Academic Engagement in Public and Political Discourse: Proceedings of the Michigan Meeting, May 2015
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2 Agenda
Wednesday, May 13—What is the normative problem? What is public and political engagement? Why should we be doing it?
| 1:00–1:05 | Welcome Janet Weiss, Dean, Horace H. Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan |
| 1:05–1:30 | Conference motivation, goals, and agenda Andrew Hoffman, Professor and Director, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan |
| 1:30–3:00 | Presidents’ panel Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University Philip Hanlon, President, Dartmouth College Mark Schlissel, President, University of Michigan Teresa Sullivan, President, University of Virginia Introduction of President Schlissel:Katherine White, Chair, Board of Regents, University of Michigan Moderator:Andrew Hoffman, Professor and Director, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan |
| 3:00–4:15 | Panel 1: Why Should Academics Engage in Public and Political Discourse? Brian Baird, President of 4Pir2 Communications; former President, Antioch University Seattle; former US Representative for Washington Rachel Cleetus, Lead Economist and Climate Policy Manager, Union of Concerned Scientists Charles Eisendrath, Director, Knight-Wallace Fellows Program, University of Michigan Eric Pooley, Senior Vice President for Strategy and Communications, Environmental Defense Fund Janet Weiss, Dean, Horace H. Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan Moderator:Paul Edwards, Professor of Information, University of Michigan |
| 4:30–5:15 | Breakout 1: What do we mean by public and political engagement? What pressures are leading us to this discussion? What are considered “appropriate” forms of engagement? Where are the lines between being a content provider and being a political advocate? How do these fit with the types of scholarly engagement advocated by others (such as Roger Pielke Jr.’s Honest Broker, or Donald Stokes’s Pasteur’s Quadrant)? |
| 5:15–6:15 | Experiences in engagement 1 Juan Cole, Professor of History, University of Michigan Lisa Nakamura, Professor of American Culture and Screen Arts, University of Michigan Henry Pollack, Professor Emeritus of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Michigan Moderator:Joy Rohde, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan |
| 7:30–9:00 | Public keynote 1: Delivering on Science’s Social Contract Jane Lubchenco, Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University, former Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Introduction:Andrew Maynard, Professor and Director, Risk Science Center, University of Michigan |
Thursday, May 14—How do we practice public and political engagement?
| 8:45–9:00 | Welcome and plan for the day Andrew Hoffman, Professor and Director, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan |
| 9:00–9:30 | Steering committee discussion leaders report back on key themes in Breakout 1. Report back:Andrew Maynard, Professor and Director, Risk Science Center, University of Michigan |
| 9:30–10:45 | Panel 2: What Are Some Guidelines for Public Engagement? Nancy Baron, Director of Science Outreach, Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea (COMPASS) Baruch Fischhoff, Professor of Social and Decision Sciences, Professor of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University Roger Pielke Jr., Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder Dan Sarewitz, Co-Director, Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, Arizona State University Dietram Scheufele, Professor of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin, Madison Moderator:Mark Barteau, Professor and Director, Michigan Energy Institute, University of Michigan |
| 10:45–11:30 | Breakout 2: How does one pursue an academic career that includes public and political engagement? What are the risks and opportunities (both internal and external)? How do they differ by stage of career or discipline? What are the challenges of engagement, including personal, career, and political ones, and what are the options for meeting them? How can one navigate the multiple roles that are part of the engagement process? |
| 12:30–1:00 | Steering committee discussion leaders report back on key themes in Breakout 2. Report back:David Uhlmann, Professor and Director, Environmental Law and Policy Program, University of Michigan |
| 1:00–2:15 | Panel 3: Models in Practice Maria Balinska, Managing Editor, The Conversation (US) Matthew Countryman, Professor and Director, Arts of Citizenship Program, University of Michigan Michael Kennedy, Director, Science in Society, Northwestern University Barbara Kline-Pope, Executive Director of Communications, National Academy of Sciences Amy Schalet, Professor and Director, Public Engagement Project, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Dawn Wright, Chief Scientist, Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), Oregon State University, Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow Moderator:Arthur Lupia, Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan |
| 2:15–3:00 | Breakout 3: What should be the role of academics in public and political discourse? What are the rules of academia and the needs of society, and what should we do if they do not mesh? How can we promote more successful engagement in public discourse? In an increasingly complex and scientifically challenging world, how should we engage the public and the political process? What are the rules of tenure—formal and informal—and how should they change or stay the same? How should young scholars manage their careers in ways that may differ from those of their more senior colleagues? |
| 3:30–4:00 | Steering committee discussion leaders report back on key themes in Breakout 3. Report back:Lianne Lefsrud, Postdoctoral Fellow, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, Dow Sustainability Fellow, University of Michigan |
| 4:00–5:00 | Experiences in engagement 2 David Uhlmann, Professor and Director, Environmental Law and Policy Program, University of Michigan Don Boesch, President, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Matthew Davis, Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan Moderator:Gregg Crane, Professor and Director, Program in the Environment, University of Michigan |
Friday, May 15—What are the obstacles to public and political engagement?
| 9:00–10:30 | Public keynote 2: Good, Bad, and Maybe: Communicating Scientific Near Certainties and Deep Uncertainties to a Nonscientific Audience Richard Alley, Professor of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University Introduction:Shelie Miller, Associate Professor, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan |
| 10:30–11:45 | Panel 4: What Are the Institutional Obstacles, and How Can They Be Overcome? Dominique Brossard, Professor and Chair, Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin Susan Collins, Dean, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan Alison Davis-Blake, Dean, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan Donald Kettl, Professor and former Dean, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland David Scobey, Professor and former Executive Dean, The New School for Public Engagement Moderator:Barry Rabe, Professor, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan |
| 11:45–12:30 | Breakout 4: What might a playbook for academic engagement in public and political discourse look like? What are the obstacles and incentives for academics to engage in public and political discourse? What are your summary observations from this conference and the topics that it covered? |
| 12:30–1:00 | Steering committee discussion leaders report back on key themes in Breakout 4. Report back:Shelie Miller, Associate Professor, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan Closing remarks, next steps, and adjourn |
