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The Axworthy Distinguished Lecture Series on Social Justice and the Public Good

Dr. Cornel West

Dr. Cornel West

The Axworthy Distinguished Lecture Series on Social Justice and the Public Good has been established to honour Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President of The University of Winnipeg from 2004-14. Axworthy’s noteworthy political career centered largely on humanitarian and social justice issues—work recognized by a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize nomination. During his remarkable tenure as President at UWinnipeg, he undertook many initiatives concerned with the public good at the local, national and international level, further entrenching The University of Winnipeg as a bastion of social justice education and activism.

In recognition of Axworthy’s commitment to the public good, to social justice, and to accessibility at The University of Winnipeg, the Axworthy Distinguished Lecture Series on Social Justice and the Public Good will invite front-ranking researchers, social commentators and political leaders to UWinnipeg to deliver free lectures open to the public. The Axworthy Distinguished Lecturers will bring interdisciplinary perspectives on social justice issues involving gender, religion and secularism, Indigeneity, language, ethnicity and race, ecology, and economy.

The inaugural Axworthy Lecturer is Dr. Cornel West, on May 8th, 2015 and will coincide with the spring institute “Public Religion in a Secular World”. The lectures are free and open to the public.

Former UWinnipeg President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Lloyd Axworthy

Former UWinnipeg President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Lloyd Axworthy

“The Axworthy Lecture Series is a fantastic opportunity to engage as a community with many of the pressing social issues we face today,” expressed Dr. Carlos D. Colorado,
(Associate Professor, Chair, Joint Masters Program in Religion, Department of Religion and Culture, Faculty of Arts). “There are few public intellectuals who can speak with authority and charisma to questions of social justice like Dr. West. It is extremely exciting to have such a high profile scholar as the inaugural Axworthy Distinguished Lecturer.”

 

The Inaugural 2015 Axworthy Lecturer: Dr. Cornel West
Dr. West is a prominent and provocative democratic intellectual and civil rights activist. He is the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University and has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard and the University of Paris. He has written 19 and edited 13 books. West is best known for his classic Race MattersDemocracy Matters, and his new memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. He appears frequently on Real Time with Bill Maher, The Colbert Report, CNN, C-Span, and PBS. He can be heard weekly with Tavis Smiley on “Smiley & West”, the national public radio program distributed by Public Radio International. Along with Smiley, Dr. West participates in the “Poverty Tour”, traveling across the U.S to libraries, non-profits and corporations, and colleges and universities, and religious institutions, to discuss why now is the time to make poverty a priority in America.

He has appeared in over 25 films (including The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions) and documentaries (including Examined LifeCall & Response, Sidewalk and Stand). He has made three spoken word albums including Never Forget, collaborating with Prince, Jill Scott, Andre 3000, Talib Kweli, KRS-One and the late Gerald Levert. In short, West has a passion to communicate to a vast variety of publics in order to keep alive the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. – a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love, civil rights and social justice.

This year’s Lectureship is sponsored by a generous gift from Dr. Jim Burns. Please visit The University of Winnipeg Foundation’s for information on this new crowdfunding initiative.

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