Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium

Coming July 8 from our 2025 symposium keynote speaker, Christine Brennan.

On Her Game A news-making and electrifying portrait of sports phenomenon Caitlin Clark, whose dramatic ascendance in college basketball and now in the WNBA has...

Coverage of the March 25 Renfrew Colloquium from the Argonaut.

Panel discusses women’s sports media A panel discussion on women’s sports media was held as part of the 13th-annual Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium on March 25. The panel occurred during the Malcolm M. Renfrew Interdisciplinary Colloquium, a weekly event hosted at the library in partnership with the College of Letters, Arts and Social S...

Here is a link to a video of the Renfrew Colliquium of March 25, 2025, that featured Christine Brennan and a panel discussion on media coverage of women’s athletics.

Malcolm M. Renfrew Interdisciplinary Colloquium - March 25, 2025 Media Coverage of Women's Sports: How Caitlin Clark Changed the GameThe panel consists of Christine Brennan, USA Today; Madison Campos, San Franciso 49ers; C...

Coverage of our 2025 symposium by the Argonaut.

Christine Brennan highlights value of women’s sports Sports columnist for USA Today and senior Olympics reporter Christine Brennan gave her keynote address for this year’s annual Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium on March 25. Hosted by the University of Idaho’s school of Journalism and Mass Media, the event was held in the Pitman Center.   This year....

Coverage of this year’s symposium.

“Sports takes us to incredible national conversations that we should have.”

That’s what USA Today soorts columnist Christine Brennan told a University of Idaho audience in Moscow on Tuesday.

“Whether It’s terrible things like Penn State and the horrors of the sexual abuse there, or USA Gymnastics…but having conversations that maybe saved lives and saved young people.

“It’s probably like a 12 to 16 lane superhighway where sports and culture meet. It truly is. So many of our major issues in sports are also cultural issues,” Brennan said.

The longtime sports journalist delivered the keynote address at the annual Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium hosted by the U of I School of Journalism and Mass Media, part of the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences.

Brennan spoke of the historical significance of the passage of Title IX and of how sports were also about the good things.

“Thet’s the magic of sports,” she said. “It’s about what it brings out in all of us…at its core, at its heart, it’s about having your dreams come true.”

Brennan is the author of “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports.,” to be published In July.

In a career that has spanned more than forty years, Brennan has covered the past 18 Olympic Games, was honored by the NCAA and the Women’s Sports Foundation during the Title IX 40th anniversary celebrations in 2012 and has served as a commentator for national news networks.

Earlier in the day, Brennan participated in a U of I Renfrew Colloquium panel discussion on media coverage of women’s sports. Other panelists included Madison Campos, San Franciso 49ers; Cara Hawkins-Jedlicka, Washington State University; and Theo Lawson, the Spokesman Review.

We're pleased to announce that Theo Lawson, sports writer for The Spokesman-Review, will be part of Tuesday's panel discussion (12:30 p.m., UI Library first floor). He will join headliner Christine Brennan, San Francisco 49er media specialist Madison Campos and WSU faculty member Cara Hawkins-Jedlicka. JAMM adjunct professor Don Shelton, former editor of The Seattle Times, will moderate the discussion.
Lawson just returned to Spokane from Wichita, Kansas, where covered the Gonzaga men's basketball teams first two games in the NCAA tournament. He is a UI journalism graduate and was editor of the Argonaut his senior year.

🏀USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan will deliver the keynote address at the 13th Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Bruce M. Pitman Center Vandal Ballroom in Moscow.

Brennan, one of the nation’s most respected sports journalists, is the author of the forthcoming book “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports,” set for release in July. In her more than four decades of reporting experience, Brennan has covered the past 18 Olympic Games, was honored by the NCAA and the Women’s Sports Foundation during the Title IX 40th anniversary celebrations in 2012 and has served as a commentator for ABC News, PBS NewsHour and National Public Radio.

Earlier that day, Brennan will participate in a panel discussion on women’s sports media during the Malcolm Renfrew Interdisciplinary Colloquium, scheduled from 12:30-1:30 p.m. on the first floor of the U of I Library.

The panel will be moderated by Don Shelton, JAMM adjunct professor and former executive editor at The Seattle Times. In addition to Brennan, the panel also includes Madison Campos ’17, director of channel content for the San Francisco 49ers, and Cara Hawkins-Jedlicka, assistant professor of practice in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.

Since its inception in 2011, the Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium has brought nationally recognized journalists and media professionals to U of I to discuss pressing ethical issues in journalism. The symposium’s goal is to promote professional responsibility and ethical behavior by journalists and other media professionals.

The 13th Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium at the University of Idaho in Moscow will feature USA Today soorts columnist Christine Brennan on March 25.

Coverage from the Argonaut.

This year’s annual Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium is set to focus on the rise of women’s sports media coverage and the ethical questions it raises. Taking place on Tuesday, March 25, the symposium will involve a Renfrew Colloquium panel as well as keynote speaker, Christine Brennan.

Brennan, who is USA Today sports columnist, has also worked as a commentator for CNN, ABC News, PBS NewsHour and NPR. In her 40-year long career, she’s also covered 18 Olympic Games and is a three-time, Top 10 sports columnist.

The Renfrew Colloquium, titled, “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports: How the Rising Interest in Women’s Sports is Creating New Ethical Questions for Sports Media Professionals,” will feature two guest speakers. Madison Campos, the content director for the San Francisco 49ers and UI alum, as well as Cara Hawkins-Jedlicka,an expert on women’s sports media and professor at Washington State University, will be present.

The symposium, which will feature a variety of perspectives around women’s media coverage and the discussions around it, will ultimately center around the impact and effects that famed WNBA player, Caitlin Clark, has had on the media in recent times.

The Renfrew Colloquium will be held in the library from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. while the keynote address will take place later in the day in the Vandal Ballroom from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.



Story by: Paige Wilton
Photo by: John Keegan

Coverage from Inside the Vandals.

Coverage from the Moscow Pullman Daily News:

USA Today sports columnist to speak at UI event

USA Today sports columnist to speak at UI event Christine Brennan will deliver the keynote address at the University of Idaho’s Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium at 5:30 p.m.