EVENT:  University of California, Irvine faculty members and community leaders from across the state will gather on campus for the Conference on Poverty & Inequality in California. They’ll discuss some of today’s most compelling issues: the persistence of childhood poverty, the growing inequality gap, and the effectiveness of poverty alleviation programs.

WHEN/WHERE:  8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences & Engineering, 100 Academy Drive (bldg. 80, grid C4 on campus map: https://communications.uci.edu/documents/pdf/UCI_15_map_campus_core.pdf)

INFORMATION: Free and open the public. RSVP recommended but not required. Media planning to attend should contact Pat Harriman at 949-824-9055 or pharrima@uci.edu. Parking is complimentary for media who RSVP in advance. To view the conference agenda, go to http://blumcenter.uci.edu/poverty-inequality-california-conference. To RSVP, go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDilzuZn8oV_9msTQuS0tFdpyUdOX1LdhMeBT-baW5dUfaXQ/viewform?c=0&w=1.

HIGHLIGHTS:  The daylong event will include roundtable conversations and panel discussions featuring – among other notables – UCI’s Michael Dennin, vice provost for teaching and learning; Nancy Guerra, dean of the School of Social Ecology; Richard Matthew, associate dean of international programs and director of the Blum Center for Poverty Alleviation; Victoria Basolo, associate dean of undergraduate education; Charis Kubrin, professor of criminology, law & society; Robert Solomon, clinical professor of law; Andrew Penner, Chancellor’s Fellow and associate professor of sociology; and Maria Rendon, assistant professor of planning, policy & design.

BACKGROUND:  Part of the Toward a Sustainable 21st Century series, the conference is presented by UCI’s Blum Center for Poverty Alleviation, School of Social Ecology, Newkirk Center for Science & Society and School of Law.