The last 18 months have been tumultuous as America has faced a series of crises — a global pandemic that brought the economies of the world to a standstill, a bitterly contested presidential election that ended with baseless claims of election fraud and left the nation as divided as ever, and a rise in politically motivated violence and extremism that culminated with an attack on the Capitol itself. With all of this uncertainty, what is the future and possibility of the American Dream? Is there still hope and opportunity? These questions and more will be explored at this year’s American Dream Reconsidered conference. This conference provides an occasion to refocus our attention on the future — on how social justice can be promoted in the areas of health care, education and culture, and how the idea of the American Dream can sustain us with a new vision of hope and opportunity.

The conference will be held from November first through the fouth. For the next several weeks leading up to the conference I will be turning over the podcast to Professor Andrew Trees, who is co-chair of the programming committee. In this week’s episode, Andy will be interviewing Dean Cami McBride. Cami will be moderating our November 4th panel— Women’s Leadership and Gender Equity in Law and Medicine, which is being sponsored by the Women’s Leadership Council. She will be talking with Andie Harris, author and partner at McDermott Will & Emery, and Dr. Neelum Aggarwal, Associate Professor of Neurological Science at Rush Medical Center. Issues of sex and gender equity remain as relevant as ever, and I’m excited about the upcoming panel. Andy and Cami talk about issues of sex and gender equity, but they also chat about family life and how one handles the many challenges that true equity creates even on the home front.