Public Affairs Issues

Arkansas Public Affairs Discussions

Our public affairs programming is aimed at examining timely topics affecting Arkansas and the well-being of all its citizens.

Opportunities for participants to hear presentations from both national and state authorities are intended to provide objective information, create a free exchange of ideas and generate productive debate.

Select a public affairs program or scroll down for more information:

Public Policy Program

We call our public policy programs “strategic conversations.” They are centered on intensive one- to four-day meetings of small groups focused on a single issue. These conversations are structured and facilitated discussions among individuals designed to generate ideas and new thinking around a specific public affairs issues. Participants have prerequisite knowledge and come ready to contribute.

 A strategic conversation: 

  • is a highly collaborative process
  • allows for different aspects to be explored and diverse perspectives to be voiced
  • is an open process that needs to be conducted in a safe environment where all ideas can be shared and heard with thoughts expanded before any conclusions are drawn
  • leads to action.

By the end of a successful strategic conversation, the facilitator will have guided the group as a whole to decide on a course of action.

These programs include those initiated by the Rockefeller Institute and those co-sponsored by organizations and institutions that share our objectives. Our staff welcomes proposals from outside groups who wish to suggest public affairs issues on which to convene future meetings.


Agritourism Initiative 

Agritourism and rural economic development was one of our first efforts in using the “strategic conversation” approach to discuss how to expand economic opportunities for hard-hit farm and rural-based businesses through the development of agritourism. Representatives from more than 20 different organizations attended the meeting. 

The development of an 18-month agritourism pilot project in the Arkansas River Valley region led by the Rockefeller Institute was one immediate outcome of this strategic conversation. Funded through a USDA Rural Business Opportunity Grant, the goal of this project is to expand opportunities for farm and rural businesses in the six counties immediately surrounding the Petit Jean Mountain. 

The Arkansas Agritourism Initiative is the second result, the goal of which is to facilitate the development of the agritourism industry in Arkansas.


Blair-Rockefeller Legacy Series

Winthrop Rockefeller Institute’s emphasis on the relationship between education and economics, race relations, the environment, and the implications of scientific and technological change complement the mission of The Diane D. Blair Center for Southern Politics and Society. Working together, the Rockefeller Institute and the Blair Center will not only be able to combine the unique strengths associated with the faculty and staff in each organization, but also will combine resources allowing each to accomplish significantly more than acting alone.


Reel Stories Documentary Film and Discussion Series
Reel Stories about Real People, Problems, and Possibilities 

Documentaries have long served as an educational tool able to inform people about different places or issues. Now, they are serving as a public forum for discussion of a wide range of social, cultural, economic and environmental issues. They challenge us to think critically about some of the most important subjects of our time while providing an impetus for political engagement and social change.

The purpose of Reel Stories is as follows:

  • Encourage civic engagement by challenging participants to think critically about important social, cultural, economic and environmental issues of our time 
  • Enhance media literacy by fostering public understanding and appreciation of sensitive policy issues affecting our society  
  • Explore how enhanced civic engagement contributes to more effective public policy making.

View programs and additional information.


Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lectures Program 

The Rockefeller Institute now serves as the official home for the administration of the Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lectures program. 

This program was established in 1972 by friends of Governor Rockefeller and assists faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, University of Arkansas at Monticello, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in obtaining outstanding visiting lecturers to communicate ideas that stimulate public discussion, intellectual debate and cultural advancement.  

The lectures are free and open to the public. Most speakers interact with students prior to their public lecture and mingle with the audience afterward.


Public Lectures 

Scheduled at different times of the year, lecture topics are diverse and are intended to encourage a free-flowing exchange of ideas across disciplines, geographic borders and cultures. Past lectures have been presented by Nina Totenberg, one of the most well-known authorities on the affairs of the United States Supreme Court; Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History; and Dr. Byron E. Shafer, the Glenn B. and Cleone Orr Hawkins Chair of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

View public lectures now open for registration.


Partnership Opportunity Grant
for Faculty Members of the University of Arkansas System 

A goal of the Rockefeller Institute is to serve as a bridge between the scholarly community and the world of public affairs.  

To accomplish this, our Partnership Opportunity Grant initiative helps facilitate exchange, interaction and collaboration among scholars by partnering with University of Arkansas System faculty, and/or professional organizations outside of the University of Arkansas System sponsored by a faculty member, in designing, developing and delivering conferences on public affairs issues of interest.

The Rockefeller Institute provides a place for participants to present essential research, explore promising policies or disseminate research results to a state or national gathering. Download a flyer about this opportunity.


Scholar-In-Residence Program
for Faculty Members of the University of Arkansas System 

The purpose of the Visiting Scholar-in-Residence Program is to support scholars and practitioners at the various campuses and entities of the University of Arkansas System in a concluding phase of research, study or creative endeavor.

The program offers opportunities for those selected to carry out disciplined work in a setting conducive to contemplation and reflection. Freed from day-to-day demands, visiting scholars-in-residence have the time and space necessary to think, write and create. For more information, contact program coordinator Joe Foster at (501) 727-6219 or send an e-mail.


Nanotechnology Conferences

Our nanotechnology conferences will involve nanoscience and engineering, areas of importance for the economic development in Arkansas and across the nation. It is hoped that these conferences will expose others to the vast intellectual resources available in our state in the area of nanoscience. The Gordon Research Conference Board has been contacted about formally recognizing these conferences as a GRC.