Fauci to Headline Mansfield Lecture, Pandemic Dialogues

MISSOULA – The University of Montana’s 2021 Mansfield Lecture will present the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a Zoom conversation at noon Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Free and open to the public, the discussion is an opportunity for Montanans to hear directly from Fauci on developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. Register for the event online.

“We are honored that Dr. Fauci accepted our invitation based on our relationship with and advocacy by Rocky Mountain Laboratories, as well as UM expertise in public health,” said Deena Mansour, the Mansfield Center executive director. “The Mansfield Center is also known for providing community discussions in a nonpartisan, fact-based environment as part of our mission to support ethics in public affairs.”  

The Mansfield Center also will host a lineup of three “Pandemic Dialogues” during the lead-up to the Fauci event. These discussions are part of a free public series designed to bring Montanans together to discuss critical issues in international engagement and ethics in public affairs. Advance registration is required at www.umt.edu/mansfield. The dialogues are:

• “Serving Montana: UM’s Public Health COVID-19 Response” at noon Wednesday, Jan. 27. Students and faculty of UM’s School of Public and Community Health Sciences will discuss their efforts to protect and inform Montana communities.
• “Disproportionate Impacts on Native American Communities” at noon Wednesday, Feb. 3. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Chairwoman Shelly Fyant and Fort Peck Tribes Councilwoman Kaci Wallette will address how Native communities continue to experience devastating COVID-19 fatality rates despite vigilant efforts to protect their communities from the coronavirus. Native Americans comprise 6.7% of Montana's population but 30% of COVID-19 deaths. This panel will explore the role systemic inequalities play in these outcomes and highlight the courageous leadership of Native leaders on the front lines. It will be moderated by Cora Neumann, founder of We Are Montana.
• “Rights and Responsibilities in a Time of COVID” at noon Wednesday, Feb. 10. Tom Snyder, owner of Five on Black; Jim Nelson, former Montana Supreme Court justice; Anna Conley, senior civil deputy with the Missoula County Attorney’s Office; and Montana House of Representatives Majority Leader Sue Vinton will discuss issues of freedom and the economic and social impacts that result from the actions of private and public citizens in a public health emergency. The event is co-sponsored by the UM Justice, Policy and Public Service Community of Excellence.

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center fosters globally minded leaders of integrity. It sponsors these events within its program for ethical public policy and leadership. The Mansfield Lecture was founded in 1968 in honor of Mike Mansfield’s critical status as a great public figure. Speakers have included Milton Friedman, Daniel Ellsberg and Barbara Tuchman.

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Contact: Deena Mansour, executive director, UM Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, 406-274-0992, deena.mansour@umontana.edu.