The 18th Public Affairs Conference is next week September 27-30. The public affairs theme for this year is “Bridging the Divide”. The conference this year will be a mix of in person and virtual events via zoom webinar. All events are free and open to the public with no registration required. For MSU faculty and staff who would like to track their attendance, all events are available through My Learning Connection.
The conference will begin with the President’s Local Spotlight on Monday, September 27 at 3:30 pm in the PSU Theater. Learn more about some of the partnerships Missouri State University and the Springfield community have formed to help bridge the many divides that face our community. Stay after for a light refreshment reception.
On Tuesday at 11:00 am in the PSU Theater, students from the Darr College of Agriculture will bust some common food myths.
The official kickoff for the conference will be Tuesday evening at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts when the Foundation and KY3 present John Quiñones, ABC News correspondent and host of What Would You Do? who will speak about a 20/20 Vision for America.
Plenaries and Panels
Other plenary speakers for the conference include Shereen Marisol Meraji, co-host and senior producer of NPR’s Code Switch; Bill Doherty, co-founder of Braver Angels; and Daryl Davis, award-winning conflict navigator, musician and author.
Panel and plenary session will start Wednesday, September 29 and run through the evening of Thursday, September 30. Review the schedule on the conference website to see the wide variety of topics and speakers from around the country. Panel sessions are designed to be dialogs not only between the panelists but also the audience. All the panel sessions will be available via zoom webinar with links available on the conference schedule description.
For questions regarding the Public Affairs Conference, please contact Stacey Trewatha-Bach (staceytrewatha@missouristate.edu) or Mary Ann Wood (maryannwood@missouristate.edu).