Nebraska Wesleyan University's 11th annual Visions & Ventures Symposium has been scheduled for September 14-15. This year's theme is "More Than A Game: Economics, Ethics & Politics of Sports."
Speakers will include:
- Dave Zirin: Columnist for Sports Illustrated's website, host of XM satellite's weekly show "Edge of Sports Radio," and sports editor for The Nation magazine. Zirin writes about the politics of sports. He is the author of several books including Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love.
- Harry Edward: Sociologist who established The Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) whose purpose was to protest racial segregation in the U.S. and racism in sports. The group advocated a boycott of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics Games.
- Rob Baade: Professor of economics and business at Lake Forest College. His interest is in topics relating to the economics of professional and intercollegiate sports. He recently published Getting Into The Game: Is The Gamble On Sports As A Stimulus For Economic Development A Good Bet?
- Donna Lopiano: President and founder of Sports Management Resources, a consulting firm that focuses on bringing the knowledge of experience and expertise of former athletic directors to assist scholastic and collegiate athletics departments in solving growth and development challenges. She was previously the Chief Executive Officer of the Women's Sports Foundation and was recently named one of the "10 Most Powerful Women in Sports" by Fox Sports.
Other featured lectures for next fall will include:
Eboo Patel: President of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based international nonprofit that aims to promote interfaith cooperation.
Andy Carvin: National Public Radio's senior product manager for online communities.
Dr. David Strayer: Psychology professor at the University of Utah who will discuss his research on cell phone distraction and driving. His lecture is part of the Fawl Lecture Series in November.