Episode 145: A Special Summit Comes to UConn

The Dodd Center for Human Rights will be presenting its Second Human Rights Summit from October 22 and 24 and this year’s event will focus on Sport and Human Rights. The opening keynote event of the summit will feature a conversation with two pivotal figures in the history of sports and activism—Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the 1968 Olympians whose raised-fist salute became an iconic global symbol of the struggle for human rights. The summit is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Our guest on this episode of the podcast is Jim Waller, the Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice, Director of Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs, and the coordinator of the summit. He has an impressive background, which includes holding responsibilities with the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.

Listen to Episode 145 on Podbeam

Mike: Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of the UConn 360 Podcast. It’s Mike Enright from University Communications, along with Izzy Harris from University Communications. Hi Izzy.

Izzy: Good morning, Mike.

Mike: How are you?

Izzy: Like I told you, I’m feeling a little sleepy. We’re doing a Monday morning recording session, and we usually do Tuesday, so I feel a little off.

Mike: A little out of sorts.

Izzy: Yeah, I’m out of sorts, but I have a feeling this is going to wake me right up.

Mike: There you go. This is a big week on campus.

Izzy: It sure is.

Mike: Freshmen arrive Thursday and Friday, and then the upperclassmen come in Saturday and Sunday. Classes start next Monday.

Izzy: Things are about to get real busy around here.

Mike: They are. It’s all happening. Speaking of big events, we have a great guest today.

Jim Waller is the Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice and Director of the Dodd Human Rights Impact Program. He has a very impressive background. He has worked with the United Nations on genocide prevention. And there’s a big event coming up at the Dodd Center the second Human Rights Summit.

That will be happening in Storrs from October 22 through October 24. This year’s event is very interesting. It will focus on sports and human rights. That might not be something people automatically connect sports and human rights but there is a definite connection.

Jim is going to talk to us about it. The opening keynote event I am really excited about, this I think it is truly historic. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympics raised their fists in a silent protest, gave the raised fist salute that became a global symbol of the struggle for human rights.

They are going to take part in a conversation to kick off the event. The moderator will be a really great guy, Bill Rhoden, who I know from a previous life working in athletic communications. He was with the New York Times. He is very sharp, a great writer, and this should be a really interesting event.

We will include the link in the podcast description. The summit is open to the public. If this sounds interesting to you, we encourage people to come to Storrs.

Jim, after that long introduction, welcome to the podcast.

James: Thanks, Mike. Thanks, Izzy. Good to be here.

Mike: Before we get into the event, a lot of people have heard of the Dodd Center on campus. It’s the physical building where the university archives are held. But there is a lot more going on there. Can you tell us what the Dodd Center for Human Rights is and what its mission is?

James: It was first founded in 1995 as the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. Thomas J. Dodd was a long-serving United States senator from Connecticut and one of the lead prosecutors at Nuremberg. The center was founded in 1995, and the big initial contribution was the donation of his personal papers and letters from Nuremberg to the university archives.

From 1995 to 2021, it functioned mainly as a research center and also housed a lot of our human rights work on campus. Then in October 2021, President Biden came to campus and re-inaugurated the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. That was significant because back in 1995, the center had originally been inaugurated by President Clinton.

In 2021, it was renamed the Dodd Center for Human Rights in recognition of the contributions of both Senator Thomas J. Dodd and his son, Christopher J. Dodd.

James: The main work we do in the building is through the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. This is one of the most well-known human rights institutes in the country. We do research. We have research clusters that conduct interdisciplinary work in human rights.

We also focus on teaching. There is a human rights major and minor, as well as a master’s degree in human rights.

And finally, we engage the public. This summit is one of our high-profile public engagement efforts. We absolutely want the public there. We have high school classes coming. This is a public-facing event that we hope brings a lot of attention both to the university and to the topic of sport and human rights.

Izzy: It sounds like a really interesting summit and something we have not experienced here at UConn before. I am looking forward to hearing the feedback and seeing how it plays out.

But I want to go back a little bit, before your time at UConn. Funny story, I went to Keene State and I actually remember you working there too. I think I might have done a project with you. You will have to remind me, but didn’t we have a human rights center there?

James: Not a center exactly, but definitely an emphasis on human rights.

Izzy: Okay, got it. I think I remember doing a video project and I interviewed you. That was a long time ago.

James: Oh wow, that’s great.

Izzy: Kind of a funny full-circle moment.

James: Yeah.

Izzy: Can you tell us a bit more about your background, how you got to UConn, and speaking of the summit, what was the reasoning behind choosing this year’s topic?

James: I came to Keene State in 2010 to start the nation’s first undergraduate major in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. It was a great opportunity to work specifically in my field. It was a great school and a wonderful community. I really thought that would be where I would spend the rest of my career.

Then, three years ago, this opportunity came up at UConn for a new endowed chair, the Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice. The role included a focus on Holocaust and genocide education. As I looked at it, I thought it would be an incredible final chapter to my career if I could take on this position and do this kind of work.

I was fortunate to go through the process and receive the offer.

This summit is the second of two summits funded by Stanley Black and Decker. The first summit, held in 2023, focused on the global assault on democracy, particularly the war in Ukraine and threats to democracy in the United States.

As we began planning the 2025 summit, and I mean literally the day after the 2023 summit ended, I suggested the idea of sport and human rights.

Sport has always been a big part of my life and still is. I often understand and process cultural, political, and social issues through the lens of sport.

Luckily, others thought it was a great idea and said, let’s go for it.

It combined two of UConn’s strongest legacies. First, we have an incredible history of athletic success  national championships in field hockey, soccer, men’s and women’s basketball. Second, we are also recognized nationally for our work in human rights.

So this was a chance to bring those two legacies together and think about human rights from a different perspective. Everyone was on board. It is hard to believe the event is almost here.

Mike: So when you talk about human rights and sports, what kinds of issues does that include? It looks like there are panels on race, gender, and people with disabilities. It really seems like a wide variety of topics and communities are involved.

James: Absolutely. The founding belief for the summit is that sport has the potential to do incredible things to promote and protect human rights. In your introduction, Mike, you mentioned Tommie Smith and John Carlos. That is a great example of sport being a force for human rights.

But sport has also been destructive for human rights, especially when you look at fair labor practices and at who has been excluded throughout history.

We want to explore both sides of that relationship between sport and human rights. We are doing that through three keynote presentations and several panels.

We have a panel on gender, sport, and human rights. Another panel is focused on business, sport, and human rights. There is a panel on resistance, sport, and human rights. One of our keynote speakers will be discussing disability, sport, and human rights. She is a Paralympian ski racer with an incredible story. Her name is Danielle.

The idea behind all of these panels is to start important conversations. We want to look at the relationship between sport and human rights in each of these areas. Where has that relationship caused harm? Where can we find hope for change? Where is transformation possible?

And fortunately, we have had the support to bring in a very robust set of international speakers to help lead these conversations.

Izzy: As we have mentioned a couple of times now, the summit will open with a keynote conversation from Tommie Smith and John Carlos. They are world-famous for their protest on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics. What do you think their presence will mean for this summit, and what is the impact of their story?

James: That is a long-standing connection for me. When I was in high school, I did a project for a history class about Smith and Carlos and their famous protest at the 1968 Olympics  the raised fists, the black gloves, the black socks.

I was struck by something Tommy Smith said at the time. He explained that yes, it was a protest for the rights of Black people in the United States and around the world. But he also saw it as a protest for human rights more broadly.

That statement really stayed with me. I have always been interested in Smith and Carlos. I have read a lot about them. I used to think, it would be amazing if I could ever find a way to bring them into a program or event.

When we started planning this summit, that was the very first outreach we made. We thought, this would be the perfect way to launch the summit. If we could bring these two historical figures together for a public conversation, it would be extraordinary.

It may be their last public appearance together, just due to age and health reasons. The conversation will be moderated by Bill Rhoden, a well-known columnist and journalist. We think this will be the defining keynote of the three-day summit.

What it means to me, and what I think will come up during that conversation, is the way their actions in 1968 still resonate today. Think about Colin Kaepernick taking a knee. Think about the Black Lives Matter movement. So much of what Smith and Carlos were fighting for in 1968, we are still working to make real today.

I am fascinated to hear what they think has changed since then, what has encouraged them, and what they are still concerned about. I am really looking forward to that conversation on October 22.

Mike: I am kind of half remembering the story about that 1968 protest. I believe the other medalist on the stand was a white athlete who also made a protest gesture. I think he has since passed away, and I believe the two gentlemen who are coming to UConn were pallbearers at his funeral or something like that. Do you know that story?

James: I think you are spot on.

Mike: Yeah.

James: He was part of the movement. He was honored to be part of the movement. He did recently pass away. I have heard and read both Smith and Carlos speak about the profound respect they had for him.

The story of Smith and Carlos is also about the cost people face when they take a stand of conscience. Their lives were forever changed, and not always in positive ways, because of what they did in 1968. That legacy, of what it means to take a principled stand and live with the consequences, is something really powerful to reflect on.

Izzy: Since the event runs from October 22 through the 24, I also saw there is a panel called Sports and Human Rights Close to Home. It looks like it will feature some names that Husky fans will recognize. What are you looking forward to with that segment?

James: This is similar to what we did in 2023. That summit focused on the global assault on democracy, and the final event was done in collaboration with UConn Student Government. It was about how we can promote democracy here on campus.

For this year’s summit, we wanted the closing event to bring the broader discussions back to a local level. So our idea was to put together a panel of five former UConn athletes from basketball, track and field, and football. The panel will be moderated by another former UConn athlete, Kyle Muncy, who played soccer here.

All five panelists, including Kyle, have found fascinating ways their post-athletic lives intersect with human rights. One example is Bryan Shirreffs, who was a quarterback for UConn in 2017. He is now looking at athlete rights and protections, particularly how to make sure elite college athletes are not left financially vulnerable if they get injured.

That panel will be a great way to connect UConn’s athletic history with the human rights work we are doing in the present.

Mike: Somebody here knows a little something about college athletics. First of all, you have been a little humble. You were a college athlete yourself. Tell us about your own career in college sports.

James: Nothing too grand. It was NAIA Division Three. I went to college in Kentucky to play basketball at a small school called Asbury. I played basketball for four years. During my junior year, I helped start the school’s baseball team. So I also played baseball my junior and senior years.

Mike: What college was this?

James: Asbury College in Kentucky.

Mike: And the baseball team?

James: It was a rough start. I do not think we won any games the first year. Maybe a couple the second year. But it was fun to be part of building something from the ground up.

Then, after finishing my master’s degree, I came back to Asbury while working on my PhD at the University of Kentucky. I actually served as the head baseball coach at Asbury for a couple of years.

Mike: Wow, head baseball coach. You could give us some tips.

James: I do not know if the team got any better under my leadership, but it was a great experience.

Mike: Well, tell us, as someone who works on a college campus and knows college athletics pretty well, where do you think college sports are today? We ask a lot of guests this question. What are your thoughts on the current state of college athletics, especially with NIL, revenue sharing, and the transfer portal? In many ways, those are human rights issues too. What is your take on all of it and how it has evolved?

James: That is a great question, Mike. I was a first-generation college student, so the opportunity to attend college and play sports was truly a dream. I was not sure it was something I would ever get to do.

At the NAIA and Division III level, you really are experiencing the purest form of student-athlete. The student part comes first, and the athlete part comes second. For me, that was an incredibly rich experience.

I think today, especially at the Division I level, we are seeing some positive changes. One important change is addressing equity. Athletes who have not been compensated for their name, image, and likeness are finally starting to be treated more fairly. At Division I schools, where sports generate huge revenue, compensation has long been overdue.

It also never seemed fair to me that coaches could leave their jobs at any time and move to a new school immediately, but athletes could not do the same. The transfer portal helps fix that.

But I also share some of the concerns others have raised. There is a risk that we might be overcorrecting. I would hate to see the concept of student-athlete turn into employee-athlete.

I think it is very important  and I think UConn is trying to do a good job with this  to maintain that balance. UConn’s Student-Athlete Success Center is a good example. We need to find a way to fairly compensate athletes for the value they bring, while still preserving the academic and developmental aspects of being a student-athlete.

Mike: Let’s put you on the spot. When you are at home on the couch, who are your favorite teams to watch?

James: I was born and raised in Georgia, so I am a child of the South. That means the Atlanta Braves in baseball.

I grew up about three blocks from the old Fulton County Stadium. My mom and I used to listen to games on the radio, and then at the top of the seventh inning, we would leave the house and walk to the stadium. You could get in for free after the seventh inning.

Mike: That is a great story.

James: I saw the final two and a half innings of countless Braves games.

Mike: That is funny.

James: It was back when they were really bad. But also back when they had Hank Aaron, which was incredible.

And growing up in the South, the Washington football team was the only team we had access to on TV, so that is the team I followed.

Basketball has always been more of a college thing for me. Both my parents are from North Carolina, so before coming to UConn, I would have said North Carolina basketball was the team I followed most closely.

Mike: Hopefully that has changed now.

James: It has absolutely changed.

Izzy: I was going to say, you came to the right place for basketball, that is for sure.

James: Oh, for sure.

Izzy: Just going back to the summit, if people want to attend, how should they go about that? Is it open to the public? Do you need to buy tickets?

James: It is absolutely open to the public. This is a public-facing program. It is not an academic conference, even though many of our panelists are academics. Many are also activists. Many are former athletes.

This is something we host with the goal of bringing the public in. We want people from the community to come to the Dodd Center for this. The opening keynote on October 22 will take place in the Student Union Theater.

You can register. We do ask people to register, but it is not a ticketed system. Even if you do not register, you can still show up and attend. That said, I do encourage people to show up early for that particular event.

The summit itself continues over the following two days  Thursday and Friday. Again, registration is optional and it is not a ticketed event. We have high school teachers bringing their classes. We have UConn professors bringing their classes. Registration just gives us a sense of the numbers and who might be attending.

But yes, absolutely open. We would love to see anyone and everyone at these events. We think this particular summit will draw a different audience than most of our human rights programming typically does, and we are very excited about that.

Izzy: And where can people register or find more information?

James: It is all online. If you type in “Dodd Summit on Sport and Human Rights,” it will take you directly to the registration website. You will also see the full program there, a breakdown of events by day, a list of panels, and the names of panelists. All of that was just finalized on Friday.

Izzy: It sounds like it is going to be an amazing event. Thank you so much for all the work you’ve put in to bring such an important topic to UConn. It sounds like it will be a different spin from previous summits. I am really looking forward to hearing more, and I might just attend.

James: Please do. And thank you for giving me the chance to talk about it. It has been great.

Mike: Jim, it is great to have you here today. And Izzy, happy back to school.

Izzy: Happy back to school.

Mike: And we will catch everyone next time on the UConn 360 Podcast.