The Capps Center has hosted several events series since its founding in 2002. This webpage highlights some of our discontinued series, including the Capps-Emerson Memorial Lecture for Bipartisan Bridge Building (2000-2013), Hamdani World Harmony Lecture Series (2011-2017), and Ethics in Place Symposium Series (2020-2021).
Capps-Emerson Memorial Lecture for Bipartisan Bridge Building
The Capps-Emerson Memorial Lecture for Bipartisan Bridge Building was inaugurated in June 2000, in memory of Congressman Walter Capps (D-CA) and Congressman Bill Emerson (R-MO), who died while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both were well respected by their colleagues as men of faith, courage, compassion, and integrity. In their honor, the lecture was co-hosted by former Congressmembers Lois Capps (D-CA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and was sponosored by The Faith & Politics Institute in Washington, D.C. Lectures in this series ran from 2000 to 2013.
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Hamdani World Harmony Lecture Series
The Hamdani World Harmony Lecture Series was funded by Jamal and Saida Hamdani to promote world harmony and intercultural and interfaith understanding. Jamal Hamdani was President and CEO of Axxcss Wireless Solutions, Inc., and its subsidiaries, including Moseley Associates, Inc. He was also president of World Harmony Online and chair of the board of the Islamic Society of Santa Barbara. Sadly, Jamal Hamdani passed away in April 2024. His wife, Dr. Saida Hamdani, is a pediatrician who was named Physician of the Year for Santa Barbara County in 2017. The Hamdani World Harmony Lecture Series was generously established in loving memory of Dr. Sajjad and Mrs. Zakira Hamdani. It began in 2011 with a lecture by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.
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Ethics in Place Symposium Series
The Ethics in Place Symposium Series took place during Greg Johnson's second year as Director of the Walter H. Capps Center, Fall 2020 to Spring 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Events were held online via Zoom. The series, titled "Ethics in Place: A Symposium on Indigenous Peoples and the Future of Principled Democracy," examined Indigenous sacred land claims and place-based ethics in relation to religious freedom, Native sovereignty, and democratic practice.