’ lecture which occurred during Banned Books Week. The link is mms://mulibraries.missouri.edu/banned-books-forum09-09-30.wma. Davis is Executive Director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the School of Journalism. Thanks to LTS for making online access possible.

The Diversity Action Committee invites library employees to attend the next Library Issues Forum, scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m., Stotler Lounge (N103A Memorial Union). The session wraps up the observance of Banned Books Week/Month and features several speakers with topics related to the theme of “Celebrating Intellectual Freedom: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Creating.”

Randy Diamond, Director of the Law Library, will open the forum with a discussion of copyright and its impact on First Amendment rights. Dr. Heather Carver of the Theatre Department will talk about how performance continues to engage in issues of intellectual freedom and expression in Missouri, across the country, and internationally. Mark Horvit, Executive Director, Investigative Reports and Editors at the School of Journalism, will talk about issues faced by investigative reporters in terms of accessing and publishing information.

Release time is available with supervisor approval. RSVP’s are not required. Note the change in room location.

The Library Issues Forum was developed to fill a need for library employees to come together and talk about varied and broad library issues. If you have ideas for future forums, please contact Leo Agnew at AgnewL@missouri.edu.

The Diversity Action Committee invites library employees to attend the next Library Issues Forum, scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m., Jesse Wrench Auditorium (S107 Memorial Union). The session wraps up the observance of Banned Books Week/Month and features several speakers with topics related to the theme of “Celebrating Intellectual Freedom: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Creating.” Release time is available with supervisor approval.

Randy Diamond will open the forum with a discussion of copyright and its impact on First Amendment rights. Dr. Heather Carver of the Theatre Department will talk about how performance continues to engage in issues of intellectual freedom and expression in Missouri, across the country, and internationally. Additional panelists are being identified at this time.

The Library Issues Forum was developed to fill a need for library employees to come together and talk about varied and broad library issues. If you have ideas for future forums, please contact Leo Agnew at AgnewL@missouri.edu.

The Diversity Action Committee has created the following exhibits for Banned Book Week, which is September 26−October 3, 2009.

The west free standing display case currently houses books that were banned or attempts were made to ban them. This particular set of books is contributed by Special Collections. The display will run through the end of October.

Banned books from our own stacks will be featured on a shelf in the new book area. Stop and browse…you may be surprised at what you see there.

Information on more events coming soon.

Photos of the Diversity Luncheon, which was held on June 10,  are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/carysn/MULIbrariesDiversityLuncheon?feat=directlink.

The members of the Diversity Action Committee wish to offer our thanks to the following people for the successful outcome of the DAC’s Diversity Luncheon of June 10:
• Those who provided food. We’d like to collect recipes; send Leo the info when you get a second (agnewl@missouri.ed).
• Those who attended; the turnout was more than expected and a delight to see.
• All who helped with clean-up activities.
• Supervisors for approving release time for staff to both assist with and attend the event.
• MULSA for use of supplies, e.g., microwave, tablecloths, utensils.
• LTS for assistance with the music connection.
• Karen Eubanks for loan of the ‘diversity doll set.’
• Ivy Hui and Bill Phillips for taking pictures.

With the success of the event, DAC looks forward to sponsoring the Second Annual Diversity Luncheon in 2010.

On a related note, the world map activity has been moved to the staff lounge in Ellis. If you’ve not seen it, be sure to look for it the next time you visit the lounge. If you’ve not contributed your information, feel free to do so. Instructions are included with the map. What is the world map activity? It’s an opportunity for staff to identify their countries of heritage. The purpose is to recognize and celebrate the diversity among us.

1. June 10 ethnic luncheon: If you prefer, feel free to bring any dish… the dish could represent a region of the country you fancy, e.g., southwestern; or, the dish could simply be an ethnic food you like. All library employees are welcome to attend regardless. If you haven’t done so, please rsvp to Leo at AgnewL@missouri.edu regarding both attendance and food contribution.

2. Access a free, online copy of Diversity Executive magazine at http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/staff/committees/affirmativeaction/default.htm.

3. Diversity Survey – The DAC is looking at the results of the survey it sponsored in March. We are identifying potential action items from the responses to the open-ended question ‘What does the library need in order to be a diversity resource?’ We look forward to sharing our thoughts with library employees.

The library’s Diversity Action and Staff Development committees are looking to plan summer and fall activities. To help avoid scheduling conflicts with other library committee meetings, as well as conferences and such, Leo is asking for dates/times of such events through the end of the 2009. Simply shoot him an e-mail at AgnewL@missouri.edu. Thanks.