10th Annual Urban Forum Examines Multicultural Education

MILWAUKEE – Two noted experts on multicultural education will be the keynote speakers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s (UWM) 10th annual Urban Forum on Monday, Nov. 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event, sponsored by the UWM School of Education, takes place at the UWM Union, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. It is free and open to the public.

The morning keynote speaker, at 8:45 a.m., is James Banks, the Kerry and Linda Killinger Professor in Diversity Studies and director of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington(which campus? There are 3). He is an award-winning researcher, author and editor. (Do we know what the subject of his talk is?)

The evening keynote speaker, at 6:45 p.m., is Samuel Betances, vice president, senior consultant and trainer at Souder, Betances & Associates Inc. in Chicago. Betances, who taught at Northeastern Illinois University for 19 years, has written a number of books and has recorded educational and motivational tapes. His topic is “Ensuring Equity and Excellence for All Students Through Multicultural Education.”

New this year to the Urban Forum is an entertainment segment featuring performance artist Brooke Haycock, artist-in-residence at the Education Trust Based in Washington, D.C., the organization is dedicated to helping ensure the success of all students. Haycock will perform “The Buzz,” a one-woman play about the pursuit of hope and success in America’s high-poverty, high-minority high schools. She will also perform “Dilated Pupils and the Not-So-Soft Bigotry of a Nation.”

“The Urban Forum gives educators and community members the opportunity to come together to discuss how education is impacted by urban social, political and economic issues,” says School of Education Dean Alfonzo Thurman. “Educational inequality is a multifaceted issue which spans race, economics, gender and cultures. Our goal in the Urban Forum is to reach individuals and motivate them to improve, strengthen and unify classrooms so differences are cause for celebration, not benchmarks for discrimination.”

To register online, visit www.urbanforum.uwm.edu. For more information, call 414-229-5255 or e-mail soeinfo@uwm.edu. Advance registrations are due by Monday, Oct. 30.

CONTACT: Helaine Johnson, 414-229-4644; helaine@uwm.edu.

Program Schedule—Monday, Nov. 6
2006 Urban Forum: Daring to Educate for Equity and Excellence through Multicultural Education

Morning Session

Afternoon and Evening Session

4:30 - 5 p.m. and 6 – 6:30 pm.
Pre-registration check-in
5 - 6 p.m.
"The Buzz," Brooke Haycock, The Education Trust
6:30 - 6:45 p.m.
Welcome – Dean Alfonzo Thurman, UWM School of Education
Introduction of keynote speaker - Gary Williams, adjunct assistant professor, UWM Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies
6:45 - 7:45 p.m.
Keynote address - "Ensuring Equity and Excellence for All Students Through Multicultural Education"
Samuel Betances, Souder, Betances & Associates, Inc.; former professor, Northeastern Illinois University
7:45 - 8:15 p.m.
Questions and Answers
8:30 - 9 p.m.

Samuel Betances book signing session.