Westminster Symposium: Global Sport

Several fascinating sports celebrities including Robert Clemente, Jr., and the first woman and American to row solo across the Atlantic will be on hand to present at the upcoming Westminster College Symposium September 17-18 on “Global Sport: A Common Language in a Diverse World?”

For the eighth year in a row, Westminster will cancel classes for two days so the entire Westminster community can attend lectures, panel discussions and presentations by noted experts on one particular subject of global interest.  The public is also invited to attend.

Other main speakers besides former professional baseball star and son of baseball legend Roberto Clemente, Jr., are Tori Murden McClure, first woman and American to row solo across the Atlanta and first American to travel overland to the geographic South Pole; Dave Zirin, political sportswriter and sports editor for The Nation; and Joshua Medcalf, sports mental trainer and consultant and founder of the Train to be Clutch program.

Some of the breakout session speakers will include Mary Ellen Ladieu, Vice President of Finance at ESPN International; former St. Louis Cardinal and World Series Champion Charlie James; Dr. Raymond Doswell, Vice President of Curatorial Services at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum; and Olympic shot putt medalists Christian and Teri Cantwell.

Hosted by The Churchill Institute, all sessions are free and open to the media and the public.

“We are exploring the social, physiological, cultural, economic, political and historical aspects of global sport this year because it is both a force for greatness and a cause for concern in our world today,” says Dr. Kurt Jefferson, Director of the Westminster Symposium and the Center for Engaging the World.  “Sport not only changes individual lives for the better and for the worse but impacts entire societies around the world.  How a culture views sport says a great deal about its values.”

More information can be found at the Symposium website.