Guest Speaker Event: Kevin Gannon

man standing in front a screen giving a talk

The FDC and the Office of the Provost are excited to announce that Kevin Gannon, author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto, will be visiting EMU!

Kevin Gannon is Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFÉ) and Professor of History at Queens University of Charlotte, in North Carolina. He spent nearly 25 years as a faculty member, serving as a program coordinator and department chair along the way, until moving full-time into faculty development. He is the author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto (West Virginia University Press, 2020), and the co-editor of the the forthcoming collection The Campus Crisis Toolkit: Strategies and Solidarity for the Rest of Us (SUNY Press). His writing has appeared in outlets such as Vox, CNN, and The Washington Post, and he is a regular contributor to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Even in an administrative role, Kevin continues to work with first-year students (a particular passion of his) by teaching sections of Queens’ new student seminar course, the Queens Roadmap, every fall semester. To learn more about Kevin Gannon, visit his website here. To learn more about Gannon's book "Radical Hope", visit the tabs below.

Gannon will be visiting campus from Monday, September 15 through Wednesday, September 17, 2025. During his time here, Gannon will spend time with various members of our community, and facilitate two events that we invite you to attend: (1) a workshop on radical hope; and (2) a talk about general education. For information on each event and to register to attend, visit the tabs below. 

book cover
About Radical Hope

In a world in which higher education finds itself under siege and faces significant threats and challenges, Radical Hope offers a vision of teaching as an emancipatory practice that spreads hope. Teaching, Gannon argues, can transform the world for our students; it can also help us to reshape institutional culture. Gannon’s perspectives allow us to envision a better future for higher education, and for Eastern Michigan University, with teaching at the core.

To learn more Radical Hope, click here.

When: Tuesday, September 16 @ 3:30 PM - 5 PM

Where: 310 Student Center

While it may seem counterintuitive to talk about a “pedagogy of hope” during these difficult times in which we find ourselves, conceiving of our work with learners as grounded in hope is an essential part of any educational space. But what does this look like in practice? How do we embed teaching and learning in a meaningful sense of hope, as opposed to empty slogans or wishful thinking? This session will consider the connections between perspective and practice when it comes to a pedagogy of hope, as well as some of the specific ways in which we can put those insights to work right away in our learning spaces and encounters.  We invite everyone - faculty, lecturers, staff, AND students, to join us for this conversation.

When: Wednesday, September 17 @ 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Where: 300 Halle Library

General education programs ideally are an integral part of the larger, transformative outcomes higher education can have for students. Many people, however, do not fully appreciate this connection.  In this presentation and discussion, Kevin Gannon will discuss how we frame and tell the General Education "story" accurately and compellingly. He will present research-based perspectives to clarify and reinforce conversations happening on campus, and offer a rallying cry for Gen Ed's centrality in undergraduate education.  Join us and be part of this important conversation.  

If you are interested in attending Pedagogy of Hope: A Workshop and/or General Education Saves the Day: A Discussion, click here to register.

We look forward to seeing you there!