UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As a Penn State student in the early 1970s, Ronald Scott joined protests against the Vietnam War and racial inequality on campus. Fifty years later, some of the same themes he spoke about then — like free speech and racial inequality — are still salient.
Scott will return to campus next month to reflect on his time as a student activist and how it shaped his career in higher education. He will present a public lecture on “The legacy of Vietnam-era student activism” on March 18 at noon in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. He will also participate in an undergraduate student forum at 7 p.m. March 18 in the Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library.
Scott’s visit is sponsored by the Center for Democratic Deliberation (CDD) in the McCourtney Institute for Democracy and co-sponsored by the University Libraries. Michael Steudeman, assistant professor of communication arts and sciences and a member of the CDD’s faculty advisory board, teaches one of Scott’s speeches from the Allen Zollman Penn State Student Protest Audio Collection in the University Libraries' Eberly Family Special Collections Library, as part of a course on landmark speeches on democracy and dissent. One of Studeman’s students discovered the speech in 2019 and he’s taught it ever since.
Scott made the speech on May 6, 1970, just days after the shooting at Kent State University and amid escalating tension on campus about the Vietnam War and the arrest of Black Panther leader Bobby Seale. At the time, Scott was a member of the Black Student Union, the precursor to today’s Black Caucus student organization.
Steudeman saw parallels with the struggles for equality and free expression Scott spoke about and present-day conflicts at Penn State and throughout higher education. With support from the CDD, he invited Scott to return to his alma mater to discuss what campus culture was like in the early 1970s, how organizations like the Black Student Union changed the university and what today’s students can learn from organizing on campus in the 1960s and 70s.
"As a student activist in the 1970s, Dr. Ron Scott gave voice to marginalized students and helped fight for a more inclusive Penn State. His words continue to provoke thoughtful conversation among my students today,” Steudeman said. “I'm excited that PSU faculty and students will now have an opportunity to learn from his lifelong efforts to fight racial injustice at educational institutions."
Scott received a degree in theater arts from Penn State and went on to a successful career in higher education. He holds a doctorate in communication from the University of Utah and served in several roles at Miami University, including associate professor of media, journalism and film, and is vice president of institutional diversity and inclusion.
Scott’s lecture is free and open to the public. Visit democracy.psu.edu/events for more information.