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University Communications

Jepson/WILL Forum wraps up with discussions on the role of leadership in social change and civil rights

March 18, 2008

A one-time Harvard University dropout, now a professor at the university's John F. Kennedy School of Government, will join the first African-American woman to become a tenured professor at Harvard's law school in the final two programs of the Jepson/WILL Forum on Rhetoric & Reality, both April 2 at the University of Richmond's Jepson Alumni Center.

Marshall Ganz, the public policy lecturer who dropped out of Harvard to become a civil rights organizer, will speak on "Leading Social Change: Relationships, Story and Strategy" at 12 p.m.

Lani Guinier, a law professor and civil rights scholar, will discuss "The Next Vanguard in Civil Rights—Abandoning the Myth of Meritocracy" at 7 p.m.

In 1964, his fourth year at Harvard, Ganz went to Mississippi to join the fight for African-American civil rights. But he quickly turned his attention to improving the plight of American farm workers. In 1965, he joined Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, building a career in union, community and political organizing. He returned to Harvard in 1991 to earn master's and doctoral degrees in sociology. His presentation will be followed by a workshop for nonprofits.

Guinier, who graduated from Radcliffe College and Yale Law School, was then-President Bill Clinton's nominee for assistant attorney general for civil rights in 1993. Her controversial nomination was withdrawn.

Guinier began her career working as a civil rights attorney, later joining the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund as assistant counsel. She spent 10 years as a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania before joining Harvard in 1998. The author of six books, she is an advocate of re-thinking race, class and affirmative action.

Seating is limited for the Ganz luncheon, and reservations are required. Contact Shannon Best at (804) 287-6522 or sbest@richmond.edu for reservations. Tickets are free but required for the Guinier lecture and can be reserved by calling (804) 289-8980.