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K-State Today

August 27, 2012

Inspiring change: Lou Douglas Lecture Series to feature Wildcat, Feingold

Submitted by Communications & Marketing

Two men known for inspiring change will be the speakers for the Lou Douglas Lecture Series this fall at Kansas State University. The lecture series is sponsored by UFM Community Learning Center.

Daniel Wildcat, director of the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center and dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences at Haskell Indian Nations University, will present "Indigenous Realism in the Face of Technological Romanticism: The Climate Change We Need" on Tuesday, Sept. 11. 

Russ Feingold, former U.S. senator and co-sponsor of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act, will present "Power in Washington, Campaign Reform and America's Place in the World" on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Both presentations will begin at 7 p.m. in the K-State Student Union's Forum Hall. Following each lecture will be a question-and-answer session as well as a book signing.

In memory of a popular Kansas State University professor, the Lou Douglas Lecture Series preserves his legacy by hosting speakers who share a passion for sparking change.

Wildcat is the author of "Red Alert: Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge." He has helped form the American Indian and Alaska Native climate change working group -- a tribal college-centered network of individuals and organizations working on climate change issues -- and the Seven Generations Conference on climate change sponsored by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. In April, he co-chaired The Rights of Mother Earth Symposium with Tom Goldtooth of the indigenous environmental network at Haskell Indian Nations University. 

Feingold represented Wisconsin for 18 years in the U.S. Senate, where he ranked sixth for bipartisan voting and served on the judiciary, foreign relations, budget and intelligence committees. He is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Feingold's latest book, "While America Sleeps," reviews what America has done wrong domestically and abroad in the past decade since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. In the book, he discusses what steps must be taken to ensure that the next 10 years are focused on the international problems that threaten America and its citizens. 

The Lou Douglas Lecture Series is dedicated to Douglas, who was a distinguished professor of political science at Kansas State University from 1949 until 1977. Widely known for his power to inspire students, faculty, staff and citizens to instigate change, Douglas was one of the founders of UFM Community Learning Center. After his death in 1979, UFM began the lecture series to honor him. More information is available online at the UFM website.