Taylor Symposium March 8 to explore ‘Building Community’

By Diane Brown

Nnaemeka

“Building Community: Civil Society in Urban America” is the theme of the event. Sessions will meet from 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m.

“With the establishment of an office in the White House that will deal with faith-related issues and the nonprofit sector, it is indeed timely that this year’s Taylor Symposium will deal with issues surrounding the relationship between government and other sectors in building a civil society,” said Dwight Burlingame of the Center on Philanthropy (COP) headquartered at IUPUI. The School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI is presenting this year’s symposium in association with COP and the campus’ Department of Philosophy. Symposium discussion topics include “Supporting Civil Society: What Business, Government and Philanthropy Can Do,” “The Environment for a Civil Society-Culture, Education and the Arts,” in addition to “The Role of Religion in Building Community and Civil Society.”

The symposium was conceived to honor the School of Liberal Arts’ first dean, who died last September. Taylor is remembered for his commitment to diversity, and this year’s symposium will be held in celebration of that legacy.

Judy O’Bannon will be the morning keynote speaker. As part of the opening session, O’Bannon and IUPUI Chancellor Gerald L. Bepko will present the first Taylor Award for Excellence in Diversity.

Obioma Nnaemeka, professor of foreign languages and cultures, and director of the IUPUI Women’s Studies Program, will be the keynote luncheon speaker. Her topic will be “Why Border/Bother?: Civility, Capacity Building and the Paradox of Urban America.”

Symposium sessions will be free and open to the public. Lunch tickets are $22.50 each, if purchased by the early-bird deadline of Sunday, Feb. 25, or $25 if purchased after the deadline. To register, call 317-274-5053. To read about IUPUI’s Diversity Cabinet, a co-sponsor of the Taylor award, go to this Web site:

http://diversity.iupui.edu/cabinet/