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Famous British Transsexual Divorce Trial Focus of Lawrence University Address

April Ashley was a British supermodel and fashion icon in the 1950s and ‘60s. And when she announced her marriage to Arthur Corbett, the heir of Lord Rowallen, she also became Great Britain’s most famous transsexual.

Dan O’Connor, a lecturer in the University of Wisconsin’s department of medical history and bioethics, explores the gaps between the medical and legal definitions of sex and the popular cultural signs of gender in the Lawrence University address “‘Wife a Man’: The April Ashley Divorce Trial and the Definition of Sex in Postwar Britain.”

O’Connor’s presentation, Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 4:15 p.m. in Lawrence’s Science Hall, Room 102, is free and open to the public.

A one-time member of the British merchant navy, Ashley spent two years as a showgirl at the Carousel, Paris’ famous female impersonator nightclub before undergoing sex reassignment surgery in 1960. Three years later in Gibraltar, she married Corbett, a transvestite and likely a homosexual, who was well aware of the facts of Ashley’s gender. Their marriage was never consummated, leading to a landmark court battle.

In a 1969 trial — the first case in which an English court has been called upon to decide the sex of an individual — the judge rules ‘wife a man’ on the grounds that although Ashley had a sex change operation, she was, by three biological criteria, a male “at birth” and the marriage was annulled.

The ruling was subsequently applied beyond the scope of marriage to deny transsexual British citizens basic civil rights and left them unable to legally change their sex in the UK until 2003 when it was repealed.

O’Connor is teaching at UW as a visiting research fellow from the Centre for the History of Medicine at the University of Warwick in England. He is currently completing his Ph.D. dissertation “Sex Signs: Transsexuality, Writing and the Languages of Male and Female in Britain and the U.S., 1950-2000.”

Cultural Contributions of Medieval Scribe Focus of Lawrence University Address

Medieval art scholar Lawrence Nees will examine the life and cultural contributions of Godescalc, a talented, but largely unknown, 8th-century scribe of King Charlemagne, in a Lawrence University address.

Nees, professor of art history at the University of Delaware, presents “The Career of Godescalc, Artist at the Court of Charlemagne,” Thursday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Nees will trace the works of Godescalc, the “ultimate servant,” during the “cultural flowering” of Charlemagne’s reign. The presentation will focus on Godescalc’s role in the creation of numerous important works of art for Charlemagne and his circle of advisors, especially the “Godescalc Evangeliary,” a set of illuminated gospels commissioned by Charlemagne and his wife, Hildegard.

A specialist in the art of the early Middle Ages, Nees is the author of several books, including “The Gundohinus Gospels; From Justinian to Charlemagne: European Art A.D. 565-787” and “A Tainted Mantle: Hercules and the Classical Tradition at the Carolingian Court and Early Medieval Art 300-1000.” A member of the University of Delaware’s art history department since 1978, Nees earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D from Harvard University.

Nees’ appearance is supported by the William A. Chaney Lectureship, which brings distinguished speakers in the humanities to the Lawrence campus. The lectureship was established in 1999 in honor of Chaney’s retirement as the George McKendree Steele Professor of History. He was the longest serving faculty member at the time of his retirement, having taught at the college for 47 years.

American Chemical Society President Examines Global Challenges to Chemistry at Lawrence University Seminar

An address by the president of the American Chemical Society will highlight a seminar celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Northeast Wisconsin section of the ACS Tuesday, Oct. 11 at Lawrence University.

William Carroll presents “The Chemistry Enterprise 2015: Do We Have a Future, or What?” at 6 p.m. in Lawrence’s Science Hall, Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.

A vice president at Occidental Chemical Corporation, Carroll will examine the issues facing the industrial, educational and governmental aspects of the U.S. chemical enterprise in the global marketplace. Carroll will discuss energy and raw material supply, the global mobility of students for both undergraduate and graduate education, intellectual property protection and the use of taxation and other incentives to maintain and attract chemical businesses.

Carroll, who holds two patents, began his chemical industry career in 1978. He joined what is now Occidental Chemical Corporation the following year. As Occidental’s vice president of Chlorovinyl Issues for OxyChem, he directs public policy issues related to chlorine and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a member of the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and has served on expert groups commissioned by the United Nations Environmental Program, the state of Florida and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. In 2000, Carroll was honored by the Vinyl Institute with the Roy T. Gottesman Leadership Award for lifetime achievement.

Carroll earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and physics from DePauw University and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Indiana University, where he holds an adjunct professor of chemistry position and teaches a course on polymer chemistry.
Lawrence University Associate Professor of Chemistry Karen Nordell is the current chair of the Northeast Wisconsin section of the ACS, which includes several hundred academic and chemical industry members from the region.

Noted Conservative Commentator Discusses Free Speech Issues on College Campuses in Address at Lawrence University

Former FBI agent, best-selling author and free-speech advocate Gary Aldrich will discuss what he calls “a serious assault on our constitutional rights” on the country’s college campuses in an address at Lawrence University.

Aldrich presents “Free Speech Issues on Campus” Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence’s Science Hall, Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.

A frequent guest on national news programs, Aldrich will share his personal experiences as a conservative commentator on college campus visits and argue for efforts to restore balance to what he sees as “a dramatic lessening of students’ free-speech rights” at colleges and universities.

Aldrich, a 30-year veteran of the FBI where he specialized in white-collar crime, including fraud and political corruption, garnered national attention in July, 1996 with the release of his book “Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House,” which broke the agency’s “code of silence.”

“Unlimited Access,” which spent 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, detailed breaches of national security Aldrich had witnessed during the Clinton administration while he was on assignment at the White House, including qualifying high-level political appointees for Top Secret clearance and granting access to sensitive areas of the White House.

In his 2003 follow-up book “Thunder on the Left,” Aldrich charges that the Democratic Party has been hijacked by the far left wing of the party and that President Clinton was responsible for the 9/11 terrorists attacks. He also is the author of the 1998 novel “Speak No Evil.”

During his lengthy FBI career, Aldrich worked in the White House during the administrations of the first president Bush as well as those of presidents Reagan and Clinton. He also served as the senior FBI liaison to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, overseeing the maintenance of national security issues.

In 1998, he founded The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty in Fairfax, Va. The nonprofit center promotes the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the right of ethical dissent. It also specializes in “whistleblower cases,” assisting workers who report corruption within the federal government.

A former talk show host, Aldrich has written political commentaries for numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Insight Magazine and The Washington Times, among others. He also is a regular columnist for Worldnetdaily.com.

His appearance is sponsored by the Lawrence College Republicans and the Young America’s Foundation

Wisconsin Congressional Candidate Discusses Economic Growth, Deficit Reduction in Lawrence University Address

Green Bay businessman and Wisconsin 8th Congressional District candidate Jamie Wall shares his vision for the future of Wisconsin and America in an address at Lawrence University.

Focusing on issues of economic growth and deficit reduction, Wall presents “America Means Opportunity” Tuesday, May 17 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center auditorium. He will conduct a question-and-answer session following his address, which is free and open to the public.

In his first bid for elective office, Wall is seeking the congressional seat currently held by three-term Congressman Mark Green (R-Green Bay). First elected in 1998, Green has announced his candidacy for governor. The National Journal, a weekly magazine focusing on politics, policy and government, has identified Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District as one of the key House races in the country to watch in 2006.

A sixth-generation Wisconsinite, Wall grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Askeaton in rural Brown County and graduated from Wrightstown High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993 and the following year was named a Rhodes Scholar. He spent two years (1995-97) at Oxford University, earning a master’s degree in political philosophy.

Currently an independent business consultant in Green Bay, Wall served as the head of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce’s economic development programs from 2003 to earlier this year and is a founding member of the Northeast Wisconsin Economic Development Partnership.

Wall’s visit is sponsored by the Lawrence College Democrats.

Frank Lloyd Wright and the Influence of Women in his Work Examined in Lawrence University Lecture

Frank Lloyd Wright’s pattern of eliminating the role and important contributions of several women to his work in presentations of himself will be examined in a Lawrence University address.

David Sokol, the director of museum studies in the department of art history at the University of Illinois at Chicago, presents “The Exclusion of Women from the Narrative of Frank Lloyd Wright” Thursday, May 12 at 4:30 p.m. in Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

The talk will focus on Wright’s Unity Temple in Oak Park, Ill., one of the best known and widely admired buildings of the 20th century. Built in 1905 and now a national historic landmark, the church has been analyzed and illustrated in dozens of monographs, hundreds of books on 20th-century architecture and American architectural surveys.

In his autobiography, Wright detailed how the commission for the Unity Temple came about and how he developed its design. While nearly all scholars have accepted that story at face value, Sokol will argue Wright’s presentation is inaccurate in many details and how it overlooks the role and contributions of several women who deserve more credit.

A long-time chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission of Oak Park, Ill., Sokol is the co-author of a guide to the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District in Oak Park and recently completed a monograph on the Unity Temple.

Sokol has written widely about American painting and architecture and was the first curator of the Terra Museum of American Art. He has taught American art and museology at UIC since 1971, serving as chair of the art history department the past 17 years.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Hunter College and a Ph.D. in American and modern art and architecture at New York University.

His appearance is sponsored by the Fine Art Colloquium, Main Hall Forum and the Gender Studies Department.

Wisconsin Business Leader Discusses Manufacturing’s “Global Realignment” in Lawrence University Economic Address

Jim Kurtz, an advisor to the Chicago branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, shares his perspective on what he calls a world-wide “manufacturing evolution” in an address at Lawrence University.

Kurtz presents “Innovation, Creativity, Education and the Global Realignment of Manufacturing” Wednesday, May 4 at 4:15 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102. A question and-answer session will follow. The event is free and open to the public.

In his address, Kurtz will discuss the need for small- and medium-sized manufacturers to develop new business strategies, emphasize continuous education and form domestic and international partnerships in order to survive in the new global marketplace.

As an advisor to the FRB, Kurtz surveys manufacturers in Wisconsin on their business activity eight times a year. His findings are included in the “Beige Book,” which is reviewed by members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee. As part of his presentation, Kurtz will share his interpretation of the FOMC’s reaction to the state of the economy in general and manufacturing in particular. The FOMC next meets May 3, the day before Kurtz’ appearance.

During a recent visit to China, Kurtz says he found a country “very focused” on its economic future, with an emphasis on advanced technical training, the development of high skill sets and a rapid expansion of its infrastructure. According to Kurtz, China graduates approximately 400,000 new engineers every year, while the United States only produces around 60,000 new engineering graduates a year. He believes the next five to 10 years will be a critical time for American manufacturers as they try to adjust to increased international competition, perhaps shifting away from actual physical production to more distribution businesses.

Kurtz is involved in a wide range of business and economic activities on behalf of Wisconsin manufacturing interests, including serving as the president of The Group, Inc., an international organization of professionals from several fields who work together to assist small- and medium-sized manufacturers expand their potential.

He is a former member of the Governor’s Council for Manufacturing, serves as a member of Forward Wisconsin and the Independent Business Association and is active in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. A small-business owner himself, Kurtz operates Screen Specialists, Ltd., an industrial screen-printing business in Waukesha.

His appearance is co-sponsored by the Lawrence economics department and UW Extension.

Historic Civil Rights Pioneer Discusses Race, Discrimination Issues in Lawrence University Address

Minnijean Brown-Trickey, a key figure in one of the defining moments in the U.S. civil rights movement, draws upon her experiences as a member of the famed “Little Rock Nine” in a Lawrence University address that explores social change, diversity and the continuing battle against discrimination and racism.

Brown-Trickey presents “Return to Little Rock” Tuesday, April 19 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Wriston Art Center on the Lawrence campus. A question-and-answer session and a reception with the speaker will follow her address. The event is free and open to the public.

In September, 1957, three years after the U.S. Supreme Court had declared public school segregation unconstitutional in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, Little Rock teenager Brown-Trickey turned the court’s ruling into action, walking through the front doors of Central High School and into American history books.

Under the watch of 1,200 armed soldiers, Brown-Trickey and eight other students, who collectively became known as the “Little Rock Nine,” helped desegregate previously all-white Central High School, bringing the injustices of segregation to the forefront of the American psyche in the process.

Expelled from Central High six months later for retaliating to the physical and verbal abuse she was subjected to, Brown-Trickey moved to New York, eventually graduating from New Lincoln High School. In the early 1960s, she moved to Canada and later armed with a master’s degree in social work, focused her career on working to combat the plight of Canada’s native communities.

She returned to the United States in 1999 to serve in the Clinton administration as deputy assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior where she oversaw diversity issues.

Her work as a champion for civil rights has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, the Wolf Award and the Spingarn Medal, the highest award given by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in recognition of outstanding achievement by a black American.

Now living back in Arkansas again, Brown-Trickey is still active in civil rights and social equality issues and is completing her autobiography, tentatively entitled “Mixed Blessing: Living Black in North America.”

Brown-Trickey’s appearance is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Multicultural Affairs Committee, the Alyssa Paul Maria Fund and the Lawrence history department.