The University of Illinois Springfield will host five Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series events during fall 2025. The series presents events that promote and adhere to the value of engaged citizenship, cultural awareness and respect for diversity.

All ECCE Speaker Series events are free and open to the public.

• “Asian American Youth Literature: Immigration, Imagination and the Library” This event has been cancelled.

6 p.m. Sept. 10 in Brookens Auditorium

Sarah Park Dahlen, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will provide a historical overview of Asian American youth literature in the context of immigration patterns, social movements and other larger issues. She will connect children’s and young adult books to library services and youth programs.

• “The Power of Latinidad in a Fractured World”

6 p.m. Sept. 24 in Brookens Auditorium

Carlos Andrés Gómez, a Colombian American poet, speaker, actor and educator from New York City, will invite participants to explore how culture, race, gender and other intersecting identities shape our understanding of self and community. This event will explore how embracing nuance and complexity can disrupt outdated binaries and inspire more inclusive approaches to authenticity, belonging and equity. The event will celebrate the vibrancy and depth of the Hispanic/Latinx experience.

• “A Radical Turn: Artist, Curator and Anti-War Veteran Aaron Hughes on Creative Resistance”

6 p.m. Oct. 22 in Brookens Auditorium

Aaron Hughes, an artist, curator and anti-war veteran, will share images and stories from his projects, which draw from his own military experience and activism. Through printmaking, installation and collaboration, Hughes honors the legacy of anti-war veteran movements and imagines new paths toward justice and healing. An exhibition of Hughes’ work will be on display from Oct. 13 through Nov. 20 in the UIS Visual Arts Gallery.

• “Learning Indigenous Truthtelling of Boarding Schools”

6 p.m. Nov. 5 in Brookens Auditorium

Farina King, a citizen of the Navajo Nation and professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma, will discuss how young researchers are helping uncover the layered histories of Native American boarding schools, especially in  Oklahoma. She will highlight collaborative, community-centered research using archival searches, archaeology, oral histories and digital mapping to share Indigenous stories.

• “Water-Energy Sustainability Across Scales: Systems, Society, Self”

6 p.m. Nov. 19 in Brookens Auditorium

Ashlynn S. Stillwell, an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will discuss her work on sustainable water and energy systems. This presentation and discussion will include data and analysis of water-energy connections and sustainability across scales, ranging from sector and infrastructure transformations to individual behaviors within homes.

For further details on the events, please visit the ECCE Speaker Series website.