Richard Rodriquez, Visiting Writer

Author of the acclaimed intellectual autobiography Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, Rodriguez is a strong opponent of affirmative action and bilingual education - a position that alienated him from his own culture. His writing and public speaking have earned him the National Humanities Medal, and his televised essays on PBS's "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" won a Peabody Award. His second book, Days of Obligation: An Argument with My Mexican Father was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
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Rafael Campo, Visiting Writer

A physician and poet, Rafael Campo won the National Poetry Series award in 1993 for The Other Man Was Me and two Lambda Awards in 1996 and 1997 for What the Body Told and The Poetry of Healing: A Doctor's Education in Empathy, Identity, and Desire. He has been featured on the National Endowment for the Arts Web site and has spoken on National Public Radio. Campo currently teaches and practices general internal medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
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Anita Perez Ferguson, Former President of the National Women's Caucus

Anita Perez Ferguson, former president of the National Women's Political Caucus, is co-author of the book Women Seen and Heard: Lessons Learned from Successful Speakers. Named one of "The 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States " by Hispanic Business magazine, Perez Ferguson was appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to chair the Inter-American Foundation. In addition, she served as the White House liaison to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In conjunction with several international organizations, Perez Ferguson has trained women in leadership and political skills in the United States , Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
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Masters of Caribbean Music, Artist Series
Eleventh Annual Latino Symposium: “Our Caribbean Neighbors”

The Artist Series concert "Masters of Caribbean Music" will kicks off the Eleventh Annual Latino Symposium at Susquehanna University, titled "Our Caribbean Neighbors." Produced by the National Council for the Traditional Arts, in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, "Masters of Caribbean Music" is a national tour representing the rich cultures of the Caribbean Basin through the region's three most distinct musical traditions. The Latino Symposium features a keynote address, titled "Caribbean Realities: A Window into the Future of a Globalized World," by Dave Ramsaran, associate professor of sociology; a dance workshop, providing instruction in the salsa, merengue and other popular Caribbean dances; internationally acclaimed Cuban pianist, Sergio González, accompanied by soprano soloist and 2002 Susquehanna University graduate, Alma DeRojas; and a gala dance.
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José Piñera, Chile’s former minister of labor and social security

The master architect of Chile’s socio-economic transformation, José Piñera served as Chile’s minister of labor and social security from 1978 to 1980. Piñera won a victory for capitalism and freedom when he devised and implemented what Investor’s Business Daily calls “the world’s most successful privatized pension system.” By replacing his country’s bankrupt pay-as-you-go practice with a funded pension system, Piñera laid the groundwork for the country’s economic revitalization and political opening. As minister of mining, he introduced the mining reform that established property rights in this key sector of the Chilean economy. Piñera’s economic initiatives have initiated a worldwide paradigm shift, with seven other Latin American countries and three European countries, including Sweden, following his Chilean pension model. Bipartisan American interest has been shown for Piñera’s valuable reforms. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, and internationally known economist Milton Friedman are among those who have expressed support for Piñera’s reforms.

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Arlin M. Adams Center for Law and Society

The Honorable Alan K. Simpson, former U.S. Senator

Alan Simpson represented the state of Wyoming in the United States Senate for 18 years, from January 1979 until January 1997. He served as Republican Party Whip for 10 years and as chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee from 1980 to 1984. He was an active member of the Judiciary, Finance, and Environment and Public Works committees, as well as the Special Committee on Aging. During his time in the Senate, Simpson was the author of many vital pieces of legislation including the Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986 and the nation’s first legislation providing for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste.

Raul Yzaguirre, former president of the National Council of LaRaza

Raul Yzaguirre is Presidential Professor of Practice in community development and civil rights at Arizona State University. From 1974 to 2004, Yzaguirre was president of the National Council of La Raza, the nation's leading Hispanic advocacy organization and the largest constituency-based national Latino organization.In 1979, Yzaguirre was the first Hispanic to receive a Rockefeller Public Service Award for Outstanding Public Service from the trustees of Princeton University. From 1989 to 1990, he served as one of the first Hispanic Fellows of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 1993, he received the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor given by the government of Mexico to non-citizens.
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Carlos Imaz, professor of sociology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

A professor at Mexico's most prestigious university, Carlos Imaz was president of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) in Mexico City. The PRD was the first political party to significantly challenge the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), the party which dominated Mexican politics for 70 years. Imaz also served as the U.S. equivalent of mayor for the largest “borough” in Mexico City.He has published on the topics of education, politics, and, most recently, the Zapatistas, a rebel army in Chiapas named after the famous leader of the Mexican Revolution Emiliano Zapata.

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Eduardo Bonilla Silva, research professor of sociology at Duke University

Eduardo Bonilla Silva is a graduate from the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras , and University of Wisconsin , Madison . His academic work addresses race relations and the changing dynamic of race in contemporary America . He has published several books and articles on these subjects, and appeared on various national media outlets, including a PBS documentary on race. Bonilla Silva is currently working on two books, Anything but Racism: How Social Analysts Limit the Significance of Race with Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Hayward Horton, and White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology with Tukufu Zuberi. He is also working on a project titled, “We are All Americans! The Latin Americanization of Race Relations in the USA .”

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Jamie Escalante, Teachers Hall of Fame inductee & subject of the acclaimed motion picture Stand and Deliver

A Bolivian physics and mathematics teacher who came to the U.S. in 1964 to eventually teach high school in East Los Angeles , Jamie Escalante created a math enrichment program rivaled by only a handful of elite academies. His unique approach to teaching transformed a group of barrio kids into mathematic whiz kids capable of passing the Advanced Placement calculus exam. Escalante went on to become the subject of the book, Escalante: The Best Teacher in America , and the host of “Futures,” the most popular classroom program in the history of PBS. The program was awarded with more than 50 accolades including the George Foster Peabody Award, the highest honor in the broadcasting field. Escalante has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the United States Presidential Medal and the Andres Bello Award by the Organization of American States.

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