Join us for our upcoming Thought Leader Forums:

Reserved tickets are $20 and include lunch. Tickets at the door are $25. Tickets will be available starting late summer 2012. All forums are held at CJ Callaway's Event Center (69th & Minnesota) beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Upcoming speakers

Dr. Pam Homan '81 Superintendent, Sioux Falls School District 49-5 Topic: "K-12 Education Reform: The Reality of the Pachyderm and His Family" Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012

Since 2004, Pam Homan has been the superintendent of the Sioux Falls School District 49-5, Sioux Falls, S.D., a PK-12 and regional technical institute serving 24,000 students.

Pam has been a dedicated educator in the public schools for over 30 years as a teacher, special education coordinator, principal, director, and superintendent. The district encompasses pre-kindergarten through a post-secondary technical institute. Dr. Homan has served on various state and national level committees for educational assessment, accountability, technology, K-12 reform and teacher compensation. She is a respected speaker and presenter in the community, state, region and nation on topics such as program development, staff development, leadership, and education funding. In the Sioux Falls Public Schools, she has initiated the formation of numerous innovative programs and several specialized schools. Homan received her bachelor's degree from Augustana in 1981 and her doctoral degree from the University of South Dakota.

Past speakers

Dr. Robert E. Wright Nef Family Chair of Political Economy & Director of the Thomas Willing Institute Topic: "How Low Will We Go? Long Term Perspectives on a Flailing Economy" Friday, February 24, 2012

Dr. Robert Wright received his B.A. in history, summa cum laude, from Buffalo State College in 1990, his M.A. in history from State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in 1994, and his Ph.D. from SUNY at Buffalo in 1997. Before coming to Augustana, Dr. Wright served as Clinical Associate Professor of Economics at the Stern School of Business, New York University. He was also a guest curator for the Museum of American Finance. Dr. Wright has written for Barron's, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes.com, and other prominent publications. He has appeared on National Public Radio, C-SPAN, and BBC, as well as several South Dakota stations.

In addition to editing three series of primary source documents for Pickering and Chatto Publishers, Dr. Wright has authored or co-authored ten books, including "One Nation Under Debt: Hamilton, Jefferson and the History of What We Owe" (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), which explores the untold history of America's first national debt, arising from the immense sums needed to conduct the American Revolution. Another title, "Financial Founding Fathers" (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006), is a compelling account of the nation's early finances. Dr. Wright's latest book, "Fubarnomics: A Lighthearted, Serious Look at America's Economic Ills" (Prometheus, 2010), has been called "a welcome new addition to the societal/economic/political discourse that is raging now."

In 2010, Dr. Wright established the Thomas Willing Institute for the Study of Financial Markets, Institutions, and Regulations at Augustana College to promote the public's understanding of the financial system.

Dr. Joel A. Johnson Associate Professor of Government and International Affairs Topic:  "2012 and Beyond: The Challenges of Governance in an Age of Globalization, Hyperpartisanship, and Mistrust" Thursday, March 29, 2012

Dr. Joel Johnson is an associate professor of Government and International Affairs at Augustana College. He received his Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University, where he also served as lecturer on Government. During 2010-11 he served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in the Department of British and American Studies at Philipps-Universität Marburg in Hessen, Germany. In that capacity, he taught courses in American politics, history, and culture, in addition to giving more than a dozen public lectures throughout Germany and Italy. His primary research interests include American political thought, politics and literature, and theories of justice. He is the author of "Beyond Practical Virtue: A Defense of Liberal Democracy Through Literature" (University of Missouri Press, 2007), as well as journal articles and book chapters on the American founding, Mark Twain's views on imperialism, and moral argumentation in Uncle Tom's Cabin. His latest work is a chapter on South Dakota's literature in "The Plains Political Tradition: Essays on South Dakota Political Culture" (South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2011). At Augustana, Dr. Johnson teaches courses on political philosophy, politics and literature, and Asian politics. He also advises both the department's honors program and Augustana's government club, the Committee of Undergraduate Political Scientists (C.O.U.P.S.).

View Other Past Forum Sessions and Speakers

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