CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A panel of government and academic experts will discuss the future of education in Illinois during an Oct. 7 forum at the University of Illinois.
Scheduled panelists are former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar; Judy Erwin, the executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education; and O. Vernon Burton, an author and former U. of I. history and sociology professor who now is a professor of southern history and culture at Coastal Carolina University.
Edgar, a Distinguished Fellow in the U. of I. Institute of Government and Public Affairs, is also a co-chair of Advance Illinois, a nonpartisan group of business leaders and education officials pushing for comprehensive education reform.
Mary Kalantzis, the dean of the U. of I. College of Education, will moderate the panel discussion, scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. in the ballroom of the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana.
“The future of education in Illinois has been a longstanding concern of government, educators and citizens,” said IPGA director Robert F. Rich. “This discussion will be an opportunity to highlight future education priorities, including priorities for higher education, in Illinois.”
The forum, part of the university’s observance of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, is sponsored by IGPA, the office of the chancellor and the office of the vice chancellor for public engagement.
A Lincoln-themed reception will follow the program.
To register, call 866-794-3340 or e-mail igpa@illinois.edu. Registration is also available online at www.igpa.ulllinois.edu.
