Currently@Carleton

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As a social entrepreneur, Irshad has launched Project Ijtihad, an initiative to develop the world’s first leadership network for reform-minded Muslims. In that capacity, she was recently named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Oprah Winfrey honored Irshad with the first annual Chutzpah Award for “audacity, nerve, boldness, and conviction.” Ms. magazine chose Irshad as a “Feminist for the 21st Century.” Maclean’s, Canada’s national news magazine, selected her one of ten “Canadians Who Make a Difference.” And the Jakarta Post in Indonesia—the world’s largest Muslim country—identified Irshad as one of three women creating a positive change in Islam today.

Born in 1968, Irshad is a refugee from Idi Amin’s Uganda. In 1972, she and her family fled to Vancouver, where Irshad grew up attending public schools as well as the Islamic madressa. In 1990, she earned an honors degree in intellectual history from the University of British Columbia, winning the Governor-General’s medal for top graduate.

After graduation, Irshad became legislative assistant to a member of parliament, then press secretary to the Ontario Minister for Women’s Issues. In 1992, at age 24, she entered the media as National Affairs Editorialist for the Ottawa Citizen, the youngest person to sit on the editorial board of a Canadian daily newspaper. She left to take up the post of speechwriter for the first female leader of a Canadian political party.

From there, Irshad went on to write Risking Utopia: On the Edge of a New Democracy. Published in 1997, it chronicles how young people are re-defining democracy in an age of fluid media networks, shifting social values, and flexible personal identities. Today, Risking Utopia is widely used by Canadian educators to re-imagine public schooling.

In 1998, Irshad began producing and hosting QueerTelevision on Toronto’s Citytv. This was the world’s first program on commercial airwaves to explore the lives of gay and lesbian people. She also negotiated the syndication of QueerTelevision through San Francisco-based Web portal, planetout.com, making QueerTelevision among the first programs ever to be streamed entirely on the Internet. As such, it built a global audience quickly while circumventing state censors. It also won the Gemini, Canada’s highest broadcasting award, for best-edited general information show.

Despite her multi-media approach, books remain Irshad’s passion. With the release of The Trouble with Islam Today, Irshad’s ideas are capturing international attention. That means condemnation as well as praise. As Indonesia’s Jakarta Post writes, “She not only has a funky hairdo, but The Trouble with Islam Today has caused much debate.”

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Whistler Circles: An Etching Revival Tour Through Europe opens Friday, April 4 in the Art Gallery with a gala Victorian cream-tea reception, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Greet spring with a visit to the latest art gallery exhibition, organized by five student curators, and drawings from the collections of Gayle McJunkin, Carleton College, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Weisman Art Museum.

Whistler Circles features the etchings of James McNeill Whistler and his followers. Showcasing 19th- and early 20th-century works from the Etching Revival, ranging from touristic scenes of pastoral landscapes and famous monuments to avant-garde aesthetic works nearing abstraction, this exhibition presents scenes of rural and urban European life during a time of transformation.

Stay tuned to this space (or check the gallery Web site) for exhibition events unfolding between April 4 and May 11, complementing the exhibition.

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Tuesday, April 8
Empirical Methods in Humanities Research (Particularly Music)
Eric F. Clarke, Heather Professor of Music, University of Oxford
Introduction by Justin London, Professor of Music, and President, Society for Music Theory
Alumni Guest House Meeting Room
Noon to 1:30 p.m., lunch provided for 50

Co-sponsor: QuIRK (Quantitative Inquiry, Reasoning and Knowledge Initiative)

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As you plan for Spring Term, we hope you will consider these special events brought to you by the 2008 Bryn-Jones Distinguished Teaching Professorship in the Humanities Program:

Contemplating James Baldwin: Language, Courage, and Tenderness—A week-long symposium of events Sunday, April 13 through Saturday, April 19

The Baldwin Symposium events below are co-sponsored by the Mellon Faculty Life Cycles Grant and Perlman LTC:

[Re]reading James Baldwin
Perlman LTC/Mellon spring 2008 reading and discussion group for faculty and staff, April 10, 17 (with author, Lawrie Balfour), and 29, 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Headley House. Join the group by contacting Jennifer Cox Johnson (jcoxjohn@carleton.edu or x4192). Books are available now, courtesy of Mellon Faculty Life Cycles Grant.

Innocence in the Age of Apology: Why James Baldwin Now?
Thursday, April 17
Lawrie Balfour, Associate Professor, Department of Politics, University of Virginia

Gould Library Athenaeum
Noon to 1:30 p.m., with lunch provided for 50
Co-sponsored with African/African-American Studies, History Department, and Gould Library

James Baldwin Across the Disciplines: A Colloquium for Faculty
Saturday, April 19, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Carleton College, followed by the public performance "James Baldwin: Down from the Mountaintop."

A stipend is offered for faculty who participate in this day-long colloquium, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., meals included. Space is reserved for colloquium participants at the evening performance. Please reply to Jennifer Cox Johnson (jcoxjohn@carleton.edu or x4192) to indicate your interest in participating on April 19.

"James Baldwin: Down from the Mountaintop," Saturday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., a solo play starring actor and playwright, Calvin Levels, Concert Hall, open to the public, by ticket.

See all the Symposium events and information at the Baldwin Symposium Web site.

Watch for more Perlman LTC events for spring on the LTC Web site.

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Call for Proposals—Culture Matters: Designing Learning Environments to Foster Cultural Awareness and Intercultural Competence

The Collaboration for the advancement of college teaching and learning—click here.

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Mandated Training
Minnesota Employee Right-to-Know MERTKA/Asbestos
Thursday, April 3, 9 to 11 a.m., Alumni Guest House Meeting Room

Mandatory for all new staff (Right-to-Know) and all those employed in, or transferred to, jobs which require training (Asbestos Awareness and Blood Borne Pathogens). New staff are required to participate in this training as part of their orientation process.

Any employees not required to attend but interested in attending are welcome. Sessions will be one hour each and will include training on Minnesota Right-to-Know.

Sexual Harassment Training
Wednesday, April 9, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Alumni Guest House Meeting Room

Harassment in the work place has been prohibited for more than a decade. All employees share the responsibility for preventing harassment. The workshop content includes guidelines for defining harassment and suggestions for creating a harassment-free environment. The session will also cover the following:

• Guidelines on the definition of harassment
• Diversity and harassment
• Recognizing subtle forms of harassment
• Dealing with complaints

Joanne Jirik Mullen is the Consultant to the College on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault.

Please note: All staff that have not previously attended a sexual harassment workshop at Carleton must attend.

Personal/Professional Development
EAP Telephone Wellness Seminar: How Stress Affects Our Eating
Wednesday, April 9, 1 p.m.

When you attend this seminar you’ll learn:

• The cues you may face that can cause poor eating
• What the five challenges to nutritious eating are
• Coping strategies to deal with the healthy eating challenges

Please pre-register online. Confirmation code: 7452139

The dial-in number will be provided to you in your registration confirmation e-mail. Handouts will be available to download from the registration site or through Human Resources. You must pre-register at least 48 hours before the start time of the seminar. A recorded playback of each seminar will be available starting an hour after the seminar until midnight on the 10th day from the teleconference date.

Supervisory/Leadership
EAP—Performance Management and Progressive Discipline
Thursday, April 17, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Severance Meeting Room

Project Management—Julie Anderson, Development Services
Tuesday, April 22, 2 to 3 p.m., Sayles-Hill 251

Project Management Basics: This session will provide you with an introductory overview of project management methodology. You will learn about the importance of identifying stakeholders, defining scope, establishing project milestones, and establishing your project schedule. You will also learn about how assumptions, constraints, and risks may impact your project. All of these factors play an important role in your ability to deliver projects on time, within budget, and within quality specifications.

Recruitment, Interviewing, and Hiring Processes—Andrea Zunkel and Linda Laughlin
Wednesday, April 30, 2 to 3 p.m., Sayles-Hill 251

Staff Recruitment Process: Come and learn about the staff recruitment and hiring process, and see the new and improved employment Web pages. The session will guide you through the recruitment and selection process, provide tips on interviewing, and show you where to access the information you'll need to make a successful hire.