JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream co-founder Jerry Greenfield will be among this year’s speakers at East Tennessee State University’s Civility Week.

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. (Photo courtesy of ETSU)

Civility Week, which the university calls “an intentional period of connection, conversation and reflection on the university community’s core values,” will take place from March 23– April 4.

Greenfield and fellow Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen wrote the best-selling book “Ben & Jerry’s Double-Dip: How to Run a Values-Led Business and Make Money, Too.” Their company is not only known for its popular ice cream flavors but also for its socially progressive values.

Greenfield is scheduled to speak at 6:30 pm. on Tuesday, April 4 at the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts. A question-and-answer session will follow, and Greenfield will help serve ice cream afterward, according to ETSU.

The event is free and open to the public.

“As we collectively strive to navigate the aftermath of the pandemic and our society continues to wrestle with difficult economic, social and environmental questions, we hope this year’s Civility Week will offer members of the university community an opportunity to engage in those difficult conversations here on campus while also strengthening their own ability to have productive and meaningful dialogues and debates around some of our world’s most complex topics,” Joy Fulkerson, director of leadership and civic engagement in ETSU’s Student Life and Enrollment, said in a release.

Other Civility Week events will include:

  • A moderated discussion featuring Deborah Douglas and Amber Payne, co-founders of The Emancipator, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, in the ballroom of the D.P. Culp Student Center.
  • A World Languages and Cultures Festival from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Monday, March 27, in the Cave of the D.P. Culp Student Center.
  • A presentation by Auburn University religious historian Dr. Adam Jortner on Tuesday, March 28, at 7 p.m. in the East Tennessee Room of the D.P. Culp Student Center.
  • A TEDxETSU, with a theme of “Beyond,” is Monday, April 3, at 7 p.m. in the ballroom of the D.P. Culp Student Center.

The university says a complete schedule of Civility Week events will soon be posted online.