Feb. 23, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joy Pedersen
805-756-6749

Ron Takaki Discusses
“The Current Dialog and Crisis in Immigration: Its Effect on Education” March 8

SAN LUIS OBISPO –Cal Poly’s Provocative Perspective series will continue to examine California’s challenges, when Ron Takaki, author of “A Different Mirror,” will discuss “The Current Dialog and Crisis in Immigration: Its Effect on Education.”

Takaki will speak at the Vista Grande Café on campus on Thursday, March 8 at 8 a.m. A free breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public, however reservations are required. 

Takaki is considered one of the most preeminent scholars of our nation’s history. He is a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught over 10,000 students during 34 years of teaching.

Born in 1939, Takaki is the grandson of immigrant Japanese plantation workers in Hawaii. After receiving his Ph.D. in American history from UC Berkeley, Takaki went to UCLA to teach its first Black history course. While there, he helped to found its centers for African American, Asian American, Mexican American, and Native American studies. Takaki is the author of 11 books, including “Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans” and “A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America.”

Reservations can be made by contacting Liz Cofer at 756-0327 or lcofer@calpoly.edu. Persons with disabilities may request accommodations in advance by contacting the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 805-756-1521.

 ###