Garden of Refuge Symposium
Join us for a full‑day academic symposium exploring the Garden of Refuge as a transformative site for teaching, research, and international scholarly exchange.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Clifton Court Hall, Room 5280
Open to the UC community and invited guests, the program includes panels, lectures, community partnerships, and a guided campus garden tour.
The symposium highlights academic leadership and transatlantic dialogue by featuring students, scholars and community members for interdisciplinary conversations on ecology, well‑being, migration, and academic freedom.
This event grows out of the long-standing partnership between the University of Cincinnati (UC) and the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr. As a testament to our shared vision and commitment as universities deeply embedded within our respective communities, the University of Cincinnati and TU Dortmund University joined forces with a multidisciplinary approach for the Garden(s) of Refuge project. This initiative dedicates both institutions toward active engagement with and contributions to our communities, while also solidifying the Dortmund-Cincinnati corridor as a bridge connecting our two regions.
Schedule
This is a working draft schedule, with details to be finalized.
TBD: session information
Speakers:
- John Martini
- Dr. Vanessa Agnew, Professor of Anglophone Studies, TU Dortmund
TBD: session information
Speakers:
- Kymisha Montgomery, Urban Agriculture Coordinator, Civic Garden Center
- Alan Wight,
- Dominic Bley, Garden of Joy
- Brian Wright, Director, Compass Cincinnati
TBD: session information
Speakers:
- Steven Handel,
Lunch will be provided for event registrants.
TBD: session information
Speakers:
- Fatemeh Rezeai, Garden of Refuge Graduate Fellow, University of Cincinnati
TBD: session information
Speakers:
- Aruni Bhatnagar, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville
Explore the University of Cincinnati's campus gardens, including the Garden of Refuge.