Last week The Dickinsonian sat down with Gary Kirk, the Executive Director of Dickinson’s Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, to ask him about the organization’s goals for the Spring 2023 semester. Kirk, who took over as the Clarke Forum’s Executive Director in July 2022, emphasized his desire to keep the Clarke Forum running as effectively as it always has. The goal remains to bring different perspectives on contemporary issues to the Dickinson campus in order to spark conversation.

Kirk is dedicated to the idea of the liberal arts college, particularly as a vehicle for facilitating the critical conversations which the Clarke Forum hopes to promote within the Dickinson community. The Clarke Forum aims to reach everyone on campus, and closely works with various academic departments and disciplines to bring to campus relevant and fascinating speakers. Because students are used to working outside of their specific major and exploring lots of different classes, there is a campus culture of robust and continuing dialogue, which the Clarke Forum aims to promote. 

The Clarke Forum facilitates and incorporates student initiatives into its programming as much as possible, attempting to incorporate programming that reflects what the student body wants to see. The Clarke Forum prides itself on its visibility on campus, and wants as many students to attend events and participate as possible, though it can be difficult for students to make time to attend these talks in between all of our homework and other obligations. To do this, the Clarke Forum hosts multiple different kinds of events throughout the semester.

Aside from the typical lectures which are held in the ATS Auditorium, they also host student-run salons which have the opportunity for more in-depth conversations, with the Clarke Forum’s student representatives working with faculty to create discussion guides. These student representatives are heavily involved in planning the logistics and programming for various events. 

Though Kirk agreed that it was difficult to pick an event this semester that he was most looking forward to, he did mention a few that the student body should particularly get excited for. On Saturday, Feb. 18, the Clarke Forum will be hosting Ronee Penoi and Annalisa Dias, two artists who are not from the Carlisle area, but are coming to do research on the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, the story of which they are putting to music in an exploration of the way that music can be used to heal aching and traumatized communities. 

Another notable speaker, John C. Mather, from the NASA Goddard Flight Center, will be coming on Tuesday, March 28 to talk about the James Webb Space telescope, which is one of the most powerful telescopes on the planet.