Speakers Bureau: No desks, no papers, no quizzes

	Patricia Kelley, professor of social work, speaks to a group in Clinton as part of the Speakers Bureau. Photo by Rex Bavousett.

Jane Hoshi, assistant director of University Communications and Outreach and coordinator of the Speakers Bureau, says that since the bureau’s inception, more than 100 speakers have traveled throughout eastern Iowa, and this year the service will expand into western Iowa. Discussion topics have ranged from women’s health to weather phobias, and from archeology to conflict management.

In 1997 the Faculty Senate was looking for easier ways to provide public presentations. To fill that need, the Speakers Bureau was established.

"It has become an excellent vehicle for staff and faculty members to get the word out to the public on current research and discussion at the University," Hoshi says.

Presenting areas of expertise or insight also can help to create avenues of collaboration with the public and extend the notion of a community partnership between the University and the state of Iowa. At her annual Convocation address on Oct. 3, President Mary Sue Coleman cited the Speakers Bureau and expressed her appreciation for those who have been making "service to our state a standard dimension of our work."

This partnership begins with the generosity of the faculty and staff who volunteer their time and resources to meet with groups. Travel, food, and lodging expenses are met by the speakers, though groups are encouraged to provide a modest honorarium. What do the University representatives get in return?

Patricia Kelley, professor of social work, recently addressed the Partnership Way in Clinton. The Partnership Way was formed as an "endeavor to provide a public forum on issues of concern to the community and its future." After delivering a lecture on the changing nature of families, Kelley moderated a group discussion and was impressed by how the group "brought to bear their own experiences, own lives, and own insights."

"These are people," she says, "who’ve seen many things come and go, and who are quite aware of what’s going on in the world." She also appreciates the opportunity to "get out and hear what people in other communities of Iowa are thinking about."

Program chair and vice president of Partnership Way, Richard Huyck, was equally impressed with Kelley’s lecture and the Speakers Bureau.

"Being a social worker, I really enjoyed her talk," he says. "It was an honor to have her here. The Speakers Bureau, and especially Jane Hoshi, is very helpful in providing quality speakers."

Rita Holm, another member of Partnership Way, agrees that it’s not only "the quality of speakers we get from The University of Iowa, they’re usually right on the issue and give good messages for us to share."

The topicality of the presentations allow groups like the Partnership Way opportunities for further discussion and development, another of their objectives as an organization, Huyck says.

Joan Rinner, coordinator of Faculty and Staff Services, has participated in the Speakers Bureau and recently facilitated a meeting of 25 Country Buffet managers in the Coral Ridge Mall Conference Room. She, too, found the experience rewarding.

"I thought it’d be interesting to try a group outside of the University and see if there were any differences," Rinner says. She discovered that these managers have many of the same concerns that University managers have, including how to improve communication, how to reward and recognize employees, and how to improve customer service.

Rather than lecturing, Rinner facilitated group interaction.

"It’s healthy for an organization to arrange time for its people to get together, get to know each other, to share what’s working and any ideas they have," Rinner observes. "Retreat and facilitated discussion exercises encourage healthy, working relationships."

Other benefits for speakers include promotion of publications and programs, recruitment, and career development. And remember, there’s nothing to grade!

For more information on the Speakers Bureau, visit the web site at www.uiowa.edu/speakersbureau/ or call Jane Hoshi at (38)4-0017.

Article by David Hulm