Susan Morgan, International Programs

“Let's TaLK about Korea”

Put Asia to work on your résumé! South Korean TaLK is a government-sponsored service learning program to bring talented NMU undergraduates to teach in rural Korean public elementary schools.

Tamara Barnes, Historical Society of Michigan

“History Day Honors Michigan's Underrepresented Cultures”

A Kellogg grant funded project called “History Day” provides resources for social studies curriculum and cultural and historical organizations in Michigan for Michigan 4-12 grade students’ self-directed historical projects on their own cultures.

UNITED 2012 CONFERENCE OFFICIAL KICKOFF
Rick Popp - Featured Speaker
Executive, Ford Company Human Resources; NMU Board of Trustees

From NMU and into the World, Mr. Popp discusses what he has learned since his NMU graduation about a global and immensely diverse 21st century workforce and why NMU students should expose themselves to a wide variety of diversity issues as part of their career training.

Ramsey Jay, Jr. - Featured Speaker
Executive, Ares Management global 

alternative investment management firm; 

Author of Weekly Life Lessons in Leadership

Back by popular demand, Mr. Jay was one of the most dynamic speakers of the 2011 UNITED speakers. He motivates people to transform their dreams into reality.

Amy Orf, Modern Languages, “Live Music from the Spanish-Speaking World”

E. Patrick Johnson - Featured Speaker
Chair and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Performance Studies; Professor in African American Studies at Northwestern University

Professor Johnson discusses diversity as performance art. He is an award-winning, widely published author, director, artist, and scholar on topics of race, gender, sexuality, and performance.

Heather Courtney - Featured Speaker

Film Director

Film: “Where Soldiers Come From”

Ms. Courtney is an Upper Peninsula native. Her award-winning film follows the military experience of three U.P. men called to serve (including one soldier who was an NMU student) and their transition at the end of their tour. “Where do soldiers come from?” Often from rural areas and demographic populations with financial challenges.

Barb Coleman, Health, Physical Education, & Recreation

Film: "The Great Debaters"

Explore civil disobedience, the power of words, and the struggle for civil rights in the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at a historically black university in Texas. In 1935, Tolson inspired students to form the school's first debate team and challenge Harvard in the national championship.

Panel Discussion

“Bullying College Style”

Discussants (Aho, Bundage, Greer, McEvoy, Mincheff, and Sherman) examine bullying from a college perspective. Learn about who bullies, who is bullied, and where to go for help and resources.

Ruth Watry, Political Science

“Legal Rights of GLBT Students”

Many high school and college GLBT students and others are unaware of the legal rights of GLBT persons. Knowledge, recognition, and respect of these rights will help advance the understanding of GLBT diversity of our communities.

Phil Watts, Health, Physical Education, & Recreation

Film: “Music from Heaven”

Enjoy an extraordinary documentary of an old-time fiddler from West Virginia, William Sherman “Junior” Holstein, who plays rare and beautiful oldtime fiddle tunes and describes methods of making moonshine and personal battles with schizophrenia. Dr. Watts met “Junior” this summer.

E. Patrick Johnson – Featured Performer

Performance Studies, Northwestern Univ.

“Sweet Tea: A Performance in the Words of Black, Gay Men of the South”

How do gay black men survive life in Dublin GA, Jasper TX, Hickory NC, and other places big and small in America's South? Dr. Johnson sought answers to this question from 70 gay, African American men living in the South. These interviews are the basis of a book and this dramatic reading. A book signing follows the presentation.

Panel Discussion

“Title IX Turns 40: Striving for Gender 

Equity”

Title IX is known for advancing gender equality for women in sports, but not without some controversy. The Title IX law has reached far into education and the military. Discussants (Paavola, Puncochar, Steele, Tompkins, and Watry) will address Title IX's past, present, and future impact on education, the military, and women.

Debra Yepa-Pappan – Featured Speaker

Artist

Some of her work is on display in the Students' Art Gallery of the University Center

Debra Yepa-Pappan is a contemporary Native American/Korean artist in digital art. Coming from a strong Jemez Pueblo background, she incorporates themes of stereotyping, othering, and collectivism into her artwork. She discusses how she implements her Native American and Asian identity into her work to embrace her mixed identity.

Light finger-food lunch items and refreshments available.

Marty Reinhardt, Center for Native 

American Studies

“Decolonizing Diet Project”

NMU’s Center for Native American Studies introduces a research study about the relationship between people and Indigenous foods of the Great Lakes Region. Sample some Indigenous food and learn from 25 dieters who eat Indigenous foods accessible only through hunting, fishing, the local economy, gardening, and foraging.

Michael Reyes – Featured Speaker

Poet and Artist

Michael Reyes is an innovative performer and educator. He places history, current events, and culture into a fusion of entertainment and education. He has been featured on HBO Latin’s Habla Series, on Latin Nation, and in the PBS documentary Dream Makers.

Panel Discussion: Interfaith Forum

“Religion & Current Geopolitical Events”

Discussants (Forrester, Irish, Lehmberg, McCowen, Mowafy, and Scholnik) offer perspectives of faith on current geopolitical events through the lenses of major world religions.

Jonathan Allen, Political Science

Film: "The Bang Bang Club"

This 2010 Canadian-South African film depicts the lives of four photojournalists active in South Africa during the Apartheid period between 1990 and 

1994, when Nelson Mandela was released from jail to the 1994 elections. Two members won Pulitzer Prizes for their photography. (108 min.)

Mohey Mowafy, Retired Professor of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

“Four Seasons of the Arab Spring”

The Egyptian revolution almost 2 years ago was not the only cry for dignity by Arab peoples in the Middle East. Past and present events of the region 

suggest possible consequences of the “Arab Spring” and possible roles for the USA.

Enjoy multicultural food at Wildcat Den (closes 7:00 p.m.) and Marketplace (closes 8:00 p.m.)

Amy Orf, Modern Languages

Film: “Yo soy Cuba” (“I Am Cuba”)

Dr. Orf moderates this 1964 joint Soviet-Cuban film was restored and re-released by Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola in 1995. Four separate stories represent the Cuban condition immediately prior to the revolution. English subtitles. (141 min.)

Platform Personalities presents 

Chong Kim – Featured Speaker

Survivor of human trafficking experience

This event has an admission charge.

Chong Kim tells her dramatic story of being forced into the sex trafficking trade from 1995 until the day she escaped in 1997. Her presentation provides 

chilling insight into how organized crime runs sex trafficking operations in the United States.

Chris Waddell – Featured Speaker

Paralympian

“One Revolution: It’s not what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you”

Documentary: One Revolution chronicles Mr. Waddell’s attempt to become the first almost entirely unassisted paraplegic to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Mr. Waddell is a U.S. Ski Hall of Fame member and the most decorated male skier in Paralympic history (12 medals over four games). He speaks to overcoming adversity and stereotypes, the resilience of the human condition, leadership, and the quality of life.

David Kiefer – Featured Speaker 

Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine

“The Lure and Lore of Chocolate and Other Great Plants: How culture and tradition impact herbal medicine use and healing, and provide lessons for ‘modern’ medicine”

Dr. Kiefer is speaking as part of both NMU’s UNITED Conference and Marquette General Health System’s U.P. Health and Wellness Education Conference. He is a co-author of the book “National Geographic Guide to Medicinal Herbs: The World’s Most Efficient Health Plants.”