November 5, 2009
For Immediate Release
For more information: David Keller (801) 863-6363
University Marketing & Communications: Erin Spurgeon, (801) 863-6807
Written by: Alex Strickland (801) 863-6351
A new Utah organization dedicated to encouraging public discussion and discourse is holding its first ever gathering this evening at 6 p.m. in the Timpanogos Room of the Utah Valley University Library. The organization, the Utah Institute for Public Deliberation, will hold a public discussion titled “Possible Approaches to Health Care Reform.”
“We’re trying to promote a greater understanding of the issue as well as greater civility in discussion,” said organizer Jeffrey Nielson, who is a philosophy professor at UVU and Westminster College in Salt Lake City. “We’re not trying to promote any position, just examine the pros, cons and tradeoffs.”
Nielson said this event will be the first of many for the newly formed Utah Institute for Public Deliberation, which is funded by a grant from the Kettering Foundation, a national organization dedicated to investigating how citizens interact with democracy. Kettering funds “National Issues Forums” around the country, and helps local groups organize the forums in a way that facilitates broad discussion, rather than guiding it down specific paths.
“We’ll be doing one on economic security in the spring,” Nielson said. “We’ll be around for the long term; this is just the first one.”
Because Nielson is a professor at both UVU and Westminster and is tied to the Utah Humanities Council, he said it’s likely many of the events will be held at one of the two campuses. Thursday’s forum is free and open to the public.
###
