Academic Convocation and University Day is Tuesday, Sept. 13
Convocation to launch yearlong series on globalization

By Lori Wright, Media Relations

UNH will celebrate academic excellence with the introduction of a yearlong series focused on globalization Tuesday, Sept. 13, at the annual Academic Convocation. Following the convocation, the university community will come together for the annual University Day Picnic.

The Academic Convocation will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Richards Auditorium, Murkland Hall. This year’s Academic Convocation will feature a lively faculty panel discussion that will introduce yearlong series, “Where in the World is UNH? A University Dialogue on Globalization.”

The University Day Picnic will follow from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the T-Hall Lawn. The picnic will feature live reggae music, al fresco dining at the Main Street Food Fest, sports and games, and children’s events. Wayne from Maine will perform from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Murkland courtyard, and members of student clubs and organizations will be on hand. Athletics will be distributing complimentary tickets to the UNH vs. Iona football game at Cowell Stadium Nov. 12.

The University Dialogue is a component of the Discovery Program designed to draw first-year students into a series of dialogues focused on a central topic. A set of short readings written by UNH faculty and other campus leaders are available online at http://www.unh.edu/academic-affairs/u-dialog.html. These position statements, representing a wide range of approaches to the topic, will serve as the basis for various dialogues in and out of the classroom.

“Throughout the year, papers written by the first group of faculty Discovery Authors will form the springboard for a yearlong conversation that examines this topic from a host of perspectives. The goal is to engage students in a dynamic, intellectual exchange and scholarly exploration that will ultimately help them grow as people, as thinkers, and as global citizens,” according to UNH President Ann Weaver Hart.

The following faculty members will participate in the University Dialogue:

• Mimi Becker, associate professor of natural resources and environmental policy, “Globalization, Ecological Security and the Sustainability of Human Societies”
• John Cerullo, professor of history at UNHM, “Human Rights and Globalization”
• Ross Gittell, James R. Carter Professor and professor of management, “Globalization of the Economy: What Does It Mean?”
• Filson Glanz, faculty emeritus of electrical engineering, “Why Isn't Globalization As Good For People As Its Marketed Image Suggests It Is?”
• Lori Hopkins, associate professor of Spanish and languages, literature and culture, “Doesn’t Everyone Speak English Anyway? Multilingualism in the Age of Globalization”
• Tom Kelly, director of Sustainability Programs, “Virtuous Globalization: A Dialogue for the University of New Hampshire Discovery Program”
• Joe Lugalla, professor of anthropology, "Globalization and Structural Adjustments in Subsaharan Africa (A New Dimension of Colonialism)"
• Lawrence Chris Reardon, associate professor of political science, “No Dogs or Chinese Allowed: Globalization and China”
• Jeffrey Salloway, professor of health management and policy, “The Global Distribution of Disease and Death”

“Perhaps never before has the issue of globalization and what it means for us been so relevant. Our generation, coming of age in the 21st century, will face both new and exciting prospects, difficult changes, and possibly dangerous situations as a result of the forces of globalization sweeping the world,” said Katie Whittmore, Class of 2005. “Globalization has effects that are truly global in scope, affecting much of the world’s population, yet many of the questions that globalization raises deal with life at a national, local, and even personal level. It is important that as students and as citizens of the world we think about what a global future will be like -- for this is, after all, a world that we will inherit.”