2023 Lecture
Speaker: Benjamin J. Pauli, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Social Science - Kettering
Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Lecture at 7 p.m.
Reception at 6 p.m.
Location: Mary E. Marburger Science and Engineering Auditorium (S100)
Flint and the Future of Environmental Justice
In this talk I will reflect on the influence that local environmental justice struggles in Flint have had on current state and national efforts to address environmental injustice. Most notably, the Flint water crisis, approaching its 10th anniversary, has inspired a number of policy changes as well as major investments in water infrastructure, with an unprecedented focus on equity in the distribution of resources. Flint's influence has not stopped there, however. In recent years, Flint activists have also played a leading role in pushing for cumulative impact assessment and civil rights enforcement in environmental permitting decisions. In these and other ways, Flint offers a powerful lens through which to consider the newest frontiers of environmental justice policy and practice.
Dr. Ben Pauli is Associate Professor of Social Science at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. He is the author of Flint Fights Back: Environmental Justice and Democracy in the Flint Water Crisis (MIT Press 2019), acting chair of the Flint Water System Advisory Council, president of the board of the Environmental Transformation Movement of Flint (etmflint.org), and a member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the US Environmental Protection Agency (NEJAC). In his role with NEJAC, Dr. Pauli has worked on policy recommendations around PFAS remediation, water infrastructure, water treatment, water utility communications, and cumulative impacts.
This event is free but registration is required.
The Harold Hotelling Memorial Lecture Series was founded to honor an esteemed scholar and colleague. Harold Hotelling (1945 - 2009) joined Lawrence Tech as an associate professor of economics in 1989 and taught courses in business law, business ethics, constitutional law, urban social issues, law and economics. His life was marked by an unwavering dedication to his family, his church, his students, and his profession. Everyone who knew him benefited from his keen intellect, tireless devotion, quick wit, and wonderful sense of humor. Hotelling's contributions to Lawrence Tech will always be remembered, but more importantly, he will be remembered as a great person and a dear friend.
About Lawrence Tech
Lawrence Technological University, https://www.ltu.edu/ , is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, and Engineering. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation's top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation's top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best in the Midwest. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, "theory and practice" education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech's 107-acre campus include more than 100 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
 | 2022 Digital Exclusion, Social Inclusion, and Michigan's Rural Youth: How Everyday Uses of Digital Media are Related to Student Performance, Psychological Well-Being, and Social Tolerance Divides in Internet access and digital skills have broad implications for young people. Findings from two recent studies of secondary and post-secondary rural Michigan students highlight how digital inequalities compare to traditional inequalities related to race, gender, and geography for outcomes including classroom grades, standardized exams, educational aspirations, career interests, self-esteem, and social tolerance. While the COVID-19 pandemic has reanimated policy makers' focus on fixing gaps in broadband availability, addressing inequalities in access is only the first step in achieving better outcomes in relation to young people's academic performance and well-being. Improved outcomes are dependent on addressing traditional inequalities, enhancing digital skills, and augmenting the environment created by parents and teachers in relation to the opportunities and constraints they impose on young people's everyday use of digital media. Keith N. Hampton is a Professor in the Dept. of Media and Information at Michigan State University, where he is also the Director for Academic Research at The Quello Center for Telecommunication Management & Law. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Toronto. Before joining MSU, he held faculty positions at Rutgers, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on how the use of communication and information technology is related to the structure of people's personal networks. Past work includes studies of neighboring, democratic engagement, digital inequality, and the urban environment. He has studied the outcomes of persistent contact and pervasive awareness through social media, including stress, depression, tolerance, social isolation, exposure to diverse points of view, and willingness to voice opinions. He teaches courses in social network analysis, technology and society, and research methods. In 2022, he received the Willian F. Ogburn Career Achievement Award from the Section on Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology of the American Sociological Association and in 2017, he was elected a member of the Sociological Research Association. |
 | 2021 IS YOUR MIND GETTING IN THE WAY OF YOUR MONEY? Join Chartered Financial Analyst Sam G. Huszczo as he explores how these behavioral biases are amplified in the post-COVID world of investing and learn how to avoid being your own worst enemy. |
 | 2019 The Value of Many Model Thinking in a Complex World Page's research focuses on the function of diversity in complex social systems. He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. In 2011, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of more than 90 research papers in a variety of fields including: game theory, economics, political theory, formal political science, sociology, psychology, philosophy, physics, public health, geography, computer science, and management. |
 | 2018 |
 | 2017 |
 | 2016 The next president will inherit a daunting set of national security challenges. Active conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Eastern Ukraine will demand early attention, as will ongoing worldwide counter-terrorism efforts. Regional tensions – in the South China Sea, on the Korean Peninsula, and across the broader Middle East – all have the potential to generate significant shocks. As adversaries develop new tactics to counter U.S. interests, there will be enormous pressure to develop new capabilities and policy tools. The United States continues to have a number of unique strengths that will help the next president cope with such challenges. But there are a number of reasons to be concerned. The growth of extremist terrorist movements like ISIS continues to pose challenges. Julianne Smith will discuss how the next president might navigate such a rich international agenda. |
 | 2015 (TPP) being negotiated between the United States and 11 other countries on both sides of the Pacific is billed as a “21st-century trade agreement.” Encompassing nearly 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, the agreement almost eliminates tariffs and other barriers to international trade among the 12 countries and includes protections for patents and other intellectual property rights, provisions intended to improve environmental and labor standards, and a mechanism for investors to initiate and settle disputes with host-country governments outside of any national courts. The TPP will inevitably meet huge opposition within the U.S. Congress, but each of its provisions will create winners and losers. Alan Deardorff will present what is known about the agreement and discuss its pros and cons. |
 | 2014 The economic recession that started in December 2007 was the greatest single contraction in the U.S. economy since the Great Depression forcing the Federal Reserve into an extraordinary monetary policy response. It has now been over 5 years since the start of the current economic recovery and the U.S. is still struggling to get back to its full potential. With the average economic expansion since 1961 running 71 months, what are the concerns that a normal business cycle contraction will prevent the U.S. from reaching its output potential during this business cycle? Mr. Traub's discussion compareD this recovery to past post-recession expansions and addressed some recent economic developments for the U.S. and Michigan. The topics covered included an analysis of consumption, private investment, global trade and federal and local government consumption and investment together with the Federal Reserve Banks role in helping the U.S. achieve a full economic recovery. |
 | 2013 In his lecture, Dr. Spurr explored a variety of topics on the current economic climate in the U.S. and abroad. He addressed how married couples can juggle careers, housework, and childcare; how well U.S. workers are doing compared to the rest of the world, how the growth of the U.S. economy compares with other countries and whether we are still an upwardly mobile society. Is the U.S. still a land of opportunity or can you expect that your annual earnings will be largely determined by the earnings of your parents? As women across the world become more career-oriented, how does this affect the number of children they have and the division of household work? |
| 2012 It's no secret that the Detroit region needs a tune-up. Michael Belzer proposes a solution: take advantage of our proximity to Canada and access to North America's only two transcontinental railroads to create an inland port similar to Chicago. This "Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway" would concentrate intermodal freight transport assets and transform the area into one of America's pre-eminent transport centers, proving regional business with low-cost and quick access to global markets. While the value proposition for business is great, Belzer estimates it's even greater for the region: $11 billion annually in new economic activity, 150,000 new jobs, and more than $1.3 billion in taxes to reenergize state and municipal governments. |
| 2011 Michigan’s manufacturing-based economy was a powerhouse in the middle of the 20 th century. But manufacturing has accounted for a shrinking portion of the economy for half a century. As a result, while incomes in Michigan were above the national average throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, they have fallen below the national average in most years since then. This is partly because Michigan lags behind the national average in many aspects of educational attainment. If Michigan is to realize its potential for a brighter economic future, it will need to increase the skills of its workforce. Professor Ballard discussed the policies that will help to achieve that brighter future. |
 | 2010 After describing trends in U.S. health care spending and health outcomes, Miron Stano provides an overview of cost-utility analysis. To many health care analysts, cost-utility analysis provides the conceptual framework for allocating dollars to alternative treatments including preventive measures. Although our current health care delivery system contains significant barriers to increased acceptance and adoption of preventive care, some preventive measures are not cost-effective. This presentation will focused on the various issues that relate to these barriers, the role of cost-utility analysis in preventive care, and recommendations for improving the efficiency of our health care system. |