UO hosts first TEDxUOregon event on campus

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Jan. 17, 2013) – The University of Oregon Center on Diversity and Community (CoDac) will bring TED’s movement of “ideas worth spreading” to campus on Feb. 9.  Applications for students, faculty, staff and community members to attend the inaugural TEDxUOregon, to be held in the Global Scholars Hall Great Room, are now available on the event's website.

2013 TEDxUOregonTED rules limit attendance at the event to 100 people, and will select ticket recipients from among all who apply for tickets, rather than award them on a "first to snap up the tickets, first served" basis. Selections will be based on a variety of factors to help ensure a mix of students, faculty, staff and community members.

The event’s theme is “Curiosity & Resistance: Diversity is Critical to Thinking.” Seven speakers will explore the diverse nature of the UO campus, and the innovation and curiosity that describe the Pacific Northwest. Their talks will include biodiversity, pioneering the way for female fighter pilots and ensuring successful education through diversity.

The 2013 TEDxUOregon speakers include:

  • Brendan Bohannan, UO associate professor of biology
  • Sara Hodges,  UO associate professor of psychology
  • Tyree Harris, UO journalism and communications student
  • Major Caroline Jensen, United States Air Force Thunderbirds pilot
  • Ian Haney Lopez, professor of law, University of California-Berkeley
  • Andrew Nelson, UO assistant professor of management
  • Carmen Urbina, parent, family and diversity coordinator, Eugene 4J School District

Tickets are $30 and include lunch and a reception after the event. Organizers ensure that the cost will not be a barrier for anyone selected from the applications. More info about tickets and pricing is included on the application.

The TEDx talks will also be live-streamed free at the UO's Mills International Center, Living Learning Center, Ford Alumni Center Room 202, Allen Hall Room 221 and the UO Portland’s White Stag Building.

Because TED rules also limit attendance at each satellite site to 100, free tickets will be issued for those locations. Tickets are available at TEDxUOregon.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rita Radostitz, director of strategic communications and marketing, Student Affairs, 541-346-8540, rjr@uoregon.edu.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED.

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