The Civic Forum Series at Bates continues with four of the nation’s leading social entrepreneurs, including a co-founder of the fair-trade coffee importer Equal Exchange, discussing their work at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

Sponsored by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the Civic Forum Series invites audiences to contemplate civic, political and policy issues significant to Maine and beyond. Civic Forum events are open to the public at no cost. For more information, please call 207-786-6202.

The social entrepreneurs in the Oct. 24 panel:

Peter Murray is the co-founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Progressive Leadership, dedicated to developing the next generation of progressive political leaders. He also founded three nonprofit organizations promoting economic mobility for low-income people.

Bethany Robertson is the co-founder and former executive director of I Do Foundation, whose mission is to help engaged couples bring a charitable focus to their marriage. The organization has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, and Modern Bride, amongst other publications.

Jonathan Rosenthal of Watertown, Mass., is a co-founder of Oké USA, North America’s first fair trade fruit company, and of Equal Exchange, the first U.S. fair trade coffee company. He is now a principal in Just Works, a firm that provides innovative consulting services to mission-driven organizations.

Elizabeth Stefanski is the chief market maker of Business Innovation Factory of Providence, R.I., an organization dedicated to transforming society’s most intractable systems through forward-thinking collaboration. She is also a consultant for the business-strategy firm Bazaar Strategies.

Dr. William Hsiao, an economist at the Harvard School of Public Health and architect of Taiwan’s universal healthcare system, offers the presentation Taiwan’s Health Reforms: Lessons for the U.S. and Maine at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

The talk is part of the Civic Forum series at Bates, presented by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the Bates office that coordinates projects linking the college and community, the talks are open to the public at no charge. For more information, please contact 207-786-6202 or this kcloutie@bates.edu.

An international expert on health care finance, Hsaio is the K.T. Li Professor of Economics in the Program in Health Care Financing at Harvard. He served as principal adviser to Taiwan’s government as that country reformed its healthcare system in the 1990s. At Bates, he will share his experiences in Taiwan and the lessons they hold for the U.S. as the nation works to implement statewide and national healthcare reform law.

Hsaio is the co-author of Getting Health Reform Right (Oxford University Press, 2004). While in Maine, Hsiao will testify before the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Healthcare Reform Opportunities and Implementation. He has been engaged by Vermont’s legislature to design options for a state healthcare system that includes a single-payer option.

Civic Forum presentations explore civic, political and policy issues significant to the local community, Maine and beyond. They often feature panels of local and national experts and lively question and answer sessions. Most of the events are broadcast on Maine Public Radio’s “Speaking in Maine” series.

Exploring topics of broad interest, Bates College’s Civic Forum series begins in October with a panel discussion on education reform, followed by a presentation by an expert on health care finance.

In a discussion titled Wrestling with School Reform in Maine: National Strategies, Local Realities, national and regional education experts examine different approaches to reform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

The following week, Dr. William Hsiao, an economist at the Harvard School of Public Health and architect of Taiwan’s universal healthcare system, offers the presentation Taiwan’s Health Reforms: Lessons for the U.S. and Maine at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, also in Muskie Archives.

Presented by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the Bates College office that coordinates projects linking the college and community, the talks are open to the public at no charge. For more information, please contact 207-786-6202 or this kcloutie@bates.edu.

Educational reform looks different to different actors — communities, school staff, district administrators, state and federal officials. The educational reform panel is designed to give the public an understanding of these different perspectives and how they play out in our local community and in Maine.

The public will also have the opportunity to learn about different strategies that have been used elsewhere to bring communities into the process of reforming their educational systems. The panel will involve presentations and an open discussion with people who will offer different perspectives on educational reform in our community, in Maine and beyond.

Presented in conjunction with the education department at Bates, the education panelists are Glenn Cummings, deputy assistant secretary, U.S. Department of Education; Norm Fruchter, senior policy analyst at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University; Leon Levesque, superintendent of the Lewiston public school system; and Joan Macri, associate director of LearningWorks at Lewiston-Auburn College, University of Southern Maine.

An international expert on health care finance, Hsaio is the K.T. Li Professor of Economics in the Program in Health Care Financing at Harvard. He served as principal adviser to Taiwan’s government as that country reformed its healthcare system in the 1990s. At Bates, he will share his experiences in Taiwan and the lessons they hold for the U.S. as the nation works to implement statewide and national healthcare reform law.

Hsaio is the co-author of Getting Health Reform Right (Oxford University Press, 2004). While in Maine, Hsiao will testify before the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Healthcare Reform Opportunities and Implementation. He has been engaged by Vermont’s legislature to design options for a state healthcare system that includes a single-payer option.

Civic Forum presentations explore civic, political and policy issues significant to the local community, Maine and beyond. They often feature panels of local and national experts and lively question and answer sessions. Most of the events are broadcast on Maine Public Radio’s “Speaking in Maine” series.

“This year’s Civic Forum series reflects a range of issues that we hope will be of interest to the community at large,” says Peggy Rotundo, director of strategic and policy initiatives at the Harward Center. “Our presenters bring a wealth of knowledge and diverse perspectives, which we are eager to share with everyone.”

What will happen to the movement for civic engagement after the election?  Can it change the ways citizens engage their government? 

Come hear a nationally-known scholar and activist discuss the current movement for civic engagement and the stakes of the election for democratic renewal. Peter Levine is director of The Center For Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Tufts University.

This lecture is the first installment in the Harward Center for Community Partnerships’ series “The Civic Forum: Engaged Citizenship and the Election.”

The Harward Center for Community Partnerships at Bates College kicks off its “Civic Forum on Reimagining Maine in the 21st Century” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave., with a panel titled “Poverty and the Two Maines.”

Four panelists will share their perspectives and discuss means of addressing the problem of poverty in the state. Panelists include Hannah Pingree, House majority leader, Maine Legislature; Sarah Standiford, Bates class of 1997 and executive director, Maine Women’s Lobby; Naomi Schalit, opinion page editor, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel; and Eric Smith, Congregational outreach coordinator, Maine Council of Churches.

The Harward Center’s civic forum series explores civic, political and policy issues of significance to the Bates community, Maine and beyond. Additional panels this academic year include “Reimagining Globalism: Maine in the World’s Economy” on Jan. 16, 2008, and “Re-Imagining the North Woods: The Changing Environment of Maine” on Feb. 27.

All of these events are free and open to the public. Please contact the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at Bates College at 207-786-6202 for more information.

The Harward Center leads Bates’ efforts in community involvement, including programs in service-learning, community volunteerism and environmental stewardship. The center works with community partners to meet community needs and, in the process, to integrate civic engagement with the Bates educational experience.