Riker Lecture to be held on Oct. 29 by Vasti Torres

October 29, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2008 Riker Lecture will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 in the University Auditorium. The lecture will be given by Vasti Torres and is entitled “Would you Recognize Racism When it Happens Around you?” The lecture is sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and the Department of Housing and Residence Education at the University of Florida.

The Riker Lecture has brought distinguished professionals and faculty in student affairs and higher education administration for more than a decade, including Marcia Baxter Magolda, Patricia King and Ernest Pascarella. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Torres is an associate professor of higher education and student affairs administration in the School of Education at Indiana University Bloomington. She has 15 years of experience in administrative positions, most recently serving as associate vice provost and dean for Enrollment and Student Services at Portland State University in Portland, Ore.

Torres’ research focuses on how the ethnic identity of Latino students influences their college experience. She has written numerous articles on Latino college students, survey development and use, as well as other diversity issues. In 2007, she became the first Latina president of a national student affairs association – ACPA. Torres holds a bachelor of arts from Stetson University, a master’s of education and a doctorate of philosophy in student affairs administration from the University of Georgia.

The Riker Lecture honors Harold Riker, who worked for UF for more than 50 years in administrative and academic roles. Riker was hired as an assistant director of the student union in 1938 after completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UF. Following his service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he was named director of housing. Later, he joined the faculty in the College of Education after earning his doctoral degree from Columbia University in New York. As a professor in the counselor education department, Riker developed and taught courses that addressed counseling and other mental health needs of adults and the elderly. He was a driving force in the formation of the Florida Council on Aging and served as a delegate to the White House Conference on Families and the White House Conference on Aging. He retired in 1991 and passed away in 1998.