Panel discussion to explore UF's past challenges, future

January 17, 2013

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, a special panel discussion will be held Jan. 22 on the University of Florida campus titled, “UF: The Past is Prologue.”

The discussion starts at 6 p.m. in Pugh Hall Room 170 and will examine the many challenges faced by UF in the past as it moves forward to the future. Themes such as the status of women and minorities, the civil rights era and its effect on the shaping of the university, town-gown relations and more will be explored throughout the evening.

The Morrill Act created the opportunity for states to create land-grant universities such as UF.

Panelists will include:

• Jean Chalmers, former Gainesville mayor-commissioner;
• Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, lecturer in African-American studies;
• Madelyn Lockhart, professor emerita in economics and former dean of the graduate school and dean of international studies;
• Steven Noll, professor of history;
• Paul Ortiz, director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.

David Colburn, interim director at the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, will be moderating the event as well as making the closing statements.

The discussion is sponsored by the department of history and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is co-sponsored by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, the Center for the Humanities and Public Sphere, and the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research.

“UF: The Past is Prologue,” is open to the public.