Trinity Partners with Stanford University for ‘Academic Innovation for the Public Good’ Series of Book Conversations

Trinity College has partnered with Stanford Digital Education to launch a new book talk series, Academic Innovation for the Public Good, which will foster discussion about how to make higher education’s future more equitable and accessible.

Each hour-long Zoom interview features an author of a recently published book exploring the role of colleges and universities in addressing society’s most pressing problems and the potential for innovation to address those challenges. An expert in the author’s field will conduct the interview, followed by questions from the audience. The conversations will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time from January through October on the fourth Wednesday of every month, except for the June event, which will be a week earlier. The complete list of authors and event dates is below.

The series will begin on January 26 with Trinity’s own Davarian Baldwin, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies, discussing his recent book, In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities. Baldwin will be interviewed by Michael Kahan, co-director of Stanford University’s Program on Urban Studies.

Trinity Vice President for Library and Information Technology Services Kristen Eshleman said that the LITS team at Trinity is excited to co-create this interview series with Stanford. “Academics have done the deepest research on higher education and the public good, and we all benefit from more exposure to their work,” Eshleman said. “With this web-based model of book talks, we aim to support academic authors and help turn what would be small-scale local conversations into more impactful national ones.” To learn more about the motivation for this series, go to Inside Higher Ed for a Q&A with Eshleman and Stanford’s Matthew Rascoff.

Trinity and Stanford Digital Education are co-sponsoring the series in collaboration with Stanford Humanities Center’s Recovering the University as a Public Good initiative and the Stanford Pathways Lab. Trinity instructional technologist David Tatem is the producer for the live events.

The book conversations are free, and all are welcome. Those wishing to attend one or more of the events should register in advance here.

Event Calendar:

• Wednesday, January 26, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities
  An online book conversation with author Davarian Baldwin, professor of American Studies at Trinity College.
• Wednesday, February 23, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  What Universities Owe Democracy
  An online book conversation with author Ronald J. Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University.
• Wednesday, March 23, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  Lean Semesters: How Higher Education Reproduces Inequity
  An online book conversation with author Sekile M. Nzinga, chief equity officer of the State of Illinois.
• Wednesday, April 27, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  Allies and Rivals: German-American Exchange and the Rise of the Modern Research University
  An online book conversation with author Emily Levine, associate professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education.
• Wednesday, May 25, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways
  An online book conversation with author Sarah Stein Greenberg, executive director of Stanford d.school.
• Wednesday, June 22, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  Empires of Ideas: Creating the Modern University from Germany to America to China
  An online book conversation with author William Kirby, professor of modern Chinese history and of business at Harvard University.
• Wednesday, July 27, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  Other People’s Colleges: The Origins of American Higher Education Reform
  An online book conversation with author Ethan Ris, assistant professor of educational leadership at University of Nevada, Reno.
• Wednesday, August 24, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  Doing the Right Thing: How Colleges and Universities Can Undo Systemic Racism in Faculty Hiring
  An online book conversation with author Marybeth Gasman, professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University.
• Wednesday, September 28, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  WorkforceRx: Agile and Inclusive Strategies for Employers, Educators and Workers in Unsettled Times
  An online book conversation with author Van Ton-Quinlivan, former executive vice chancellor for the California Community Colleges.
• Wednesday, October 26, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern
  From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education
  An online book conversation with co-authors Tia Brown McNair, Estela Maria Bensimon, and Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux.