Dear Colleagues:

Once more Ohio is a major battleground in the national election, but this year control of state government – or at least partial control – is also up for grabs. Does Blackwell have a chance, in spite of the polls? Does Brown have a real chance? What developments over the next two months could determine the outcome on November 7?

Some of our colleagues, and students, will share their knowledge (and guesses) later in the term. But to set the stage, and inform us all, we’re very glad to host at this Friday’s Public Affairs Lunch Mark Naymik, who covers state politics for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Please join us from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, September 15, in the Guilford Lounge, on the first floor of Guilford House. Guilford House is on Bellflower, across from the parking lot for the Cleveland Institute of Art, and just down the street from the Peter B. Lewis building. It’s the yellow building with the nice porch.

The public affairs lunch is open to all. Lunch is brown bag, but beverages are provided courtesy of the Office of University Communications and cookies are provided courtesy of generous souls.

All the best,
Joe White

Fall Semester Schedule

Sept 1: Ken Ledford, Associate Professor of History and Law, hosts Jon Entin, Professor of Law and Political Science, to discuss the first year of the Supreme Court with John Roberts as Chief Justice.

Sept 8: Leonard Lynn, Professor and Chair of the Department of Policy and Management at the Weatherhead School of Management, on what U.S. leadership in engineering could mean with the rise of India and China.

Sept 15: Mark Naymik, of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, on this year’s statewide elections in Ohio.

Sept 22: Greg Eastwood, Interim President of Case Western Reserve University, on “The Interim Period: Tasks for Today and Ideas for the Future.”

Sept 29: Alan Weinstein, Professor and Director, Law and Public Policy Program, Cleveland-Marshall College of the Law, eminent domain: “State Legislative Responses to Kelo vs. New London: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”

Oct 6: Amy Hanauer, Executive Director, PolicyMatters Ohio, on raising the minimum wage

Oct 13: Marty Kress, Executive Director of the National Space Science and Technology Center, University of Alabama at Huntsville, on Organizing NASA for Space Exploration. NOTE: Tentative room change to Mather House 100.

Oct 20: Michael Wager, Vice Chair and Chair Elect of the Port Authority, on its role in local economic development issues.

Oct 27: Pete Moore, Assistant Professor of Political Science, on whatever is happening in the Middle East at the time.

Nov 3: Justin Buchler, Assistant Professor of Political Science, and Andrew Lucker, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Political Science: Midterm Election forecast.

Nov 10: Eric J. Topol MD, Professor of Genetics, on concerns about conflicts of interest in medical research.

Nov 17: Norman Robbins, Emeritus Professor of Neurosciences, on class bias in who gets to vote.

Nov 24: THANKSGIVING BREAK

Dec 1: Jerome Liebman MD, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics, on National Health Insurance

Dec 8: Terry Wolpaw MD, Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs, School of Medicine, on the new demands on or expectations of medical education.