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Nevada Humanities to host Jim Leach, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities - 03-24-2011
Nevada Humanities to host Jim Leach, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, for conversation about civility in sports and politics.
Reno, NV (March 21, 2011)–On March 31, 2011, the Nevada Humanities Board of Trustees will welcome Jim Leach, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, to present the 2011 Judith Winzeler Award for Excellence in the Humanities and to lead a roundtable discussion exploring civility in sports and politics. The event will take place at the Governor’s Mansion in Carson City.
The moderated discussion, entitled In the Arena: A Conversation About Politics, Sportsmanship, and Civility, will feature Leach, Nevada State Assemblyman Jason Frierson, University of Nevada, Reno President Emeritus Joe Crowley, and University of Nevada, Reno Director of Athletics Cary Groth.
A reception begins at 5:30 pm and the award ceremony and moderated roundtable discussion runs from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. The event is being held in the Nevada Room annex at the Governor’s Mansion, 606 Mountain Street, Carson City, NV.
Nevada is the 43rd stop on Chairman Leach’s 50-state Civility Tour. The goal of the tour is to affect the tone of political discourse, both in this country and globally. The political atmosphere is, according to Leach, “bordering on a civility crisis at home and a civilization crisis abroad.” With changes in communications technology, hate messages and increasingly extremist and intolerant political discourse can spread instantly, provoking a rancorous and at times dangerous environment. Respect for different views, and the people expressing them, is central to the humanities and to a civilized society.”
“The ability to listen and understand is essential for maintaining a vibrant democracy in this country,” says Christina Barr, Executive Director of Nevada Humanities. “Chairman Leach’s tour is perfectly timed to help all of us re-examine how we respond to viewpoints that differ from our own.”
Jim Leach is the ninth Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Prior to his appointment by President Obama, Leach was on faculty at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and was interim director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Before joining academia, Leach served 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing southeastern Iowa.
The 2011 Judith Winzeler Award for Excellence in the Humanities is being presented to Wally Cuchine of Eureka, NV, and Sundance Bookstore of Reno, NV. The award recognizes the honorees’ outstanding and lasting contributions to strengthening and enhancing the lives of Nevadans using the tools of the humanities.
For additional information about Nevada Humanities and the upcoming roundtable discussion with Jim Leach, contact Christina Barr, Executive Director of Nevada Humanities, cbarr@unr.edu, 775-784-6587.
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