All of the lectures in the semester-long series, called “Health Care Change? Health, Politics and Money,” begin at 7:30 p.m. in Edwards Auditorium on the URI Kingston campus. They are free and open to the public.
Gruber has taught economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1992, and his research on public finance and health economics has lead to the publication of over 140 articles. In 2006, Modern Healthcare Magazine named him the 19th most powerful person in health care in the United States, and in 2011, Slate Magazine named him “One of the Top 25 Most Innovative and Practical Thinkers of Our Time.”
A former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, Gruber served as a consultant to the 2008 presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. He was a key architect of the Massachusetts health reform effort in 2003-2006, and he worked with Congress and the Obama Administration in 2009-2010 during the crafting of the Affordable Care Act.
The remaining speakers in the colloquium series include Stephanie Chafee, co-founder of the Rhode Island Free Clinic (Nov. 13); Michael Fine, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health (Nov. 27); and Unni Karanukara, international president of Doctors Without Borders (Dec. 10).
Other colloquium events include the URI Theatre presentation of the play Marvin’s Room, a dark comedy that deals with family care and end of life issues, on Oct. 11-14 and 18-21, and the medical musical comedy, Damaged Care, on Dec. 4.
Those unable to attend the lecture can watch it live online at URI Live! 
All remaining lectures will be streamed live at www.uri.edu/hc, where the complete schedule of events is also listed. For additional information about the URI Honors Colloquium, contact Deborah Gardiner at debg@uri.edu or call 401-874-2381.
The major sponsor of the Honors Colloquium is the URI Honors Program, with sustaining sponsors including the URI Office of the President, Office of the Provost, the Mark and Donna Ross Honors Colloquium Humanities Endowment, and the Thomas Silvia and Shannon Chandley Honors Colloquium Endowment. Leadership sponsors include the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, the college of Pharmacy, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Multicultural Center, and the Department of Communications and Marketing. Also sponsoring the Honors Colloquium are Cox Communications, the College of Business Administration, Department of Publications and Creative Services, College of Engineering, College of Nursing, College of Human Science and Services, Division of Administration and Finance, Division of Student Life, and Department of Communication Studies of the Harrington School of Communication & Media.
Victoria Antonelli, a senior journalism major and intern at URI’s Marketing and Communications Department, wrote this press release.