Academic Enrichment

he attention of both the media and the public was turned on the Uni- FOREIGN POLICY versity of March 27 and 28 as prominent Oklahomans who have dis- tinguished themselves as foreign policy SEMINAR practitioners and academicians deliv- ered major addresses and led lively discussions throughout the Centennial Foreign Policy Seminar. This stellar aca- demic enrichment event, which immediately preceded the Leadership in Government Symposium, was organized and coordinated by Edwin G. Corr, former U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, Peru and Bolivia and currently a diplo- mat-in-residence and holder ofthe Chair in Public Service at OU. A capacity crowd of more than 300 at the opening luncheon heard former U.S. Ambassadorto the United NationsJeanne Kirkpatrick discuss the tumultuous in- ternal events in the Soviet Union. Former U.S. Ambassador to West Germany George C. McGhee spoke on the eco- nomic and military consequences of the reunification of that country, while OU history chairman Russell Buhite pre- State Chancellorfor Higher Education Hans Brisch, left, and U.S. Senator sented a paper on the late Ambassador engage in serious discussion during the Foreign Policy Seminar. Patrick J. Hurley's influence on post- World War 11 China. Historian Danny Goble addressed the foreign affairs role of Congress in the post-war era and the career of former House Speaker . Tulsa Mayor Rodger Randle's topic was Oklahoma's part in foreign affairs. Other participants included former U.S. AmbassadorsJohn Burns and Everett Drumright, U.S . Representatives Mickey Edwards and Dave McCurdy and a blue- ribbon panel of OU professors, state and community leaders . In the seminar's closing address, U.S. Senator David L. Boren assailed the failure of the to adjust to economic challenges from the interna- tional community and called for major changes in American foreign policy. His recommendations included a tax policy to encourage savings, investments and reduction in capital costs; foreign aid based on credit to buy American goods; dramatic increases in college student exchange programs; and a major invest- Oklahoma Governor Henry Bellmon, left, 0U Provost joan Wadlow and Foreign Policy Seminar ment in the educational system to lower coordinatorEdwin G. Corrarriveforthe openingsession. Aformer U.S. ambassador to severalLatin drop-out rates, improve basic skills and American countries, Corr currently holds OU's Henry Bellmon Chair in Public Service. emphasize international skills.

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V hile more specialized in na- ture and less visible to the public than the Centennial Leadership Symposia, a series of other academic symposia and professional conferences brought schol- ars from throughout the country to the to explore their areas of expertise as guests of their OU colleagues. The hospitality of the Cen- tennial was all-encompassing .

Organic Pluralism: A Symposium on Design One of the most exciting professional gatherings of the Centennial involved a spirited group of architects from throughout the United States and Europe . The suhject under intense discussion and debate was "organic architecture," the blending of structures with their environment. The symposium sponsor was the OU College of Architecture, where one of the most noted exponents E FayJones, center, a well-known practitioner, educator and recipient ofthe AIA gold medal, of that design style or process, the late attracts a crowdofUniversity architecture students atthe design symposium, "Organic Pluralism . " Bruce Goff, once taught the theories of his mentor, Frank Lloyd Wright. From February 28 through March 3, the experts-scholars and practitioners alike-traced the origins of nature's in- fluence on architecture back through THE SYMPOSIA 19th century England, to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and even 6th century Chinese Taoism . OU professor Arn SEASON Henderson chaired the symposium, which included presentations by former Oklahoman Herb Greene, John Sergeant and Peter Blundell Jones of England's Cambridge University, Albuquerque ar- chitect Bart Prince, Jeffrey Cook of Arizona State University, Stephen Grabow of the University of Kansas and Lawrence Speck of the University of Texas. The concluding discussion was a heated one: Is organic architecture an architectural style or a process? After four days of thought-provoking explo- ration of the topic, the decision was a draw: It is both.

National Conference of Law Reviews The University of Oklahoma College of Law's two scholarly journals, the A demonstration oftraditional Plains Indian Oklahoma Law Review and the Ameri- fancydancingwas onefeatureofthe Centennial can Indian Law Review, sponsored the conference, "Being Indian in the 21st Century. " 1991 SPRING 13

36th national meeting of law review Man, Energy, Environment The College of Liberal Studies editors March 21-25, 1990, in Oklahoma City. The telecommunications series, "Man, Shared anniversaries - the ( :allege Of, Conference seminars focused on the Energy and the Environment," was Liberal Stuclics' 30th and the I University's training of new staff members, the role launched at the University of Oklahoma 100th - seemed an appropriate

Ron Peters, director ofthe Carl Albert Congressio, 1 Research and Studies OU Professor Emeritus David Kitts addresses fellow historians of science at the Center, brought together an impressivegroup of leading U.S. legislative and Centennial symposium held irr f June 1990 at the University ofOklahoma, international governmental scholars for a spring Centennial symposium . home ofthe world-renowned collection ofrare books in thatfield.

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Beyond Decree: Commitment to formation, focused on innovative ways Crossing the Disciplines Cultural Diversity to improve accounting for better com- munication and monitoring. Variety was the order of the day when In the 1950s, the issue was desegrega- academicians from a cross section of tion in higher education, and the spotlight 19th Century French Studies cultural studies and human sciences met was on the University of Oklahoma in Norman for an October 19-21 confer- where a historic U.S. Supreme Court Sponsored by the OU department of ence sponsored bythe Oklahoma Project ruling forever changed the whites-only modern languages, literature and lin- for Discourse and Theory and the college campus. By the Centennial year guistics, this October 11-13Frenchstudies Semiotic Society of America. 1990, the issue was a much broader one, colloquium dealt with subjects from lit- "Crossing the Disciplines: Cultural a commitment to cultural diversity, and erature to architecture to music. More Studies in the 1990s" featured nearly 70 the spotlight was once again on OU. than 200 participants came from univer- panel discussions devoted to areas such The Center for Research Minority sities throughout the United States, as anthropology, literary criticism, phi- Education, directed by OU professor of Canada, Great Britain and Israel. losophy, art, music, communications and psychology Wanda Ward, sponsored a Gerald Prince of the University of the history of science. three-day conference in September that Pennsylvania was the plenary speaker attracted a national group of scholars for the colloquium, which saw more and policy-makers . Keynote speakers than 100 papers presented with an addi- for the event, which included a graduate tional 20 available in a reading room . research paper competition as well as in-depth discussions of desegregation Graduate and cultural diversity issues, were Mary Liberal Studies Berry, professor of history at the Univer- The top liberal studies programs in sity of Pennsylvania, and Reginald the United States sent representatives to Wilson, senior scholar with the Ameri- the University of Oklahoma campus can Council ofEducation in Washington. October 18-20 for the annual national conference of the Association of Gradu- National Conference ate Liberal Studies Programs. on Academic Accounting Composed of more than 80 institu- tions drawn from the broad spectrum of ParticipantsfromAustralia, Hong Kong American higher education, the asso- and many of the finest research uni- ciation involves both small liberal arts versities in the United States were in colleges and large research-oriented Norman October 4-5 for the research universities in the public and private conference sponsoredby the OU School sectors. Dan Davis, dean of the OU of Accounting . College of Liberal Studies, which is a An internationallyfamousscholarfrom India, The conference, which showcased founding member of the association, now a distinguished University ofPittsburgh the latest in accounting research and was installed as its new president during professor, Gayatri CChakravorty Spivak at promoted the exchange of research in the conference. the Centennial conference on cultural studies.

Principal participants in the conference "Beyond Decree: A Centennial Commitment to Cultural Steve Allen, specialist in using accountingdata Diversity" were Mary Berry, professor ofhistory at the University ofPennsylvania, left, Wanda farperformance evaluation, addresses the Na- Ward, director ofthe OU Centerfor Research in Minority Education, and Regent Sylvia Lewis. tional Conference on Academic Accounting.

1991 SPRING 15

Meteorologists in the Collegeof Geosciences got into the seminar spiritwith Chris Quigg, from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Chi- a spring sessionfeaturing apresentation by Robert Sheets, above, director cago, was one ofeightfeaturedspeakers deliveringpublic lectures during oftheNationalHurricane Center in Miami, Florida. The fall geosciences the Centennial's Super-Symposium, sponsored by OU's department of conference on directionsfor the 21st century, three days ofconcentration physics andastronomy. Layaudiences exploredthe "super on education, research and service, had as its keynoter Gilbert M. "topics-high-temperaturesuperconductivity, supernovae, superstringsandthesuper- Grosvenor, president and chairman ofthe National Geographic Society. conductingsuper collider; researchers engaged in more technicalsessions.

Oklahoma Interscholastic The Super-Symposium a gathering of experts from academia, Press Association research institutes and government New and exciting developments in agencies. Gilbert M. Grosvenor, president Annually the campus ofthe University physics and astrophysics with implica- and chairman ofthe National Geographic of Oklahoma is invaded by the eager, tions for the way we live in and view the Society, delivered the conference's enthusiastic representatives of the Okla- universe were explored by eight leading keynote address, "Environmental Issues homa Interscholastic Press Association, scientists in public lectures October 31- of the Next Century." the nation's oldest such group in con- November 3, 1990. Subjects such as Focused on the areas of education, tinuous service to its members. But this high-temperature superconductivity, research and service to mankind, the year the visit of the high school journal- supernovae, superstrings and the super- three days of lectures and exchange of ists took on new meaning . It was the conducting super collider-in sessions ideas and views were designed to con- host university's 100th anniversary and designed for the layman-highlighted tribute to long-range planning strategies the 75th anniversary of OIPA . this unique Centennial symposium . to help define future directions in the Presiding at the Founders' Day Ban- While the public grappled with the geosciences . Speakers for the events quet on October 28 was the OIPA's long- "super" topics, a technical conference were drawn from Massachusetts Institute time executive director, James F. Paschal, also was underway for the distinguished of Technology, Penn State University, OU associate professor of journalism researchers in attendance. "Beyond the University of Massachusetts, Cornell and mass communication . Featured at Standard Model II" focused on current University, the U.S. Geological Survey, the banquet was the presentation of the developments in high-energy physics. the Lamont - Doherty Geological Obser- individual awards for outstanding service vatory and the National Science to the school press field. Foundation. On the following day, more than Direction for Geosciences The University's youngest college, 1,100 secondary school students from in the 21st Century formed in 1981, the College of Geo- across the state attended the OIPA con- sciences is made up of the School of ference . Program topics were identical The geosciences, one of the historic Geology and Geophysics, the School of to those used at the first OIPA confer- strengths of the OU program, was in the Meteorology and the department of ence in 1916. Centennial spotlight November 27-29 at geography . 16 SOONER MAGAZINE