The University Libraries' Diversity, Social Justice and Equity Council is charged with developing a sustainable and holistic approach to advancing diversity and inclusion for the Libraries through internal programming and assessment, advisement to leadership, and campus and community outreach. Our commitment to diversity and inclusivity includes cross-promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) campus events – sponsored by and coordinated by – many different colleges, departments, groups, and DEI committees. A few DEI events happening this month are listed below.

Innovations in Healthy Aging Lecture Series | Aging and Social Justice

Laura Howard, PhD, Professor of Practice, James E. Rogers College of Law (pictured, top left)

• Wednesday, Feb. 22
• 5:30-6:30pm
• Health Sciences Innovation Building, 1670 E. Drachman Street, Tucson - OR - virtual
• Complimentary parking available in Lot 2012, adjacent to the Health Sciences Innovation Building
• More event info & registration

In this lecture, Dr. Howard discusses the ethics of aging, addressing important philosophical questions surrounding age and ‘ageism’: What are the beliefs and concepts about time and aging that fuel negative attitudes and behaviors toward aging adults? What, if any, obligations should society have for taking care of an aging population? Is living longer living better? What are the moral considerations for using technology to extend the human life span by many, many years? 

Visiting Artists & Scholars Lecture: Bethany Collins

• Thursday, Feb. 23
• 5:30pm
• Center for Creative Photography, 1030 N. Olive Road, Tucson
• More event info

Bethany Collins, (pictured, right), a multidisciplinary artist who works in Chicago, will talk about how race and language interact in her works as part of the School of Art's Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture Series.

In her "Contranyms" series, for instance, Collins transposes definitions from Webster's New World Dictionary of American Language onto American Masters paper, then aggressively obscures much of the entries with an eraser. What remain are specific snippets of meaning that are poetically charged through their isolation, as well as the crumbled paper bits left behind by her erasing. As Holland Cotter noted writing in The New York Times, "language itself, viewed as intrinsically racialized, is Bethany Collins' primary material."

Visiting Artists & Scholars Lecture: Walid Raad

• Thursday, March 23
• 5:30pm
• Center for Creative Photography, 1030 N. Olive Road, Tucson
• More event info

Walid Raad, (pictured, lower left), an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist whose creations from videos, photographs and essays are featured in museums around the world, will be part of the School of Art's Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture Series. Raad's works are unique in that they reflect the way history is told and how it can be manipulated. He has focused on the history of Lebanon, especially the period between 1975 and 1990 (the Lebanese civil war), inspired by the trauma it caused.