Maddux NewsWire

[ST. PETERSBURG, FL, November 17, 2009] – In January 2010, Eckerd
College will launch “The Plight and Promise of Africa: An Eckerd
College Initiative,” a yearlong effort that will raise Africa’s
profile through academic study, activism and community consciousness.

“‘The Plight and Promise of Africa: An Eckerd College Initiative’ is a
unique opportunity for a liberal arts college to demonstrate its
capacity for creative collaboration,” said Dr. Donald R. Eastman III,
President of Eckerd College. “Eckerd faculty, students and staff have
teamed up to develop a program that surpasses the routine lecture
series. With Africa as our focus, we have created an educational forum
that intentionally promotes open dialogue at Eckerd College and across
the Tampa Bay community.”

Through panel discussions, lectures, readings, and the visual and
performing arts, these speakers and ensembles are slated to be part of
the Eckerd-Africa Initiative: Grammy Award-winning a cappella group
LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO, African affairs expert and Enough Project
co-founder JOHN PRENDERGAST, bestselling authors DAVE EGGERS and ANITA
SHREVE, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist NICHOLAS
KRISTOF*, former Lost Boy from Sudan VALENTINO ACHAK DENG, Ugandan
peace negotiator BETTY BIGOMBE, author and survivor of the 1994
Rwandan genocide IMMACULEE ILIBAGIZA*, Save Darfur president JERRY
FOWLER*, writer JERALD WALKER, Florida Memorial University Ambassador
Chorale, and Tampa Bay’s own Dundu Dole Urban African Ballet.

Presentations will also be given by Eckerd College faculty; guest
faculty and researchers from the UK’s Peninsula Medical School in
Plymouth, Rutgers University, University of Florida, University of
Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center, and University of South
Florida; Eckerd students; and Eckerd alumni. Organizers will continue
to add events as the Eckerd-Africa Initiative develops.

Most events are free and open to the public, or include a nominal cost
for admission. Please check with the individual host institution about
admission fees. Speakers and topics are subject to change. PLEASE
NOTE: Items noted with an asterisk (*) indicate events that have been
made possible by the Florida Holocaust Museum as part of its
commemoration of Genocide and Human Rights Awareness Month in April
2010.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ECKERD-AFRICA INITIATIVE CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
http://africa.eckerd.edu/events

READ THE COMPLETE NEWS STORY:
http://africa.eckerd.edu/news/eckerd-college-launches-yearlong-africa-initiative-january-2010

EXPLORE THE ECKERD-AFRICA WEBSITE:
http://www.eckerd.edu/africa

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STUDENT INVOLVEMENT IS CRITICAL
Eckerd College Organization of Students (ECOS) student government and
Eckerd’s African Interest Group have been at the helm of
student-coordinated activities for the Eckerd-Africa Initiative. “We
have already hosted awareness events, fundraisers and film screenings
to boost momentum for 2010,” said Eckerd junior and ECOS President
Lauren DeLalla. “Our focus on Africa highlights the fact that Eckerd
students have been interested in social justice issues, here and
abroad, since the College was founded fifty years ago.”

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THE STUDY OF AFRICA IS CROSS-DISCIPLINARY
For William F. Felice, chair of Eckerd’s International Relations and
Global Affairs programs and Co-chair of the Eckerd-Africa Initiative,
raising Africa’s profile occurs across academic disciplines. “In
addition to celebrating and honoring the diversity of African history
and cultural heritage, we will explore issues related to environment
and human health, foreign policy and humanitarian aid, war crimes and
human rights, rebuilding and economic development, women and
healthcare, and alternative energy sources for sustainable
communities,” said Professor Felice. “Eckerd’s distinctive areas ? the
sciences, the arts, service-learning, and social justice ? remain
prevalent in our planning efforts.”

Enough Project co-founder John Prendergast will anchor the Spring 2010
semester as a Visiting Scholar-in-Residence at Eckerd for two weeks in
March. He will focus on the genocide in Darfur and southern Sudan;
sexual violence against women and girls in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo; and the abduction of young children to become child
soldiers in northern Uganda. Author Dave Eggers and Valentino Achak
Deng, a former Lost Boy from Sudan and subject of Eggers’ book, WHAT
IS THE WHAT will anchor the Fall 2010 semester. WHAT IS THE WHAT will
be a required summer 2010 reading for next year’s incoming freshman
class.

Considering that more than 60% of Eckerd’s students travel abroad
during their Eckerd career, it is no surprise that three student
groups will travel to Africa during Eckerd’s January 2010 Winter Term
? one group will study consumerism in Morocco, while the other two
will do service-learning in Malawi, Ethiopia and Rwanda. All trips are
at capacity.

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THINKING GLOBALLY AND ACTING LOCALLY: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
“While Eckerd College will serve as the primary site for the majority
of events, the generous support of our Community Partners have helped
to transform the Eckerd-Africa Initiative into a communitywide
project,” said Alizza Punzalan-Hall, Eckerd’s Director of Community
and Media Relations and Co-chair of the Eckerd-Africa Initiative. “Our
strategy is to bring attention to global issues while highlighting the
vital work of our local educational institutions, arts organizations
and social services agencies.”

Two photo installations curated by Art Works Projects will be on
display at two of Eckerd’s Community Partner locations in downtown St.
Petersburg: “CONGO/WOMEN Portraits of War: The Democratic Republic of
the Congo” at the Poynter Institute in January and February 2010; and
“DARFUR/DARFUR”* at the Florida Holocaust Museum in April 2010.

A third Community Partner, The Studio@620, will display “Images from
Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana and Uganda” by emerging photographer Bradley
Ennis and freelance photojournalist Kristin Harrison. Ennis is a
visual arts senior at Eckerd College; Harrison is a 2001 Eckerd
graduate and former editor-in-chief for Women’s Running Magazine.

Current partners include: USF St. Petersburg, Creative Clay, Community
Tampa Bay, CASA, and the YWCA of Tampa Bay. Organizations interested
in joining the roster of Eckerd’s Community Partners should contact
Ms. Punzalan-Hall (punzalat@eckerd.edu or 727-864-7979) for more
information.

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ABOUT ECKERD COLLEGE, http://www.eckerd.edu
Located in St. Petersburg, Florida, Eckerd College was founded in 1958
as a private, coeducational college of liberal arts and sciences
related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Eckerd’s 1,840
residential students from 45 states and 28 countries choose among
thirty-eight majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of
Science degree. In addition, 1,000 students are enrolled in the
Program for Experienced Learners, a bachelor’s degree program for
adult learners. Eckerd’s Leadership Development Institute executive
education program, Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College
(ASPEC), Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Elderhostel identify
the college as a national leader of innovative programs in continuing
education and lifelong learning. A Phi Beta Kappa institution, Eckerd
is one of only 40 schools listed in Loren Pope’s “Colleges That Change
Lives.”

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