Indiana University Northwest’s seventh annual Fall Convocation will take place Thursday, Oct. 25, with a second day of academic programming continuing on Friday Oct. 26.

Thursday, Oct. 25

At 4 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 25 in the Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium, Eric Foner, Ph.D. will present an educational lecture centered on his book, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, which offers a history of Abraham Lincoln and the end of slavery.  A book signing and reception will follow in the Savannah Center lobby. Copies of Foner’s book will be available for purchase in the IU Northwest Bookstore.

Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University in New York, is one of this country's most prominent historians. Foner, who received his doctoral degree from Columbia, is one of only two persons to serve as president of the three major professional organizations: the Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association, and Society of American Historians, and one of a handful to have won the Bancroft and Pulitzer Prizes in the same year.

His timely presentation comes just weeks after the 150^th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln issuing the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which led to the freedom of slaves in 10 states during the American Civil War on January 1, 1863.

The following day on Friday, Oct. 26, attendees may view the film, First Generation, produced and directed by Adam and Jaye Fenderson at 9 a.m. in the Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium.

First Generation is the story of four teens with aspirations of breaking out of poverty and changing their families and communities by pursuing a college education. The 95-minute documentary features top education experts and explores the challenges faced by first generation and low-income college students as well as the implications their success has for the nation’s future.

Immediately following the film, at 11 a.m., Zebulun Davenport, Ed.D., Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will lead a discussion and present his research on first-generation college students. Davenport is one of three co-authors of the book, First-Generation College Students: Understanding and Improving the Experience from Recruitment to Commencement.

A book signing and reception will follow at 12 p.m. in the Savannah Center lobby. Copies of Davenport’s book will be available for purchase in the IU Northwest Bookstore.

Fall Convocation 2012 events are co-sponsored by the IU Northwest Office of Academic Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences and the Chancellor’s Office.

For information about parking at IU Northwest, including a new practice for issuing temporary visitors’ permits, please visit http://www.iun.edu/parking/.