David Marshall
Photo by UT
Photography
Services/Mark Rutkowski
Stephanie Hill (left), graduate coordinator in the Office of Student and Alumni Programs, helped organize the Barbara Jordan forum. She is shown with LBJ School students Carolina Asirifi and Roberta Ritvo, who participated in the event.
Photo by UT Photography Services/Mark Rutkowski
Using Barbara Jordan's name as their banner, LBJ School students and administrators organized a forum in February that focused on such vital issues as diversity in public policy, higher education and civil rights, and racial reconciliation.
The forum featured a proclamation read by Austin City Manager Jesus Garza (LBJ Class of 1977) that declared February 20, 1999, as "Barbara Jordan Memorial Forum Day." It also included a keynote address by Texas Senator Rodney Ellis (LBJ Class of 1977) and a roundtable discussion on race relations by a group of Austin leaders.
The third of its kind, the annual forum commemorates the late Barbara Jordan, who served in the Texas Senate and the U.S. Congress before coming to teach at the LBJ School in 1979.
As in previous years, a portion of the program was aimed at prospective LBJ School students, who came from all over Texas as well as from California, New York, and Missouri. During the program, they heard lectures by LBJ school faculty members on topics such as higher education and civil rights, how to work within the governmental bureaucracy, and Latin American politics. They also received an overview of the LBJ School, including information on admission and financial aid, the various components of the academic program, and career opportunities.
In his afternoon keynote address, Ellis discussed his experiences representing Barbara Jordan's former Texas Senate district in Houston. The talk was followed by a roundtable discussion focusing on the city's cultural climate. Moderated by LBJ School alumna and local consultant Cloteal Davis-Haynes (LBJ Class of 1977), the panel included former city council member Eric Mitchell and several Austin religious leaders who were recently involved with Austin Mayor Kirk Watson in drafting a controversial letter that acknowledges the existence of discrimination in Austin.
This year's event was organized by a steering committee headed by LBJ School Graduate Coordinator Stephanie Hill and LBJ School student David Marshall. The event was sponsored by two LBJ School student organizations--the Public Affairs Alliance for Communities of Color and the Graduate Public Affairs Council--as well as the LBJ School Alumni Association and the University Co-op.