November 1, 2007

Contact:
Alan Hancock
NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5385
hancocka@nova.edu

Gay and Lesbian Task Force Director to Speak at NSU Law Center
Matt Foreman third lecturer in Goodwin Symposium’s examination of legal rights for sexual minorities

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will speak at the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center on Nov. 6 as part of the law school’s 2007 Goodwin Symposium on sexuality, morality and the law.

Titled “30 Years After Anita Bryant’s Crusade: The Continuing Role of Morality in the Development of Legal Rights for Sexual Minorities,” the 2007 Goodwin Symposium is addressing how views about morality have developed since Anita Bryant’s crusade in 1977 and to what extent morality still influences the laws impacting sexual minorities in the United States and around the world.

Foreman, who has worked for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights for 25 years, became director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 2003. Since then, the budget and staff of the Task Force has doubled and more than $2 million has been awarded to state and local LGBT organizations. Foreman previously served as the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda (1997-2003) and as executive director of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (1990-96).

Foreman’s free public lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in the Large Lecture Hall at the Shepard Broad Law Center on NSU’s main campus (3305 College Avenue). Space is limited and RSVPs must be made online at http://www.nsulaw.nova.edu/events/rsvp.cfm or by calling (954) 262-6295.

Foreman will be the third visiting Goodwin professor to speak at the law school as part of this year’s Goodwin Symposium. Activist and political advisor David Mixner lectured on Oct. 25 and Suzanne Goldberg, director of the Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic at Columbia Law School, spoke on Oct. 11. The final speaker for the 2007 Goodwin Symposium will be Reverend Gene Robinson, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, whose public lecture will take place on Nov. 27.

The Leo Goodwin Sr. Chair in Law Symposium is dedicated to the memory of Leo Goodwin Sr., an entrepreneur and visionary who was committed to the advancement of education and research and a generous benefactor of the Shepard Broad Law Center. More information on the 2007 Goodwin Symposium is available at www.nsulaw.nova.edu.

About Nova Southeastern University: Situated on 300 beautiful acres in Davie, Florida, Nova Southeastern University is a dynamic fully accredited institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs of distinction from preschool through the professional and doctoral levels. NSU has more than 26,000 students and is the sixth largest not-for-profit independent institution nationally. The university awards associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, doctoral, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields, including business, counseling, computer and information sciences, education, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, dentistry, various health professions, law, marine sciences, early childhood, psychology and other social sciences. For more information visit www.nova.edu.