President’s Welcome Ceremony
Monday April 1, 2024
11:00 AM to 12:15 PM
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Brooklyn College President Michelle Anderson and the Brooklyn College community welcome 2023-24 Hess Scholar-in-Residence Paul Ortiz to campus.

Michelle J. Anderson, President of Brooklyn College
Armin Fardis, Chancellor's Postdoctoral Scholar at UC-Santa Cruz
Christina Heatherton, Elting Associate Professor of American Studies and Human Rights at Trinity College
Phil Napoli, Dean of the Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of History at Brooklyn College
Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida; Robert L. Hess Scholar 2023-24

Defending the Freedom to Learn 
Monday April 1, 2024
2:15 PM to 3:30 PM
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Sponsored by the Frederic Ewen Civil Liberties and Academic Freedom Lecture and the Brooklyn College School of Education

This panel explores how book bans and curriculum gag orders deny K-12 and college students’ freedom to learn and access to education.

Introductory Remarks: April Whatley Bedford, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Brooklyn College

Emily Drabinski, President of the American Library Association; Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, Queens College
Nishani Frazier, Professor of History and Director of Public History at North Carolina State University
Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida; Robert L. Hess Scholar 2023-24

Moderator: Gunja SenGupta, Professor of History at Brooklyn College

Our History, Our Voices: Oral History to Change the World
Tuesday April 2, 2024
11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Co-sponsored by the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida

This panel takes inspiration from Paul Ortiz’s work as President of the Oral History Association and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. Participants will explore the multiple public uses of oral history.

Zaheer Ali, Executive Director of the Hutchins Institute for Social Justice at the Lawrenceville School 
Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida; Robert L. Hess Scholar 2023-24
Naomi Schiller, Professor of Anthropology at Brooklyn College       
Amy Starecheski, Director of the Oral History Master’s Program at Columbia University 

Moderator: Phil Napoli, Professor of History and Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Brooklyn College

Defending the Freedom to Teach
Tuesday April 2, 2024
4:15 PM to 5:45 PM
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Sponsored by the Frederic Ewen Civil Liberties and Academic Freedom Lecture and the Brooklyn College School of Education

Randi Weingarten, AFT President, and Paul Ortiz, Hess Scholar, are joined by educators, activists, and lawyers for a discussion of the current political and ideological attacks on K-12 and college teachers’ freedom to teach.

Introductory remarks by María R. Scharrón-del Río, Dean of the School of Education and Professor in the School Counseling Graduate Program at Brooklyn College

Jose Jimenez, Principal of A.C.E. Academy for Scholars
Larry J. Leaven, Educator
Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida; Robert L. Hess Scholar 2023-224
Karen Svodoba, Executive Director, Defense of Democracy
Emerson Sykes, Senior Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union
Randi Weingarten, President of AFT (American Federation of Teachers)

Moderator: Carla España, Assistant Professor of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies and Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities Faculty Associate at Brooklyn College

Bearing Witness and Taking Action in an Age of Rising Fascism: Oral History in the Field and in the Classroom
Wednesday April 3, 2024
9:30 AM to 10:45 AM
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Co-sponsored by the Brooklyn College Center for Teaching and Learning and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida

Professor Ortiz will deliver a talk drawing on his personal experiences as an oral historian.

Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida; Robert L. Hess Scholar 2023-24

Union Power! Academic Freedom and the Future of Higher Education
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
12:50 PM to 2:05 PM
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Sponsored by the Frederic Ewen Civil Liberties and Academic Freedom Lecture and co-sponsored by the Brooklyn College Chapter of the Professional Staff Congress-CUNY (PSC-CUNY)

The panel will explore the role of academic labor unions in defending academic freedom in the current political moment.

Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida
Carolina Bank Muñoz, Chair of the Brooklyn College Chapter of the PSC-CUNY and Professor of Sociology at Brooklyn College
Risa Lieberwitz, General Counsel of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and Professor of Labor and Employment Law at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) 
Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida; President of United Faculty of Florida - UF (FEA/NEA/AFT/AFL-CIO; 2020-23); Robert L. Hess Scholar 2023-24

Moderator: Alan Aja, Professor and Department Chairperson of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Brooklyn College

Blueprint for Solidarity: Black, Latinx, and Asian American Freedom Struggles
Thursday April 4, 2024
11:00 PM to 12:30 PM
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

The panel will explore lessons to be learned from Black, Latinx, and Asian American freedom struggles. 

Diane C. Fujino, Professor of Asian American Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara
Max Krochmal, Professor of U.S. History and Director of Justice Studies at the University of New Orleans 
Genesis Lara, Assistant Professor, Afro-Latino Studies, Department of Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine 
Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida; Robert L. Hess Scholar 2023-24
Jeanne Theoharis, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College

A Social Movement History of the United States
The 2024 Robert L. Hess Memorial Lecture
Thursday April 4, 2024
5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Professor Paul Ortiz delivers the 2024 Hess Memorial Lecture based on his forthcoming book, A Social Movement History of the United States.

Michelle J. Anderson, Brooklyn College President
Joseph Entin, Professor of English at Brooklyn College 
Phil Napoli, Professor of History and Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Brooklyn College
Paul Ortiz, Professor of History and Director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida; Robert L. Hess Scholar 2023-24

Paul Ortiz - Hess Scholar-in-Residence Exhibit
Entry Lobby, Brooklyn College Library

An exhibit located in the main entrance of the Brooklyn College Library that will highlight the works and legacy of Paul Ortiz.

Curator: Helen Georgas, Reference Librarian & Associate Professor at Brooklyn College