University of San Francisco to Host Dr. Manuel Pastor in Conversation with KQED’s Marisa Lagos on February 7: “What the Bay Area Tells Us about America’s Hopeful Future”

The event will include discussion of a special blog issue from the university’s Center for Research, Artistic and Scholarly Excellence featuring the work of 18 university scholars

SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 4, 2019) -- The University of San Francisco (USF) will host Dr. Manuel Pastor in conversation with KQED political reporter Marisa Lagos discussing “What the Bay Area Tells us about America’s Hopeful Future” on Thursday, February 7, 2019, from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Monihan Atrium in the Gleeson Library on USF’s main campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Pastor will discuss his new book State of Resistance: What California’s Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Mean for America’s Future, which argues that the nation should look to California as a model for how to address our many challenges. He will address as well the related special blog issue “Bright Future or Cautionary Tale? How the Bay Area Shapes the Future of the U.S.,” from USF’s Center for Research, Artistic and Scholarly Excellence (CRASE). In the blog issue, 18 university scholars representing different academic fields provide their expertise in critical issues to underscore how the Bay Area’s stories of success and troubling challenges may forecast what our country could and would become.

“Pastor’s book presented an opportunity for our faculty to provide their analysis on a local level so that necessary conversation about the Bay Area’s future can also happen,” said CRASE co-director Saera Khan, who along with co-director Christine Yeh, edited the special blog issue. “Taken as a whole, we do not render a conclusion but rather pose questions and recommendations for how we can work towards a bright future for everyone,” said Khan.

Dr. Manuel Pastor is a professor of sociology and American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California (USC), where he also serves as director of the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity and as co-director of USC’s Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration. Dr. Pastor has received Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships as well as the 2012 Wally Marks Changemaker of the Year award from the Liberty Hill Foundation in Los Angeles. He currently holds the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC.

Marisa Lagos reports on state politics for the KQED California Politics and Government Desk, which uses radio, television and online mediums to explore the latest news in California’s Capitol and dig deeper into political influence in the Golden State. Lagos also appears on a weekly podcast

analyzing the week’s political news. Before joining KQED, Lagos worked at the San Francisco Examiner and Los Angeles Times, and, most recently, for nine years at the San Francisco Chronicle where she covered San Francisco City Hall and state politics, focusing on the California legislature, governor, budget and criminal justice.

Event Details

February 7, 2019 - 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Monihan Atrium, Gleeson Library, University of San Francisco
2130 Fulton St. San Francisco, CA

Topics Covered

Register online

Journalists interested in covering the event should contact Kellie Samson at (415) 422-2697 or ksamson@usfca.edu.

About the Center for Research, Artistic and Scholarly Excellence (CRASE)

Our mission at CRASE at the University of San Francisco is to support, promote, and celebrate faculty research, artistic, and scholarly excellence through interdisciplinary and community connections, innovative approaches, social impact, and active dissemination. At USF, faculty make significant contributions in research, creative works, and scholarship that advance knowledge, offer solutions to our world’s most pressing problems, and inspire imagination and innovative ideas. USF faculty research is created, conducted, and produced individually and in collaboration with other faculty, and with local, national, and international partners and organizations. USF faculty also support, mentor, and train students to become the next generation of productive, creative and innovative thinkers, scholars, and artists. @CRASEusf

About the University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco is located in the heart of one of the world’s most innovative and diverse cities and is home to a vibrant academic community of students and faculty who achieve excellence in their fields. Its diverse student body enjoys direct access to faculty, small classes, and outstanding opportunities in the city itself. USF is San Francisco’s first university, and its Jesuit Catholic mission helps ignite a student’s passion for social justice and a desire to “Change the World From Here.” For more information, visit USF Home Page.