March 6, 2009

The third César Chávez Education Conference will be held March 20-21 at California State University, Fresno, with a program around the theme “Renewing Hope: Building Capacity for Change, Yes We Can!”

Dr. Donaldo Macedo, professor of linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, and Dr. Margaret Moustafa, professor of literacy education at California State University, Los Angeles, will keynote the two sessions.

The Kremen School of Education and Human Development is the event sponsor. The conference is the first of two Fresno State observances of the state César Chávez Day holiday on March 31. Chavez, founder of the United Farm Workers union, was born on that date in 1927. He died in 1993.

Fresno State will be closed March 31. An observance on March 30 will include the traditional garlanding of the Chávez monument in the Peace Garden (just north of the Henry Madden Library) and entertainment.

The education conference will be held in Satellite Student Union from 4 to 7 p.m. March 20 with breakout sessions in the Peters Business Building. The March 21 session is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is free and open to the public with free parking available in Lot C. On-site registration is available.

Macedo will speak at 4 p.m. March 20. His most recent book is “Ideology Matters” (co-authored Paulo Freire, 2002).

Moustafa will speak at 9 a.m. March 21. She has served as the president of California of Professors of Reading and commissioner for the National Council Teachers of English.

The conference is co-sponsored Associated Students Inc., the California Reading and Literature Project, the Fresno State chapter of Teachers for Social Justice, Mediator Mentors and the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project

For information, contact Dr. Laura Alamillo at 559.278.0280 or lalamillo@csufresno.edu, or Dr. Steven Hart at 559.278.0319.

Macedo bio - http://freire.mcgill.ca/content/donaldo-macedo

Moustafa bio - www.calstatela.edu/faculty/mmousta/mmousta.htm