Oregon Humanities

Think & Drink with Richard Lariviere, Mike Bellotti, Kitty Piercy, and NEH Chair Jim Leach

The popular Portland happy-hour series comes to Eugene for an all-ages discussion about sports and American culture.

11 January 2010 | Permalink

Join University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere, University of Oregon Athletic Director Mike Bellotti, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, and Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Jim Leach for an all discussion about the economic and social influence of sports in American culture at the next Think & Drink, a happy-hour series that sparks provocative conversations about big ideas.

Think & Drink with Richard Lariviere, Mike Bellotti, Kitty Piercy, and Jim Leach will be held on Friday, February 12, 2010, at 5:30 at Cozmic Pizza, 199 West 8th Ave., Eugene. The happy-hour series is sponsored by Oregon Humanities (formerly the Oregon Council for the Humanities). This event is open to all ages.

Richard Lariviere became president of the University of Oregon in July 2009. He is a Fellow of the IC2 Institute, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, a life member of the American Oriental Society, and a founding member of the Society for Design and Process Science.

Mike Bellotti, University of Oregon Athletic Director since 2009, is one of the most successful football coaches in the history of the University. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Football Coaches Association and has served as a member of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Kitty Piercy was elected mayor of Eugene in 2005 and re-elected to a second term in 2008. Previously, she served as Minority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives and director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon.

Jim Leach is the ninth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was nominated by President Obama in July 2009 and confirmed by the Senate in early August 2009. Leach served thirty years representing southeastern Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he chaired the Banking and Financial Services Committee, the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and founded and co-chaired the Congressional Humanities Caucus.

Think & Drink, which invites the public to think and talk together, reflects Oregon Humanities’ emphasis on infusing public conversations with critical thinking and fresh ideas. Past presenters include Representative Earl Blumenauer, Portland State University president Wim Wiewel, writer Ursula K. Le Guin, New Seasons Market CEO Brian Rohter, ethicist and lawyer John Frohnmayer, and advertising executive Jelly Helm.

Oregon Humanities connects Oregonians to ideas that transform communities. More information about our programs and publications, which include the Conversation Project: A New Chautauqua, Think & Drink, Humanity in Perspective, Teacher Institutes, Happy Camp, Public Program Grants, Responsive Program Grants, and Oregon Humanities magazine, can be found at oregonhumanities.org. Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and a partner of the Oregon Cultural Trust.