February 17, 2005

Upcoming talks: CPS chief Duncan will discuss Renaissance 2010

Chicago Public Schools chief Arne Duncan will present an overview of Renaissance 2010, Mayor Daley’s controversial initiative that aims in the next six years to replace Chicago’s most troubled and under-enrolled public schools with 100 new, smaller schools.

Duncan will discuss the Renaissance 2010 plan at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 1, at an Inquiry Series breakfast co-sponsored by the School of Education and Social Policy and the Inner-City Training Corps. Individuals interested in urban education and school reform are welcome to attend for a fee of $25 per person.

The breakfast meeting will take place at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson, Chicago. Louis Gomez, professor of education and social policy, will serve as discussant, kicking off a question-and-answer session.

Mayor Daley introduced Renaissance 2010 in June last year. In September, the Chicago Board of Education approved a policy establishing guidelines for opening new schools under the initiative.

For reservations, call (847) 467-2073 or e-mail l-versino@northwestern.edu.

Crain Lectures focus on presidents who lie, women’s movement coverage

The Medill School of Journalism presents two Crain Lectures in February, bringing to campus a noted author, a syndicated columnist and a former  president of the National Organization for Women.

The lectures are:

Monday, Feb. 21: Eric Alterman, author of “When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and Its Consequences,” and Northwest-ern Professor Lee Huebner, former speechwriter for President Nixon, will speak about “The Presidency Then and Now.”

Monday, Feb. 28: Former National Organization for Women president and attorney Karen DeCrow; syndicated columnist Georgie Anne Geyer; Northwestern student newspaper editor-in-chief Elaine Helm; and former Chicago Reporter editor and DePaul University journalism professor Laura Washington will discuss “Feminist or Feminazi? Coverage of the Women’s Movement.” DeCrow, Geyer and Washington are Medill alumni. Helm is a current Medill student.

The admission-free, public lectures take place at 4 p.m. at McCormick Tribune Center.