Rotman Annual Fall Lecture Series featuring Dr. Cheryl Currie

Each year, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy organizes a public lecture series open to the public.  The theme for this year’s lecture series is Connecting Research to the Public Good.

The Public Good and higher education are traversing constantly-shifting political, economic, and social terrain.
What role do we have — as academic researchers, teachers, students, leaders of research centers and institutes, and members of our communities and society — to connect our work to the Public Good? How can we best attend to the needs and interests of communities and society? And how ought we envision the Public Good and the role of higher education within it?

Lighthouse or Ivory Tower? Reclaiming Research as a Public Good

Research is often described as a public good, like a lighthouse guiding knowledge forward. Yet in practice, research straddles the line between a public and private good. Fueled by competing interests and shaped by growing complexity, research can feel closed to public scrutiny, participation, and debate. This session will invite audience discussion on how research might be reclaimed as a genuine public good.

SPEAKER BIO:

Dr. Cheryl Currie is Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Director of the Interfaculty Program in Public Health at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Her research and teaching focus on how science can better serve communities with integrity, openness, and impact.