September 16-December 16, 2012, Ulrich Museum of Art, WSU

"The Hard Kind of Courage: Gordon Parks and the Photographers of the Civil Rights Era," will exhibit and highlight photographs by Parks and others.

Thursday, October 4, 2012, 6 p.m., Campus Activities Center Theater, WSU

John W. Franklin, a director at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, will speak about how the museum plans to spotlight historical figures, including Parks.  This event also includes a book release for "Gordon Parks Centennial: His Legacy at Wichita State University," a 68-page scholarly publication acknowledging the strength of the university's holdings, archival and artistic, related to Parks.  Reception, 5 p.m., Ulrich Museum of Art.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 10:30 a.m., Ulrich Museum of Art, WSU

John Edgar Tidwell, professor of English at the University of Kansas, will explore in "The Labor of Art/The Art of Labor" the aesthetic labor -- making, selecting, shaping, re-visioning, and editing -- of authors with Kansas ties: Frank Marshall Davis, Langston Hughes, and Gordon Parks.  Refreshments, 10 a.m.  Senior Wednesday presentation.

Thursday, October 25, 2012, 6 p.m., Campus Activities Center Theater, WSU

Deborah Willis, chairwoman of New York University’s department of photography, will talk about Parks’ groundbreaking use of portrait photography.

Thursday, November 15, 2012, 6 p.m., 210 McKnight West, WSU

Hank Willis Thomas, a noted visual artist, will examine race and class in a historical context.

Friday, November 16, 2012, 6 p.m., 210 McKnight West, WSU

Parks' film “Martin: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” will be shown during a free screening, coinciding with the WSU College of Fine Arts’ Kansas Dance Festival.  Parks directed and scored the film.  Reception, 5:30 p.m., 210 McKnight West.

Thursday, November 29, 2012, 6 p.m., Campus Activities Center Theater, WSU

Parks’ third wife, Genevieve Young, a former senior editor of Little, Brown & Co., will speak about the effect of Parks’ work.  A release party for the five-volume book “Gordon Parks: Collected Works” will take place after the lecture.  Reception, 5 p.m., Ulrich Museum of Art.