USI to host Mandela Day virtual event April 16

As part of Mandela Social Justice Day, the University of Southern Indiana College of Liberal Arts will welcome Chris Daley, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana, at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 16 via Zoom. This event is open to the public at no charge, but registration is required. 

“The annual Nelson Mandela Commemoration is a speaker series that directly addresses social justice issues affecting the local or national community,” says Dr. Kristalyn Shefveland, Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “As USI expands its student population, questions of diversity will come into an even starker relief on campus, and this series aims to address some of those issues, helping to prepare students to live wisely in a diverse, global community.”  

The Indiana legislature has pushed through a bill that poses a serious threat to academic freedom. The Indiana ACLU has been doing important work trying to protect educator’s freedom of speech rights across the state. Chris Daley, Executive Director of the Indiana ACLU, will discuss the potential fallout of the bill and its impact on higher education. Following Daley’s talk, there will be a Q&A. 

For more information about this event, contact Shefveland at kmshefvela@usi.edu or Dr. Denise Lynn, Interim Chair of the History Department, at dmlynn1@usi.edu. To learn more about Mandela Day events at USI, visit the College of Liberal Arts’ webpage.