Sioux City Journal, IA
11-04-07
Ag expert to speak at Western Iowa Tech
Dr. Paul Lasley, one of the nation's leading experts on rural economic
development, will give two free public presentations during his visit to Western
Iowa Tech Community College, Nov. 6-7. Lasley, professor and chair of the
departments of sociology and anthropology at Iowa State University, will
keynote the college's 2007 Fund for Inspiration Visiting Speaker.
On Nov. 6, Lasley will speak at a special WITCC convocation on the topic
“Apocalypse When? The Future of the Rural Midwest,” from 11 a.m. to noon in
WITCC's Gymnasium, Corporate College Building. On Nov. 7, Lasley will speak
on the topic, ''The Future of Family Farms: Where Do We Go From Here?'' in the
Large Lecture Hall from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
He also will lead an in-depth workshop for students in WITCC’s agriculture and
TRIO Student Support Services programs.
He is a well-known, highly respected figure in the world of agricultural studies.
His research, teaching and extension work focuses on the organization of U.S.
agriculture and how changes in agriculture affect rural communities. Specific
areas of interest are rural development, community development, sustainable
agriculture and leadership in agriculture.
He is widely known across Iowa for conducting the Iowa Farm and Rural Life
Poll, a series of statewide surveys among farm operators on major agricultural
and rural development issues. He is a member of the advisory board of the
Leopold Center, a research and education center with statewide programs.
His awards include the Regent's Award for Faculty Excellence (2002) and an
award for Excellence in Extension and Public Service form the Rural Sociological
Society (1998).
Fiona Valentine, coordinator of WITCC’s Institute for Lifelong Learning, and
Carolyn Ellwanger, executive director for college development, are co-organizers
of the Fund for Inspiration activities.
The Fund for Inspiration was established at WITCC in April 2001. It enables the
College to invite to campus one or more individuals annually who have achieved
distinction in a field of cultural or technical endeavor. The distinguished guest
spends between one and four days on campus, visiting classes, meeting with
students, giving presentations to which the community is invited, and serving as
a role model for people pursuing their educational and professional dreams.
By bringing students into contact with individuals who are leaders or models, or
who are simply ordinary people with an extraordinary story, WITCC endeavors to
add a new rich dimension of learning to the college experience.
The Fund for Inspiration is supported through grants and gifts. To date, gifts have
been received from Dr. Juline Albert, Drs. Bill Cohen and Leslie Hershkowitz, Dr.
Robert Dunker, Carolyn Ellwanger, Mary Ellen Ellyson and Joe Nitzke, Martha
Fagg, Global Education, Gretchen and Russ Gondek, Emma Hewitt, Humanities
Iowa, The Institute for Lifelong Learning, The Marina Inn, Dr. Guy and Lynn
Posey, Dr. Julie and Tony Stoik, Student Senate, Sudo Corporation, Terra
Industries, TRIO/Student Support Services, Fiona Valentine, Waitt Family
Foundation and Shonda Warner.
The previous Fund for Inspiration Visiting Artists are author Larry Heinemann,
winner of the 1987 National Book Award for Paco's Story; Harry Lennix, an actor
and director who recently starred in the Broadway production of August Wilson’s
Radio Golf; Dr. Jimmy Santiago Baca, a poet and author who is one of the
nation’s leading voices of Latino arts and letters; and Diunna Greenleaf, singer
and recording artist and winner of the 2005 International Blues Challenge.