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Congresswoman Carson to present annual Neal-Marshall Lecture on Feb. 20
Feb. 15, 2001
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- U.S. Congresswoman Julia Carson will present the 2001 Neal-Marshall Lecture in Public Policy on Tuesday (Feb. 20) at 4 p.m. in the atrium of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Bloomington.
Carson, who represents Indiana's 10th congressional district, will speak on the theme, "People, Partnerships and Progress." Her lecture is free and open to the public.
The Neal-Marshall Lecture, sponsored each year by the School of Public and Environmental Affairs during Black History Month, honors Marcellus Neal and Frances Marshall, the first African American male and female graduates of IU.
Before she made history in 1996 by becoming the first woman and the first African American ever sent to Congress by her Indianapolis district, Carson served 18 years in the Indiana General Assembly and six years as Center Township Trustee.
As a state representative, she served on the Senate Finance Committee and sponsored legislation to encourage in-home health care and ease the collection of child support. While a member of Indiana's citizen legislature, she also worked as a human resources executive at Cummins Engine Co. and operated her own small business.
In 1990, Carson successfully ran for election to the post of Center Township Trustee of Marion County, running against the advice of many political experts who feared the political quagmire of a poor relief office that was $20 million in debt. Carson employed an aggressive "workfare" program and anti-fraud procedures to erase the debt while continuing to provide emergency services to the poor of Indianapolis.
Carson's fiscal acumen and management skill lead to her being named for the second time as the Indianapolis Star's "Woman of the Year." Her budget-balancing feat earned bipartisan admiration, including that of Republican County Auditor John Von Arx, who said, "Julia Carson wrestled that monster to the ground."
First elected to Congress in 1996, Carson is a member of the Banking and Financial Services Committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee.
For more information, contact Sandra Bate at 812-856-5490 or sbate@indiana.edu