Two presentations on systemic inequalities are featured in the 2015 Galileo’s Legacy Conference at Missouri Western State University on Thursday, April 16 in the Hearnes Center, room 102. The presentations are free and open to the public.

Steven Bryant, director of the Office of Intercultural Affairs in the Intercultural International Center at Northwest Missouri State, will give a talk titled “From #Ferguson to not on OUr campuses, how are you showing up in the world?” at 3 p.m. Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, an American feminist, atheist and author, will give a talk titled “Mad Science or School-to-Prison?” at 7 p.m.

The Galileo’s Legacy Conference started during the 2005-2006 school year as a joint project of faculty from the Department of Biology and what is now the Department of Philosophy and Religion. The conference brings experts from the sciences, humanities and other fields to discuss the cultural, ethical and public policy implications of scientific practices. Past conferences have dealt with topics in ecology, evolution and intelligent design, neuroscience and free will, and psychological impacts of art and race.

The Spring 2015 theme, “Intersectionality and the Sciences: the Effect of Kyriarchy on the Natural and Social Sciences,” brings to MWSU two experts whose research interests include improving and assessing the impact that social hierarchies can have in education at multiple levels.

Below are abstracts of the two presentations.

Steven Bryant

From #Ferguson to not on OUr campuses, how are you showing up in the world?

Racial inequity stems from systemic inequities that exist within our structures, institutions, and between us interpersonally.  We focus on those things happening outside of us that are ultimately symptoms of the larger problem of systemic inequity.  In order to break down these systems, we need to look at ourselves and find out what are our own biases and assumptions.  You must be brave enough to take this journey inward in order to find out how you are showing up in the world.  Welcome to the conversation!

Dr. Sikiyu Hutchinson

Mad Science or School-to-Prison?

In 2013, African American eleventh grader Kiera Wilmot was expelled and led away from her school in handcuffs after a chemistry experiment she was conducting exploded in a classroom.  Despite her impeccable academic record, Wilmot was not given the benefit of the doubt by administrators, nor was she viewed as a budding Einstein whose inquisitiveness could propel her to a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) career.  The Wilmot incident is emblematic of the pernicious impact of the school-to-prison pipeline.  Nationwide, African American students have the highest rates of suspension, expulsion and incarceration in American public and private schools.  Conversely, they have some of the lowest rates of enrollment in and graduation from STEM academic programs.  Generations after the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision, segregation of students of color in STEM is not only reinforced by the burgeoning school-to-prison pipeline but by cultural propaganda  in which STEM genius, dynamism and innovation continues to be symbolized by the “universal” “unraced” white male.

Galileo’s Legacy Conference is sponsored by the Departments of Biology, History and Geography, Philosophy and Religion, and Education. The Missouri Western State University Foundation also provides funding.

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.