Social justice activist Dr. Wayne Au will discuss Asian American identity and the politics of race in education as the featured speaker for the 20th annual Martin Mogensen Education Lecture at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
The lecture will be at 4:30 p.m. May 2 in the Chippewa River Room of the Flesch Family Welcome Center. A reception will immediately follow Au’s presentation and refreshments will be served. The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Education for Equity and Justice; Center for EDI Training, Development and Education; and the UW-Eau Claire Foundation.
Au is dean and professor in the School of Educational Studies at the University of Washington Bothell and an internationally recognized expert on educational policy, school reform and educational equity and justice.
Dr. Nga-Wing Anjela Wong, professor of education for equity and justice, says Au’s presentation is timely, as Wisconsin’s State Assembly and Senate recently passed legislation to amend Wisconsin Act 31, which will mandate the inclusion of Asian American and Hmong American history and contributions in K-12 public school curriculum.
The education lecture is held each year in memory of Martin Mogensen, a 1952 graduate of UW-Eau Claire. Mogensen was a junior high principal in Tomah who was killed by a student in 1969. Family members began the lecture and education series as a way to carry on Martin Mogensen’s legacy of deep faith in the value of education and teachers.