AzusaPacificUniversity

April 7, 2015Upper Turner Campus Center

Welcome to TEDxAzusaPacificUniversity!

Hello, I’m Brooke Van Dam, the organizer and licensee of TEDxAzusaPacificUniversity. I am also your host for the day. We are so thrilled that you here with us, whether it’s in person or via our live stream.

TEDxAzusaPacificUniversity was an idea that originated from conversations with my colleagues in the Office of Research. In my current role as Interim Director of the Center for the Research of Ethics and Values (CREV), I wanted to find a way to engage students, staff and faculty with new ideas and concepts. TEDx seemed the perfect way to bring everyone together in celebration of knowledge.

Our speakers are all affiliated with APU in some way. This event highlights the amazing variety of innovation, experience, vision and philosophies that exist right here in our midst. We chose the theme Inspiring Ideas and Meaning to spark the desire within all of us to be inspired and through that, to find meaning in our lives.

Enjoy the day!

Sincerely,

Brooke Van Dam, Ph.D.TEDxAzusaPacificUniversity Organizer@brookevandam

Letter From the Organizer

Schedule

AzusaPacificUniversity

1 pm – Event Begins

Jim Daichendt “The Streets as Canvas”

Michael Bruner “The Amnesia Industry”

Bryan Clay “Run Your Race”

Angela Lee Duckworth “The Key to Success? Grit” (Official TED Talk)

2:15 pm – BREAK

2:35 pm – Event Resumes

Leslie Wickman “Is the Conflict Between Science and Religion Real?”

Ryan Hartwig “The Myth of Meaningful Work”

Laura Boushnak “For These Women, Reading is a Daring Act” (Official TED Talk)

3:30 pm – BREAK

3:50 pm – Event Resumes

John Thornton “Flipping Rich”

Ed Barron “The Flywheel Effect”

Bryan Clay is a Four-Time US National Champion, Three-Time World Champion, the 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist and 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in the Decathlon, earning him the historic title of “World’s Greatest Athlete.” Diverted off the troubled path of his childhood, Bryan went on to reach the pinnacle of Track and Field over the course of a storied 12-year career. Today, he shares his story of redemption and success all

over the world as a motivator, advisor, husband, father and ambassador of active, healthy living.

Michael Bruner is an Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Azusa Pacific University. He was born and raised in the Philippines, attended the University of Washington and Princeton Seminary, and received his Ph.D. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is a resident scholar at the Huntington Library in San Marino and has worked in the church as an ordained minister, in business as a dot.com and advertising executive, and in publishing as an editor.

G. James Daichendt, Ed.D. is Associate Dean and Professor of Art History at Azusa Pacific University in southern California. He is the author of: Shepard Fairey Inc., Artist/Professional/Vandal; Stay Up! Los Angeles Street Art; Artist-Teacher: A Philosophy for Creating and Teaching; and Artist Scholar: Reflections on Writing and Research. He is currently writing the official biography of artist Kenny Scharf.

Speaker BiosG. James Daichendt

Michael Bruner

Bryan Clay

Speaker BiosIn her late 20s, Angela Lee Duckworth left her job as a management consultant at McKinsey to teach math in public schools in San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York. She went to grad school to complete her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is now an assistant professor. Her research subjects include students, West Point cadets, and corporate salespeople, all of whom she studies to determine how “grit”

is a better indicator of success than factors such as IQ or family income.

Dr. Leslie Wickman is chair of Engineering & Computer Science, as well as director of the Center for Research in Science, at Azusa Pacific University. Stanford- and Willamette-educated Wickman also works with government-sponsored think tanks on technical and political aspects of national aerospace and defense issues. For more than a decade Wickman worked as an engineer for Lockheed Martin, where she

received commendations for her contributions to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station programs.

Ryan T. Hartwig, PhD, is associate dean of the college of liberal arts and sciences and assistant professor of communication at Azusa Pacific University. His first book, Teams That Thrive: Five Disciplines of Collaborative Church Leadership (with Warren Bird) was recently published by Intervarsity Press.Ryan earned a PhD in communication from the University of Colorado Boulder.

VIDEO: Angela Lee Duckworth

Leslie Wickman

Ryan T. Hartwig

Speaker BiosLaura Boushnak is a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian photographer whose work focuses on women, literacy and education reform in the Arab world. For her ongoing series “I Read, I Write,” she photographed girls and women changing their lives with education in Egypt, Yemen, Kuwait, Jordan and Tunisia. Boushnak is a TED Fellow and the co-founder of the RAWIYA collective, a photography cooperative of female photographers from the Middle East.

John Thornton is the L.P. and Bobbi Leung Chair of Accounting Ethics at Azusa Pacific University’s L.P. and Timothy Leung School of Accounting, where he teaches accounting ethics and forensic accounting. He has served as Chair of the American Accounting Association’s Public Interest Section, Chair of the AAA’s Professionalism and Ethics Committee, and held senior leadership positions at Washington State University and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Dr. Thornton is a CPA

with a Ph.D. in Accounting from Washington State University.

Edgar Barron has held a number of dynamic and diverse positions including those of Vice President of Communications and Creative Services at Promise Keepers, Founding and Senior Pastor of Journey Christian Fellowship, Management Consultant to numerous organizations including Focus on the Family, Azusa Pacific University, and several local churches. Edgar joined Azusa Pacific University in May of 2010 as the Executive Director of Multi Ethnic Programs.

VIDEO: Laura Boushnak

John Thornton

Edgar Barron

Event HostsBrooke Van Dam is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Azusa Pacific University. She received her PhD in Media Sociology from City University London and her Masters in International Journalism from the University of Westminster. Her PhD focused on the changing practices of journalists that work to create the world of online news. This research has become a key feature of Brooke’s teaching at

Azusa Pacific University where she currently works to ensure students are prepared for the evolving world of journalism.

Ryan Montague is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Azusa Pacific University. He received his PhD in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication from the University of Missouri and his Masters in Communication Studies from California State University—Northridge. Ryan believes that we, as a collective, need to approach every conversation

as if it has the potential to change the trajectory of either our life or the life of the person with whom we are communicating. He affirms that the best way to accomplish this is by developing a grand passion for people, expanding our ability to make insightful distinctions in conversation, and consistently striving to bring about positive outcomes in our relationships.

Brooke Van Dam

Ryan Montague

Sponsors

Special ThanksCREV

Office of Research and GrantsBrooke SeipelPayton BoehDiane GuidoDon Isaak

Yvonne RodriguezDebbie CramHunter Foote

Jordan De Los SantosClint SimoneJenna Torrisi

Kjersten JensenJessie Gomez

Katie RichcreekTyler Hill

Marc AmeelJayna AmeelKelle Roberts

Josh ContrerasCoco Toribio

Bianca OntiverosAngel EleyaeMarcia Berry

TEDTalks will be available on the TEDx website in May.

All of the photos from this event will be on our Flickr page.