The Honors College and the College of Business and Economics co-hosted “Black Lives Matter: A TU Faculty Dialogue with Q&A” Tuesday evening at Stephens Hall.
Faculty members Melissa Groves (Department of Economics), Jack Cole (Department of Education) and Donn Worgs (Department of Political Science) moderated a panel and discussed issues including education, accountability, and economics in front of a standing-room-only crowd of TU students.
Each faculty member was allotted time to discuss two policy changes that she or he believed would help solve academic and economic inequalities in American society. Worgs spoke first, highlighting accountability in both education and law enforcement, as well as the importance of the availability of jobs that lead to personal and professional growth.
Groves took the stage next and suggested that the K-12 curriculum get tougher and more personalized to students to address learning gaps, and that society value career education programming that provides solid career training as much as the traditional college degree.
Finally, Cole focused on three central tenets: education, economics, and engagement abroad.
Following a period of rebuttals, the floor opened to questions from the audience.
The event was sponsored by the TU Political Economy Project and The Honors College.
“Events like these are important not only because they provide an open and honest forum for discourse on controversial issues, but because they allow these issues to be viewed through an interdisciplinary lens,” said Honors College director Bethany Pace.
“Having a political scientist, an economist and an educator discuss these topics demonstrated that disagreement can be a form of collaboration, and that a range of intellectual perspectives adds both depth and value to a conversation,” she added.
