Tickets available for the fall Wings: Presidential Speaker Series

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From basketball to international law and from geology to business startups, members of the University of Oregon community will again bring their research and expertise to help frame current events at the next Wings: UO Presidential Speaker Series.

President Michael H. Schill will welcome guests to The Redd East with an intimate evening of curated talks from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 16. Guests will enjoy live music, food and drinks.

Schill will provide a short update on initiatives and priorities for the UO. The program will feature:

  • Kelly Graves, UO women’s basketball coach. Since he began coaching the Duck Women in 2014, Graves has guided the team to many victories, with a record of 124 wins to 52 losses over the past five seasons. Before joining the UO, Graves was the head coach for Big Bend Community college, Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga. He’s also been an assistant coach for USA Basketball, helping the team win a gold medal in the 2012 FIBA Americas as well as the 2013 FIBA Women’s World Championship.  
  • Michelle McKinley, UO professor of law and director of the Center for the Study of Women in Society. McKinley teaches about public international law and feminist studies, and her published work also explores Latin American legal history and the law of slavery. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Oxford University, McKinley is the former director of two organizations advocating for indigenous peoples, global health and human rights.
  • Josh Roering, UO geology professor and head of the Department of Earth Sciences. In the UO Earth Surface Processes Laboratory, Roering researches the way mechanical, chemical and biotic processes shape landscapes. His work has recently included studying soil conditions in landslide-prone Sitka, Alaska and researching how climate change may have affected Coos Bay’s South Slough and how wildfires may lead to landslides in the Columbia River Gorge.
  • Matt Thomas, CEO of Townshend’s Tea Company, Townshend’s Distillery and Brew Dr. Kombucha. A UO alumnus, Thomas started the tea company in 2006 and two years later began using his teas to make kombucha. Then, he used the alcohol removed from Brew Dr. Kombucha to create spirits, starting the distillery in 2014.
  • The JazzArts Oregon Combo, a group of student musicians in the UO’s jazz studies program, will perform live music.

Though past Wings events have taken place at the UO in Portland, this year’s event is located at The Redd East, 831 SE Salmon St., Portland. Tickets are $25 and include a reception with appetizers, drinks and dessert.

Speaker videos from previous Wings events are available online.