Laney Graduate School and Emory Libraries Partner to Present the Evalene Parsons Jackson Lecture Series
This fall, Laney Graduate School and Emory Libraries will partner with departments and programs across the university to present the Evalene Parsons Jackson Lecture Series. Through this partnership the series will bring scholars and thought leaders to Emory to engage the community in timely discussions that draw on perspectives from across various disciplines.
The series opens on Sept. 16 with film scholar and Emory alumna Miriam J. Petty, who will introduce a screening of Spike Lee’s acclaimed 1989 film Do the Right Thing.
Presented in partnership with Emory’s Department of Film and Media, the event is part of the department’s Fall Cinematic Series and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in White Hall, Room 208.
Petty is an associate professor of Radio/Television/Film at Northwestern University whose research explores African American representation, performance and stardom in American film. Her book, Stealing the Show: African American Performers and Audiences in 1930s Hollywood, examines the complicated relationships between Black performers, Hollywood studios, the media and audiences during the Jim Crow era. Petty also has deep ties to Emory: the research that became Stealing the Show began as her PhD dissertation.
Her introduction to Do the Right Thing provides a fitting opening for a lecture series created to bring leading scholars and authorities into conversation with the Emory community. More than three decades after its release, Lee’s film continues to invite discussion about race and the forces that shape relationships within shared spaces.
Honoring the legacy of Evalene Parsons Jackson
The series carries forward the legacy of Evalene Parsons Jackson, an educator and librarian whose career at Emory spanned decades and helped shape the study of librarianship at the university.
Jackson joined the Emory faculty in 1936 and became director of the university’s Division of Librarianship in 1954. Known for her intellectual curiosity and ambitious standards of scholarship, she played an important role in strengthening Emory’s curriculum in librarianship and advancing graduate-level education in the field.
The Evalene Parsons Jackson Lecture Series will continue throughout the 2026-2027 academic year with additional events planned through spring 2027. The series is supported by the Evalene Parsons Jackson Lectureship Endowment, which was established in recognition of her contributions to library service and the education of librarians.
“Some of the most meaningful conversations happen when we create space for people to generate ideas and perspectives that move beyond the methods, theories, approaches, and norms of a single discipline,” said Kimberly Jacob Arriola, dean of the Laney Graduate School. “Through this partnership with Emory Libraries and out academic programs, the lecture series gives our community an opportunity to learn from scholars across the humanities, natural and social sciences and engage thoughtfully with the questions that shape our world.”
Additional speakers and events in the series will be announced throughout the academic year.
Kick-off Event Details
Miriam J. Petty introduces Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing
Wednesday, Sept. 16
7:30 p.m.
White Hall, Room 208
Part of the Department of Film and Media’s Fall Cinematic Series
Coming in October
The Evalene Parsons Jackson Lecture Series continues in October with three visiting scholars addressing topics ranging from graduate admissions and international development to the growing role of artificial intelligence in academic research.
Oct. 6 | Michael Weissman
Do GREs Predict Physics Grad School Outcomes?
2:30 pm., Physics Planetarium, MSC E300
Presented as part of the Department of Physics’ regular colloquium series, Weissman’s lecture will examine the role of standardized tests in graduate admissions and the ongoing debate over their ability to predict student success.
Weissman has published research examining the relationship between GRE scores and performance in physics graduate programs. His talk will explore that research, differing interpretations of the data and broader questions about the use of standardized testing in graduate admissions. The discussion will also consider how these findings may apply across disciplines and the trade-offs involved in admissions policy.
Oct. 21 | Nicholas Enrich
Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID
4:30 p.m., Woodbruff Library, Jones Room
Nicholas Enrich, author of the New York Times bestseller “Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID,” will discuss his experience at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the events surrounding the agency’s dismantling.
Enrich worked at USAID under four presidential administrations and served in several leadership roles, including acting assistant administrator for global health. His career also included work in infectious disease, agency management and global health policy. Before joining USAID, he served as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He holds a law degree from Brooklyn Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University.
Oct. 29 | Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham
Will AI Replace RAs and TAs?
4 p.m., White Hall, Room 208
Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, associate professor of finance at the Yale School of Management, will explore the growing role of artificial intelligence in academic research and what the increasing capabilities of large language models could mean for researchers, research assistants and teaching assistants.
An applied econometrician, Goldsmith-Pinkham studies consumer finance, housing markets and demographic disparities. His work also examines the practical use of artificial intelligence in the social sciences, including ways researchers can integrate large language models into research and data workflows. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and previously served as a research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Goldsmith-Pinkham will also present an academic seminar at Goizueta Business School on Friday, Oct. 30.