FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Mary Anthony

mary.anthony@trinity.edu

Jan. 6, 2009

McNair Scholars to Discuss Civil Rights During an Inauguration Day Symposium at Trinity University

SAN ANTONIO – In honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the McNair Scholars Program at Trinity University will host a “Civil Rights in the Age of Obama” symposium at 3:30 p.m. on Inauguration Day, Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the Coates University Center Waxahachie Room. The event is free and open to the public.

The symposium will be moderated by McNair Scholars Program assistant director Audree Hernandez and will feature San Antonio area scholars and activists Gordon Abner, Kayla Mire, Luis Figueroa, and Gregg Michel. Each presenter will discuss contemporary civil rights issues from his or her unique academic and professional perspective.

Gordon Abner is a senior McNair Scholar at Trinity University majoring in international studies with minors in economics, history, and Spanish. His research is on African American migration to Chicago and upon graduation Mr. Abner will pursue a Ph.D. in public policy.

Kayla Mire is a senior McNair Scholar at Trinity University majoring in communication. Her research is on the rhetoric of immigration advocacy groups and upon graduation Ms. Mire will pursue interdisciplinary graduate study.

Luis Figueroa, legislative staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), received a bachelor’s degree in political science and speech from Trinity University and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. His area of practice is the civil rights of U.S. Latinos.

Gregg L. Michel, associate professor of history at the University of Texas at San Antonio, received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Dr. Michel’s scholarly work focuses on movements for social change in post-World War II America. He has authored Struggle for a Better South: The Southern Student Organizing Committee, 1964-1969.

The McNair Scholars Program, named after the late physicist and Challenger astronaut Dr. Ronald E. McNair, prepares students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. The program is funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant and Trinity University.  For more information about the program, call Professor Michael Soto at 210-999-7561.

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