Third annual Jamison Lecture

The Jamisons 

According to the TWU website, The Jamisons have donated $1.7 million dollars to TWU just in 2014, and they have always been supporters of TWU’s Old Main Society. These funds were put towards the annual Jamison lecture and other university needs. Alonzo Jamison started his journey as part of the TWU family in 1968 when he became the chair of the TWU Department of History and Government. He later retired in 1984. Jamison received a Bronze Star for service in World War II as an Army anti-aircraft artillery officer in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Germany. Elizabeth Jamison received her bachelor’s degree in music from then Texas State College for Women, now TWU, in 1943.  

The Lecture 

2018 marks the third annual Jamison Lecture. During the first lecture in 2016, Sarah Weddington spoke about women’s leadership. Weddington has studied leadership for over 25 years, and she often helps women prepare for and attain executive and leadership positions. According to the TWU website, “she is believed to be the youngest person ever to win a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.” 

The second year of the lecture, 2017, three experts on women in politics spoke. Dianne Bystrom, director of The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, according to The Catt Center, “has taught courses on leadership, women and politics, and political campaigns.” Ann Bookman, director for Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, has 30 years of experience in academia and government, according to the University of Massachusetts Boston. Cindy Simon Rosenthal, director and curator for the Carl Albert Congressional Research & Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma, focuses on women in politics, public sector and legislative leadership, state-local government and intergovernmental relations and public policy issues with gender inequality. These three women spoke to the audience at TWU about women in politics. Krys Boyd, host of KERA’s “Think” program, served as the moderator.  

2018 will be the third year of the Jamison Lecture, entitled “Covering the Trump Presidency: Perspective from Women Journalist.” This year, Boyd will be returning to serve as the moderator. Two female journalists, Ashley Parker and Sabrina Siddiqui, will be speaking at the lecture about Trump’s presidency. Parker has been a White House reporter for The Washington Post since 2017. Prior, she was a reporter for the New York Times for 11 years, where she covered the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. Currently, she is senior political analyst for MSNBC. Siddique is a political reporter for The Guardian U.S. Prior, she reported for The Huffington Post.   

Third Annual Lecture 

This year, the lecture will be held in the Lecture Hall of the Multipurpose Classroom Lab at the Denton campus. The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. on Wed., March 28 and is free to students, faculty, staff and the public. The Department of History and Government and the Jamison Lecture committee will be hosting the event while the College of Arts and Sciences will be sponsoring the lecture. For information about the event or any other questions, contact Dr. Jonathan Olsen at JOlsen1@twu.edu or call (940) 898-2133.