Swiss scholar addresses social policies at IU Kokomo
September 14, 2006
KOKOMO, Ind.—Today, more than 150 million people around the globe live in countries other than where they were born. Their host countries face crucial questions of how national policies might integrate or exclude immigrants and migrants from everyday public life.
Professor Isidor Wallimann, Ph.D., of the University of Applied Sciences Northwest Switzerland, believes that the United States might learn from European experiences in developing immigration and migration policies. He’ll discuss those experiences in a public forum Wednesday, September 27, at Indiana University Kokomo. He will speak at 5:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium.
A professor of sociology, economics, and social policy, Wallimann directs the international program of his university’s School of Social Work in Basel. He has written and lectured extensively on issues of discrimination and social exclusion, economic democracy, development and globalization, poverty and social reform, and welfare.
Associate Professor of Sociology Ligaya Lindio McGovern, Ph.D., arranged Wallimann’s visit to address her Sociology of Development course, as well as other IU Kokomo classes. McGovern described Wallimann as “a truly international scholar” who has written for the mass media and addressed non-governmental organizations and other public groups in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and the United States on social policy, globalization, and its alternatives.
Wallimann will deliver two additional campus lectures on Thursday September 28. From 2:30–3:45 p.m. in Main Building, Room 150, he will present “The Swiss and American Political Systems Compared,” a look at how citizens shaped both nations’ forms of government.
From 4–5:15 p.m., also in Main Building, Room 150, Wallimann will discuss “Alternative Credit and Money Systems in Development.” This talk will examine new currency and financial systems being developed by grassroots organizations in Europe, as a response to global financial crises.
All of Wallimann’s talks are free and open to the public and to all IU students, faculty, administrators, and staff.
Wallimann’s visit is co-sponsored by IU Kokomo’s International Programs, IU Kokomo Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, and IU Bloomington International Programs, which awarded McGovern partial funding for this event.
Associate Professor Donna McLean, Ph.D., who directs IU Kokomo’s International Studies minor program, notes that Wallimann will be the first of a series of international speakers the program hopes to present in efforts “to globalize the university” and encourage learning from diverse cultures.
Persons without campus parking passes should follow the signs for special event parking for the Wallimann lectures. For more information, contact Ligaya Lindio McGovern at lmcgover@iuk.edu or (765) 455-9376.
