The Indiana University Northwest School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) invites the campus and community to celebrate Public Affairs Month with an array of engaging and informative events throughout the month of April.

The lineup of speakers includes:

Monday, April 4

12 p.m., Library Conference Center, room 105

Morton Marcus, former director of the Indiana Business Research Center in the IU Kelley School of Business, has studied economic and demographic trends of Lake County communities for the past two decades. He, along with other members of the IBRC staff, authored reports on the population, economy, and government of Lake County.

Tuesday, April 5

11:30 a.m., Library Conference Center, room 105

Joseph Ferrandino, Ph.D., associate professor of criminal justice at IU Northwest, has been working with a growing number of individual emergency and police departments on tracking crime in their communities and collaborates with local, state and national law enforcement agencies using statistical data to identify crimes.

W. “Jay” Abbott, FBI Special Agent, Terrorism, will also join the discussion.

Wednesday, April 6

11 a.m., Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium, Savannah Center

Gangs

Tom Branson, Lake County Sheriff Project Director of the Lake County Violence Intervention Program, was Officer of the Year in the Gary Police Department and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award during his tenure there. He was inducted into the American Police Hall of Fame as its highest decorated officer. Branson is a veteran, having served in both the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm.

2:30 p.m., Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium, Savannah Center

John Buncich, Lake County Sheriff

Monday, April 11

2 p.m., Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium, Savannah Center

Domestic Violence Panel Discussion

Linda Parez, who is executive director of St. Jude House and Family Violence Prevention Center and Shelter, is personally committed to the mission of the center as a survivor of domestic violence.

Urban Sustainability Discussion

Bill Brown, professor of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University, teaches graduate classes in sustainability, leadership and sustainable communities.

Tuesday, April 12

11 a.m., Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium

“Indiana Rights and the Pursuit of Happiness”

Panel discussion with Jackie Huey, lecturer in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and others.

Wednesday, April 13

11 a.m., Savannah Center Gymnasium 

Jeff Emmons, retired special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), will give a self-defense presentation.

2 p.m., Marram Hall, room 123

Thomas Fisher, retired honorable Indiana tax court judge, has served on the Judicial Advisory Board, Law and Organizational Economics Institute of the University of Kansas, the Earlham College Board of Trustees and the Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Race and Gender Fairness.

Thursday, April 14

12 p.m., Savannah Center, room 205

Karl Besel, Ph.D., assistant dean and director of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, along with Jesus Rafael Pico, senior lecturer in Spanish at IU Kokomo, will discuss research relating to historical preservation efforts in Cuba. Comparisons will be made between traditional town planning in the U.S. and Cuba.

Monday, April 18

12:30 p.m., Dunes Medical and Professional Building, room 2134

Robert David Krumwied, President and CEO of Regional Mental Health

Tuesday, April 19

11:30 a.m., Hawthorn Hall, room 103

Labor Movements

Oscar Sanchez, special assistant to the international president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC).

Judy Lennon, J.D., Labor Movement & Women

Wednesday, April 20

12:30 p.m., Dunes Medical and Professional Building, room 2134

Unions

Bob Tribble, Local 1014 Rapid Response Coordinator and Union Activist, precinct committeeman, treasurer and chairman for St. John/St. John Township.

Dan Marchek, Fraternal Order of Police

Thursday, April 21

11:45 a.m., Hawthorn Hall, room 103

Corruption

David Capp, U.S. Attorney Northern District, Indiana Department of Justice

Dave Coulson, ATF, Senior Special Agent

Monday, April 25

11 a.m., Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium

Honorable Joseph Van Bokkelen, U.S. Federal Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, served for many years in deputy and assistant attorney general.

Honorable Thomas Stefaniak, Jr., Senior Judge of the Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division.

Served as deputy prosecutor, city judge, felony judge.

Tuesday, April 26

10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Savannah Center Gymnasium

Public Service Fair.

Open to the entire campus and community, this event showcases local public, non-profit, criminal justice and health organizations in Northwest Indiana. Vendors will provide information on careers and degree requirements to work in these fields. 

Space is limited for these events. For more information, contact Joseph Gomeztagle at (219) 981-4288.