Red Clay Conference will focus on land use, urban sprawl, water management
Land use, urban sprawl and water management are some of the topics of the 19th annual Red Clay Conference, entitled “When Red Clay Meets Black Asphalt.” The conference will be held 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on March 23, at the School of Law’s Dean Rusk Hall.

This year’s keynote speaker is Robert J. Glennon, the Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. He will discuss major environmental problems, such as threats to the water supply caused by excessive groundwater pumping.

The goal of the conference, sponsored by the law school’s Environmental Law Association, is to increase public awareness of significant environmental issues by offering a series of presentations and open forum discussions.

The conference is open to the public. Registration information and a detailed schedule can be found online (www.law.uga.edu/redclay).

Newsweek editor to give Phinizy Lecture
Bestselling author and editor of Newsweek Jon Meacham will deliver the annual Ferdinand Phinizy Lecture March 23 at 11 a.m. in the Chapel.

Meacham’s lecture is entitled, “God and Politics from George Washington to George Bush.” It is open free to the public.

Meacham’s newest book, American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers and the Making of a Nation, was published by Random House in 2006 and became a New York Times bestseller. He is also at work on a biography of Andrew Jackson.

The Ferdinand Phinizy Lectureship was established and endowed by Phinizy Calhoun, UGA class of 1900, as a memorial to his grandfather, Ferdinand Phinizy, who was a graduate of the UGA class of 1838.

Meacham arrived at Newsweek as a writer in January 1995, became national affairs editor in June of that year and was named editor in November 1998. He supervises the magazine’s coverage of politics, international affairs and breaking news, and has written cover stories on politics, religion, race, guns in America and the death of Ronald Reagan.

Attorney will discuss disability rights at this year’s Edith House Lecture
Harriet McBryde Johnson, a nationally-­recognized disability rights attorney and activist, will present the School of Law’s 25th Edith House Lecture, entitled “Disability Rights: A Liberation Movement for All People.”

The lecture will be held March 21 at 4 p.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall. Open to the public, the lecture will be followed with a reception at the law school’s Sutherland Courtyard.

For nearly 30 years, Johnson has been active in the struggle for social justice, particularly in the field of disability rights. Her private law practice in Charleston, S.C., specializes in benefits and civil rights claims for poor and working people with disabilities.

Johnson is currently involved with the Charleston’s Disability Resource Center, the Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment and the National Lawyers Guild Disability Rights Committee. She holds a world endurance record for protesting the Jerry Lewis Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for 16 years without interruption.

Johnson earned her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Charleston Southern University and a master’s degree from the College of Charleston.

The Edith House Lecture Series is hosted annually by the Women Law Students Association in honor of one of the first female graduates of the UGA School of Law. House, a native of Winder, was co-valedictorian of the law class of 1925, the first class to graduate women.