About the Forum
The Forum is supported by a fund established to honor Laurie Carlson's lifelong commitment to progressive ideas, laws and policies. Formed by his family, the fund is designed to provide support to University programs that present, explore and discuss current progressive issues in law, legal institutions, public policy and social thought. While the Forum will initiate its own speakers and programs, it also seeks to encourage and assist learning opportunities suggested by others in various formats, including guest speakers, discussion panels, seminars, workshops, and classroom activities. One goal of the Forum is to promote an exchange of ideas that joins the University community with the local community, by, among other things, fostering a discussion of current progressive ideas and issues on campus and encouraging public participation in Forum-sponsored events.
Upcoming Events
The Forum is sponsoring the keynote speaker, Van Jones, for the Tales From Planet Earth Festival that is being held in conjunction with the 2012 Conference of the American Society for Environmental History. The keynote address is at 7:30pm on March 26, 2012 at the Barrymore Theater, 2900 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI.
Van Jones will also participate in a panel discussion at Varsity Hall in Union South, 1308 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI at 12:00pm noon on March 26, 2012. The panel discussion will feature a showing of a segment of the documentary Solarize This by Shalini Kantayya, followed by a discussion on green jobs.
For information on Tales from Planet Earth Festival please go to www.nelson.wisc.edu/tales/.
Van Jones Biography
Van Jones has emerged as a leading champion of smart solutions for America's middle class. As an advisor to the Obama White House, he helped run the inter-agency process and oversaw $80 billion in green recovery spending. A Yale Law School graduate, he as a 20-year track record as a successful, innovative and award-winning social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of three successful nonprofit organizations: The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change and Green For All.
Van Jones is a globally recognized award-winning pioneer in human rights and the clean energy economy, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and American Progress Action Fund. He holds a joint appointment at Princeton University as a distinguished visiting fellow in both the Center for African Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. TIME Magazine has called him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2009. He is also the best-selling author of the definitive book on green jobs, The Green Collar Economy. For more information on Van Jones, please to to www.vanjones.net/.
Past Speakers & Participants
Past speakers and participants have included:
- South African Ambassador Barbara Masekela and then US Senator Russ Feingold discussing the 10th Anniversary of South Africa's Constitution;
- Stephen Lewis, former Special UN Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, addressing the particular problems facing women in Africa;
- Robin Wright, author and Middle East expert, outlining the foreign policy challenges facing the winner of the 2008 Presidential Election;
- Robert Kennedy, Jr., environmental lawyer and activist, arguing the cause of environmental justice on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day;
- Fran Ulmer, former Lt. Governor of Alaska and chair of the Arctic Research Commission speaking of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Suggestions for Forum Programs
Individuals or groups interested in making suggestions for Forum programs should prepare a description of the program and submit it to Ralph Cagle, University of Wisconsin Law School, 975 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI 53706 by mail, by email at rmcagle@wisc.edu or by phone at (608) 262-7881.
About Laurie E. Carlson (1908-1999)
Laurie Carlson was born in Bayfield, Wisconsin. His first political involvement occurred at age 12, when he and his father traveled Bayfield County in a horse-drawn wagon, campaigning with Robert La Follette, Sr. This experience coupled with later meetings with Bob La Follete left an impression that would stay with Carlson for a lifetime. In 1934, Carlson helped form the State Progressive Party, along with La Follette sons, Phil and Bob, Jr. Carlson won election as a Progressive to the State Legislature in 1936 at age 28 and served until 1942. After his legislative career, Carlson began a career in business, but was always very active in Wisconsin politics. In 1969, the Dane County Democratic Party prevailed on Laurie to run for Clerk of Courts, and he served four terms before retiring from public office. In 1986, Governor Tony Earl honored Carlson with a Proclamation declaring him a "state treasure." Laurie died in 1999 at age 91, fighting to the end for the poor, the common people, the rights of labor, civil rights, and the protection of the environment.
