Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, will talk about the problems of urban education on Monday, April 15, when she gives the Andrew K. Prinz Guestship Lecture for Political Awareness at Elmhurst College.
Lewis’ presentation will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Illinois Hall. The event is free.
Lewis was elected president of the 30,000-member Chicago Teachers Union in June of 2010. Last fall, she led CTU members in contract negotiations and, when those talks failed, in Chicago’s first teachers strike in 25 years.
A member of the CTU since 1988, Lewis taught high school chemistry in the Chicago Public Schools for 22 years. Her goal is to improve the Chicago Public Schools and to stand firmly against the privatization of public education. The only National Board Certified Teacher to lead a U.S. labor union, Lewis also serves as executive vice president to the Illinois Federation of Teachers and as vice president of the American Federation of Teachers.
This event is sponsored by Elmhurst College Student Government Association.