Blinn to host Constitution Day lecture at Bryan Campus
University of Oklahoma Professor Keith Gaddie will explore the pros and cons of gerrymandering
September 11, 2018
The Blinn College District invites the community to the Bryan Campus to celebrate Constitution Day alongside a leading political researcher.
Keith Gaddie, a political science and journalism professor at the University of Oklahoma (OU), will present “Gerrymandering Versus Representing Everyone in Good Faith Under the Constitution” from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, in the Blinn-Bryan Student Center, Room F-120. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Since 2000, Blinn’s Division of Social Sciences has commemorated Constitution Day by inviting a guest speaker to campus to speak on various political topics, such as the Constitution, the election system, and the Electoral College.
“Constitution Day is a federal day of remembrance that celebrates our constitutional rights and liberties,” Dean of Social Sciences Brandon Franke said. “The U.S. Constitution is unlike any other document in the world. Students are invited to learn about this important document and what it represents because it affects them on a daily basis.”
This year’s discussion will focus on the pros and cons of gerrymandering, the practice of manipulating political boundaries to establish an advantage for a particular party or class.
“Dr. Gaddie will analyze both sides of this political phenomenon,” said Franke. “Gerrymandering tends to hold a negative connotation, but there is such a thing as positive gerrymandering when districts are drawn to allow once-excluded groups to have a voice in the government.”
Gaddie graduated from the University of Georgia in 1993 with a doctorate in political science. In addition to teaching various political science and journalism courses at OU, Gaddie serves as the University’s Executive Faculty Fellow as well as the Senior Fellow of Headington College, an OU residential college.
Gaddie also has served as the Associate Director of the OU Center for Intelligence and National Security since 2014.
Gaddie has authored or coauthored 24 books and is a two-time winner of the V.O. Key Award, presented by the Southern Political Science Association acknowledging the best book of the year published in southern politics.
Blinn’s Division of Social Sciences consists of the Anthropology, Criminal Justice, Geography, Government, History, Legal Assisting, Psychology, and Sociology programs. Each semester, the division invites faculty, students, and the community to learn from leading researchers in their respective fields of study as they speak about topics relevant to today’s society.
Registration for Blinn’s Fall 12- and 8-week courses is now available. For information, visit www.blinn.edu .
