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Wilder Symposium to Examine the Role of Urban Communities in Improving Housing, Education and Public Policy on Oct. 3

September 10, 2018

As communities work to improve schools and housing across the country, they struggle with many of the same barriers to improving outcomes. Urban communities in particular must actively engage in the process of improving their neighborhoods through advocacy and policy change.

The Wilder School will host a symposium, "By the People: The Role of Urban Communities in Improving Housing, Education and Public Policy," on Wednesday, October 3, that will provide a robust discussion of the current challenges and opportunities for urban communities as they seek to improve.

The Wilder Symposium will take place at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave., from 6–8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Leading the conversation will be:

  • L. Douglas Wilder, 66th Governor of Virginia
  • Susan Gooden, Ph.D., interim dean of the Wilder School
  • U.S. Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott of Virginia’s 3rd District
  • Melody Barnes, co-director for Policy and Public Affairs for the Democracy Initiative at the University of Virginia; former assistant to the president and director, White House Domestic Policy Council
  • Anthony “Tony” Miller, former deputy secretary and chief operating officer, U.S. Department of Education
  • William “Bill” Spriggs, Ph.D., chief economist, AFL-CIO, professor of economics, Howard University, and former assistant secretary for the Office of Policy at the Department of Labor
  • Fabrizio Fasulo, Ph.D., director of the Wilder School's Center for Urban and Regional Analysis
  • Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Ph.D., associate professor, Educational Leadership, VCU School of Education
  • Benjamin Teresa, Ph.D.,  assistant professor, Wilder School's Urban and Regional Studies and Planning program

Robert Holsworth, Ph.D., managing principal of DecideSmart, will moderate. Matthew Conrad, executive director of government and board relations for VCU, will make remarks.

“As a matter of public policy, few issues are more central to vibrant communities than schools and housing," Gooden said. "That’s why this conversation is so necessary, so timely, and so integral to the Wilder School’s mission.”

For more information, contact Angelica Bega at (804) 828-8520 or aebega@vcu.edu.

If you’d like to submit a question for the panelists’ consideration, email wilderforum@vcu.edu. 

The hashtag for the event is #wilderforum2018.