All Angles series returns March 24 with a focus on economic equality and mobility

The University of Pittsburgh will host the next installment of All Angles — a discussion series that helps students explore society’s biggest problems — on Thursday, March 24.

Economists Darrick Hamilton and Scott Winship will discuss economic opportunity, mobility and equality with moderator Kevin Kearns, professor of public and nonprofit management in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

The session, which will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in 323 Alumni Hall, will be in-person, although a Zoom link will be available to some participants. Students from all Pitt campuses are invited.

“The featured panelists for this session of All Angles event share a nuanced agreement on the issue of generational poverty and how it disproportionately impacts the Black community,” said Kearns. “I look forward to moderating this discussion and talking with students about their different perspectives on solutions.”

Hamilton and Winship will explore the global and national wealth gap and intergenerational poverty. As they listen, students will be encouraged to learn where and why agreement exists and does not exist about market-driven and social policy-based solutions to these problems. 

About the speakers

Hamilton is the Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy and the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School. Considered one of the nation’s foremost scholars, economists and public intellectuals, Hamilton work has helped craft policy proposals that have served as inspiration for legislative proposals at the federal, state and local levels. He has also been covered in The New York Times, Mother Jones and The Wall Street Journal.

Winship is a senior fellow and the director of poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) — a public policy think tank dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential and building a freer and safer world. He researches social mobility and the causes and effects of poverty with a focus on economic insecurity and inequality. Before joining AEI, Winship served as the executive director of the Joint Economic Committee. While there, he created the Social Capital Project, a multiyear research initiative to investigate the evolving nature of social relationships, including families and communities, workplaces, and religious congregations.

“As American politics becomes more polarized, it is increasingly difficult to have civil conversations where people can convey their views and be understood, even if they disagree with each other,” Winship said. “All Angles is a way to demonstrate that people of good faith can respectfully understand each other’s positions and allow their views to be tested by alternative perspectives and new evidence. The example offered by this series is more important than ever and can be a model for encouraging students to be more curious about different perspectives. I am grateful that Pitt and the Institute of Politics have tried to encourage open communication and mutual understanding. Too many institutions of higher education have neglected their responsibility to prepare students to engage successfully with others in the real world.”

“Our world is revealing a desperate need for leadership that will genuinely listen to a myriad of ideas and promote solution-oriented policy discussions,” said Samantha Balbier, director of the Institute of Politics and Elsie Hillman Civic Forum at Pitt, who is helping to coordinate the series. “We must demonstrate a commitment to supporting tomorrow’s leaders with the tools, resources and ideas that encourage thoughtful and deliberative leadership.”

Students who attend the series will earn Outside the Classroom Curriculum (OCC) credit. Register to reserve your spot today.  

— Kara Henderson