Elena Diane Curris Lecture
The Elena Diane Curris Global Issues Lecture at CSULB is an annual event sponsored by a memorial endowment created in honor of Elena Diane Curris, a CSULB staff member known for her passion toward global studies as well as her unwavering community involvement. The lecture focuses on pressing international issues, related to human rights, global justice, and societal change. The lecture aims to bring attention to critical global matters and foster a dialogue within the university community.
Since its inception, the lecture has featured prominent speakers from various fields, including human rights activists, artists, and scholars. Past topics have included the role of art and theater on the global stage, as well as discussions on remaking movements for human rights.
The event is free and open to the public, encouraging participation from students, faculty, and the broader community. It is part of CSULB's commitment to promoting global awareness and understanding through its Global Studies Institute.
Save the Date! April 16, 2025 Curris Lecture
In April 2025, GSI will the annual Curris lecture. Speaker TBA.
To learn more and be added to the invitation list, please email GSI director, caitlin.fouratt@csulb.edu.
Who was Elena Diane Curris?
Elena Curris, a caring person with a creative and adventurous spirit, served California State University, LongBeach, in several advancement and public relations capacities. At the time of her unexpected passing, Elena, a 2009 graduate of Leadership Long Beach, served the University as its Director of Community Projects and Marketing. In recognition of Elena's global interests, highlighted by her chairing the planning committee for "The President's Forum for lnternationalHuman Rights" and co-directing the annual Veterans Day Celebration, and in support of the University's Global Studies Institute, her family has established this memorial endowment to sponsor the annual Elena Diane Curris Lecture on Global Issues.
Past Curris Lectures
Eric Tistounet, former Chief of the Human Rights branch of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke about the critical role of the UN Human Rights Council.
On April 12, 2023, Jane Olson, former chair of the international board of Human Rights Watch (2004-2010), spoke about being a world citizen.
In 2022, the Curris lecture brought together Rabbi Scott Fox, Father Christos P. Kanakis, and Dean Jihad Turk, to talk about varying faith perspectives in a global world. The panel was moderated by Prof. Kathryn Chew, from the Department of Religious Studies.
Maz Jobrani’s latest comedy special “Immigrant”, which was filmed at the Kennedy Center, is available for streaming on Netflix. Max was a founding member of The Axis of Evil comedy tour, is a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and has given 2 TED Talks.
In April 2019, Cameron Munter spoke about diplomacy. A link to his lecture is here.
Cameron Munter is President and CEO of the EastWest Institute for conflict prevention and Senior Fellow at the Harvard University Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He was Ambassador to Pakistan at the time of the Bin Laden raid, Ambassador to Serbia at the time of Kosovo’s independence, and U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission in Baghdad at the height of the war in Iraq.
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Anne Bogart
Obie Award Winner for Best Director, “The Baltimore Waltz”
Obie Award Winner for Best Director, “No Plays No Poetry…”
Bessie Award Winner for Best Choreographer/Creator, “South Pacific”
ATHE Career Achievement Award
American Theater Wing Award
Award Anne Bogart is a Co-Artistic Director of the ensemble-based SITI Company, head of the MFA Directing program at Columbia University, author of five books focusing on overcoming obstacles to art-making (Violence; Memory; Terror; Eroticism; Stereotype; Embarrassment; and Resistance), improvisational technique, post-9/11 sociocultural reality in the US and theatre’s place in it, the art of direction, and the process of storytelling. With SITI, Bogart has directed more than 30 works in venues around the world. Her many awards and fellowships include three honorary doctorates (Cornish School of the Arts, Bard College and Skidmore College), A Duke Artist Fellowship, A United States Artists Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller/Bellagio Fellowship and a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency Fellowship.
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Andre Banks is an activist, entrepreneur and strategic advisor based in New York City who has spent the last 15 years harnessing the power of storytelling and technology to build social movements in the US and around the world. He is also the Co-founder and former Executive Director of All Out (www.allout.org), an organization mobilizing in every region to create a world where no person will have to sacrifice their family or freedom, safety or dignity because of who they are or whom they love. Andre was recently appointed to the global governing board of Amnesty International and has twice been recognized by the Economist magazine as one of the “Top 50 Diversity Leaders in Public Life”.