Source: Melissa Linenberger, 785-532-4392, mwaso@k-state.edu
Website: http://www.k-state.edu/dthompson/
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-2535, bbohn@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010

DOROTHY L. THOMPSON LECTURE SERIES OPENS WITH DISCUSSION ON JUDICIAL DIVERSITY

MANHATTAN -- A distinguished group of Kansas judges will open Kansas State University's 2010-2011 Dorothy L. Thompson Civil Rights Lecture Series and be part of the university's observance of Constitution Day.

"Who Will Judge You? Advancing Judicial Diversity" will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15, at the K-State Student Union's Forum Hall. The lecture is free, and the public is welcome. The lecture is presented in partnership with the League of Women Voters Manhattan/Riley County.

Justice Marla Luckert of the Kansas Supreme Court is the keynote speaker. Panelists are Judges Henry Green, Richard Greene and Melissa Standridge, all of the Kansas Court of Appeals, and Suzanne Valdez, director of the Criminal Prosecution Clinic at the University of Kansas. The moderator is K-State's David Procter, director of the Institute for Civil Discourse and Democracy.

The lecture also is sponsored by the Union Program Council; K-State's offices of affirmative action, diversity and dual career development, and multicultural programs and services; the Institute for Civil Discourse and Democracy and the pre-law program; the Riley County Bar Association; and the UFM Community Learning Center.

The Dorothy L. Thompson Lecture Series recognizes Thompson's contributions to the field of human rights on campuses throughout Kansas and the nation. Thompson was associated with K-State from 1971 until her death in 1992. She served as K-State's director of affirmative action and associate university attorney.