Forum to explore sports, race, gender

In the wake of the Don Imus-Rutgers women’s basketball controversy, this year’s University Summer Forum will explore the culture of sport and its wide-ranging effects on society through race, gender and corporate sponsorship.

University of Wisconsin–Madison students, student-athletes and the public will come together at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday evenings from June 19 through July 12 in 1100 Grainger Hall to hear guest presenters including faculty, sports reporters, athletes and coaches.

Scheduled speakers include:

• George Johnson, sports director at WISC-TV/Channel 3 in Madison, who will discuss on-air sports journalists of color.
• Tamira Madsen, a Madison Capital Times sports reporter, who will discuss her career as a female sports journalist.
• Donald Culverson, a professor of political and justice studies at Governors State University near Chicago, who will discuss the impact of professional sport on the African American community.
• Shawn Eichorst, a senior associate athletic director at UW–Madison, who will discuss athlete success off the field.
• Patty Loew, who is an associate professor in the department of life science communication at UW–Madison, co-host of Wisconsin Public TV’s "In Wisconsin" and author of the textbook "Indian Nations of Wisconsin." She’ll discuss the debate about Native American mascots.
• Jacqueline Hitchon McSweeney, chair and professor in the department of life sciences communication at UW–Madison, will speak about the role of corporations and commercialization in sports.

A panel of high school athletic directors, coaches and students will also talk about the pressure of sports and its relationship to academics. All sessions are free and open to the public.

"Sport is something people in our academic and non-academic communities talk about," says Hitchon McSweeney, forum organizer. "By interacting with students who are active in sport, people who generally care about sport can generate synergy in discussing the role of athletics in our culture."

Mark Anthony Rolo will return as this year’s facilitator. He is a lecturer in the School of Human Ecology, and a member of the Bad River Band of Ojibwe.

For more information, contact Alex Hancock, (608) 262-2102.