The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will welcome State Senator Sue Rezin, R-Morris, to kick-off the fourth season of their Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series at 4 p.m. CDT Sept. 21 in Cole Hall Auditorium. The program is free and open to the public, but space is limited.
State Senator Sue Rezin, R-Morris, will be the guest at the next Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series on Sept. 21.
The event will feature a discussion between Rezin and Dean Robert Brinkmann on the current state of democracy nationwide as well as issues facing residents of Illinois, the role of education in civic engagement and democracy, and growing opportunities to fight the brain drain and teacher shortage. A moderated question and answer session will follow.
Rezin was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives but was appointed to the Illinois State Senate soon after the election. She was sworn in as State Senator in December 2010, and has represented the 38th Legislative District for nearly 13 years. She was named Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate Republican Caucus in 2021.
She currently serves as the Minority Spokesperson for the Senate Early Childhood Education Committee as well as a member of the Senate Executive, Education, Energy and Public Utilities, and Health and Human Services committees. She also serves as a member of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. As a long-time supporter of higher education, Rezin has advocated for additional MAP Grant funding and was a chief cosponsor of legislation that made the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program permanent.
On the national level, Rezin serves on the National Foundation for Women Legislators’ (NFWL) Board of Directors and was recently elected to be the Board’s next President. She is also an active member of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), currently serving on the Task Force on Energy Supply.
Rezin earned a degree in International Business and Political Science with a minor in Hispanic Studies from Augustana College and is a graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program. She was selected as one of the 2020 Women of Excellence Award honorees by the National Foundation for Women Legislators.
The Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series showcases how the liberal arts and sciences is at the center of a healthy democracy. The Series addresses various aspects of building a stronger democracy and bringing together a fractured society – everything from restoring civility, exploring branches of government, rebuilding our diplomatic and intelligence offices, as well as topical issues such as education, healthcare, media, public health, budget and finance, sustainability/environmental issues, and social justice/human rights.
