Community members are invited to join Austin College faculty in a conversation about the best-selling memoir Just Mercy – A Story of Justice and Redemption, written by Bryan Stevenson and adapted into a 2019 feature film. The faculty-led discussion on Thursday, March 5, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.at Austin College in Wright Campus Center’s Mabee Hall is free but attendees are asked to register in advance.
Leading the discussion are Lisa M. Brown, professor of psychology and dean of Social Sciences; Martinella Dryburgh, executive director of Posey Leadership Institute and the Leslie B. Crane Chair of Leadership Studies; and Felix Harcourt, assistant professor of history.
The book’s author is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, and a professor of law at New York University Law School. He has won relief for dozens of condemned prisoners, argued before the Supreme Court, and won national acclaim for his work challenging bias against the poor and people of color. He has received numerous awards, including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant.
Exploration of Just Mercy is one of the activities leading up to the Posey Leadership Award Convocation on March 31, when the College will honor Adam Foss as the 2020 recipient. The Austin College Posey Leadership Award honors individuals who take a courageous stand on a public policy issue that advances a humanitarian or educational purpose; improves the quality of health, educational, or community services; or creates opportunities that allow young people to enhance their educational experience and move to a new level of service to society.
Foss is founder and executive director of Prosecutor Impact, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reframing the role of the prosecutor, the most powerful agent in the criminal justice system, he says. Foss, who earned a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, was an assistant district attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office before founding Prosecutor Impact. He seeks to shift resources from incarceration to more positive and sustainable interventions, among other reforms.
The book discussion is co-sponsored by Austin College’s Johnson Center for Faculty Development, the Posey Leadership Award, and the Center for Community & Regional Development.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 50 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and more than 100 expert faculty members allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Austin College cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. The College, founded in 1849, is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.