The 2nd annual Beitzel Symposium has concluded. Check back next year!
Free and open to public. No registration required.
2023 Schedule of Events
Visitor parking for the symposium available in the Mason St. Parking Deck attached to Hotel Madison.
Wednesday, Sept. 27
8:30 - 9:00 a.m.: Breakfast/Networking
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.: Keynote Speaker on AI (Online)
"Harnessing the Era of AI in Higher Education"
Arianna Valentini, Analyst for Research and Foresight, The UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America, and the Caribbean (IESALC)
Arianna Valentini is a Political Scientist by degree and holds a Masters in Development Studies as well as a double degree in Public Policies for Education Development from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and University of Bremen. Currently she is a Policy Analyst for Research and Foresight for UNESCO IESALC. She is the co author of "ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education, a quick startguide" and the co-author of the Primer "Harnessing Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education" to be published by UNESCO IESALC in early September.
Recording will be available later today on the Gandhi Center YouTube channel.
UNESCO Manual "Harnessing the era of artificial intelligence in higher education: a primer for higher education stakeholders" available here:
11:30 - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch and book display
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.: Visiting Scholar Presentation + Q&A
"Mahatma Gandhi on Celluloid"
Dr. Chandrakant Langare, Associate Professor of English, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, India
2:30 - 3:30 p.m.: Author roundtable and discussion
Race, Gender, Class, and Criminal Justice, Second Edition
Dr. Danielle McDonald, Professor of Criminal Justice, Faculty Diversity Fellow, Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice & Organizational Leadership, Northern Kentucky University
6 - 8 p.m.: After Yang (2021)
AI Film Screening and Discussion (Grafton-Stovall Theatre)
Thursday, Sept. 28
9 - 10 a.m.: Breakfast and networking
10 - 11 a.m.: Keynote Speaker on AI
“AI in Education: Areas of Application in Higher Education, Pros & Cons, Opportunities & Risks”
Michael Trucano, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution
Keynote sponsored by Research, Economic Development, and Innovation (REDI)
11 - 12 p.m.: Panel Discussion on AI (Online)
Dmytro Babik, Associate Professor, Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics, JMU
Yves-Martin Felker, Assistant Professor in Strategic Management at California State University (LA, US, scholar from Germany & UK)
Michael Trucano, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution
Moderator: Tatjana Titareva, Doctoral Assistant at Research, Economic Development, and Innovation (REDI), Research Fellow at Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence
12 - 1 p.m.: Lunch and video break
1 - 2 p.m.: JMU Faculty/Staff Research Presentations on AI
"Smart City, One World: Singapore's Response to AI Responsibility"
Dr. Philip Frana, Professor of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies, and Independent Scholars
“Postsecondary Administrative Technology Leadership and Educational AI: An ethical shared approach”
Dr. Benjamin Selznick & Tatjana Titareva, School of Strategic Leadership Studies
Dr. Fariss Mousa & Tatjana Titareva, College of Business
2 - 3 p.m.: Panel Discussion on AI (JMU Faculty/Staff)
Dr. Philip L. Frana, Professor of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies and Independent Scholars
Dr. Benjamin S. Selznick, Associate Professor and Advisor of Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership
Dr. Hala Nelson, Associate Professor of Applied Math
Michael Trucano, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution
Tatjana Titareva, PhD Candidate, School of Strategic Leadership Studies
Moderator: Dr. Peggy Plass, Academic Unit Head, Department of Justice Studies
3 - 3:30 p.m.: Closing Notes
Dr. Peggy Plass, Academic Unit Head, Department of Justice Studies & Dr. Taimi Castle, Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence, Professor
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: Reception for Faculty, Staff, and Presenters (The Union Taylor 404)
2022 Schedule of Events
Thursday, Sept. 22 | Student Success Center
3 - 3:30 p.m.: Dr. Gaurav Pathania
"Gandhi's India at 75"
Gaurav J. Panthania teaches sociology & peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA. Gaurav is an anti-caste activist, writer, poet and a community organizer.
3:30 - 4 p.m.: Dr. Mia Brett
"From 1662 to 2022: The Long History of White Supremacy and Abortion"
Mia Brett has a Ph.D. in History from Stony Brook University and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in African American History at Washington and Lee. She specializes in American legal history and the legal construction of race and gender.
4 - 4:30 p.m.: Dr. Spencer Leonard
"The Negative Dialectic of Anti-Imperialism: Reading Fanon's Wretched of the Earth After Decolonization"
Spencer A. Leonard is the founding editor of Sublation Magazine, the manager of Platypus Publishing, and a frequent commentator on the contemporary left. Having taught for the last five years at UVA, he will begin in the Spring teaching at James Madison University. Taking his joint-Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations and in History from the University of Chicago, he is the editor of three volumes of Marx and Engels's journalism on imperialist state forthcoming in 2023 from Rowman & Littlefield and the author of Marx, the India Question, and the Crisis of Cosmopolitanism forthcoming in 2024 from Palgrave USA.
4:30 - 5 p.m.: Questions
7 p.m.: Us Kids
Film Screening (Grafton-Stovall Theatre)
Friday, Sept. 23 | Student Success Center
1 - 1:20 p.m.: Brenna Matlock, CISR
"Demining in Ukraine"
Brenna Matlock is the Senior Project Manager and Program Coordinator at the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR). In this role, Matlock plans and implements CISR's grants including the Senior Managers' Course in Conventional Weapons Destuction (SMC).
1:20 - 2 p.m.: Dr. Lexi de Coning
"The Decline of the West and Black Babies: Discourses of Race in Men's Rights Watch"
Alexis de Coning holds a doctorate in Media Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on the history and discursive tactics of the men's rights movement in the US. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
2 - 2:40 p.m.: Dr. Kevan Feshami
'"We stand as One": Evaluating White Nationalism's Networked Structure'
Kevan A Feshami holds a doctorate in Media Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. He is an independent researcher based in Northern Appalachia.
2:40 - 3 p.m.: Questions