Kearl to Give Sunoo Lecture

The latest iteration of the Dr. Harold W. Sunoo World Peace Lecture Series will take place on November 4 at Central Methodist University, with Becca Kearl slated to give the fall 2024 address. Kearl’s lecture will be titled, “Building a Better World One Conversation at a Time,” and will take place at 7 p.m. in the Inman Lecture Hall (Stedman 200).

Kearl is the executive director of Living Room Conversations, an organization connecting people within communities and across differences through self-facilitated dialogue since 2010. Kearl believes in the ability of conversation around difficult topics to strengthen communities locally and nationally and has led healthy dialogue practices in high schools, universities, civic organizations, and faith communities, as well as in her own family and community. She speaks to audiences around the country about the need to foster connection and understanding through conversation.

Kearl was drawn to community dialogue through her work with victims and survivors of domestic violence, where the importance of community awareness and proximity around social issues came into sharp focus. In 2016, she began organizing large scale community conversation events around critical social issues in her area and quickly became interested in the power of connecting people for shared understanding.

In 2019, Kearl was awarded federal funding to pilot a community courtroom monitoring initiative with the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault. As founder and director of CourtWatch, she engaged more than 100 community members in observing and collecting data on court cases dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, and childhood sexual abuse. In addition to tracking the data from court cases, the program focused on the volunteer experience and how to harness the power of community to confront and shift social stigma with regular community conversations.

Kearl is committed to collective efforts that bring us together and dedicates time to coalition work, both in Utah and nationally. In the Bridging Movement Alignment Council (BMAC), she is one of 15 members representing executives within the nationwide bridging movement who meet regularly to strategize, identify priorities, and initiate projects to bring bridging work to the forefront as a solution for isolation, toxic polarization, violence, and dehumanization in America. She leads BMAC projects focused on place-based bridging as well as socializing bridging skills throughout the country. She also serves on a statewide coalition in Utah to prevent childhood sexual abuse and improve the lives of women and girls in Utah.

About the lecture series

In the spring of 2015, just before his passing, The Dr. Harold W. Sunoo World Peace Lecture Series was established by the Sunoo family to sponsor an annual guest speaker to stimulate students to think about how they can use their education to contribute to world peace. Dr. Sunoo was well-known for challenging his students to “use your brains and think,” and took his responsibility to stimulate critical thinking among his students very seriously.

Dr. Sunoo was hired by Central Methodist University in 1962. After 30 years, he retired with distinction as the Division Chair for Social Sciences and as the first Bishop Eugene Frank Professor. He published more than 20 academic books during his career and taught for shorter periods at the University of Washington, NY City College, University of California Berkeley, and Irvine and Yonsei University, Republic of Korea.

His legacy will live on through the thousands of students who were influenced by his teaching, and the legions of Korean activists who drew inspiration from his life. Through the Dr. Harold W. Sunoo World Peace Lecture Series, his kindness, global vision, and wisdom will continue to touch the students at his beloved Central Methodist.