We are proud to support Central Oregon Community College’s Nancy R. Chandler Lecture Series, formerly called its Visiting Scholar Program, which brings renowned speakers, lecturers and experts to the region. Over the past few weeks, they have been holding a number of events in support of the Season of Nonviolence, with a wide array of programming in partnership with the college’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Earlier this month, the final event in the series featured Julie Sze, Ph.D. who is a Professor of American Studies at UC Davis and the Founding Director of the Environmental Justice Project for UC Davis’ John Muir Institute for the Environment. Her talk, called “Climate Justice as Freedom”, covered a number of issues, including frontline climate justice movements and highlighting the disparities of who is most impacted and most responsible for climate issues.
Already this year, the series has hosted a number of speakers on indigenous topics and celebrating Black triumphs for Black History Month. Lectures have addressed topics ranging from housing and the economy to inequity in access to services, including healthcare. Check out the full list here.
The lecture series was established back in 1985 to by John Chandler to honor his wife, Nancy, after her passing. It was designed to bring compelling, educational, relevant and timely programming both to COCC our students and the greater Central Oregon community. Each year, the program brings renowned visitors (in-person and virtually) who share expert knowledge surrounding a wide-range of topics to help encourage thought and discussion.
Over the years, the Nancy R. Chandler lecture series has brought in some fantastic speakers, some of whom can still be seen on their YouTube channel. Bringing fresh perspectives and voices into the community is critical as we continue to grow and evolve, and this program presents a balanced and broad-based scope of programming. Stay tuned for more lectures, forums and interactive workshops throughout 2022.
