Faculty Emeriti Association - Lectures

The Faculty Emeriti Association is sponsoring a series of lectures that are open to the MSU community. The series offers Faculty Emeriti opportunities to hear about interesting topics and to become reconnected with the campus.

Parking: Parking is available in front of the Radiology Building. Additional parking is also available in the lot adjacent to the Radiology Building. Take the ticket to the lecture to have it validated.

If you are interested in attending the upcoming lecture, please Register here.

2007-08 FACULTY EMERITI ASSOCIATION LECTURES

Please check back for information on future lectures.

The Verdehr Trio: Making Music Around the World

Elsa Ludewig-Virdehr and Walter Verdehr

Date: Friday, May 30th
Time: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM (2:00 p.m. for refreshments)
Place: Radiology Auditorium
Free parking is available in the Radiology parking lot. (east of the MSU Clinical Center on Service Road)
(Remember to bring your parking ticket to the lecture to be stamped)

Traffic Note: Please check on the detour problems associated with reaching the Clinical Center Campus as a result of the railroad underpass construction project. It will probably be best to enter Service Road from Hagadorn Road.

An acknowledged leader in the field of new music, the Verdehr Trio has defined the personality of the violin-clarinet-piano ensemble while creating a large body of repertoire which includes works by some of the worlds most prominent composers. A large number of commissioned works for the Trio have been made with the support of Michigan State University. The experiences connected with presenting new music around the world will provide rare insight into the lives of Walter and Elsa Verdehr, two of MSU’s most prominent faculty.

Walter Verdehr, born in Yugoslavia first received violin instruction at the Conservatory of Music in Graz, Austria, The Julliard School and at the Vienna Academy of Music on a Fullbright Scholarship. He was chairman of the String Department and has received the Distinguished Faculty Award from MSU. In the U.S. and Europe he has been soloist with numerous orchestras and has made solo recordings with Golden Crest Records and Crystal Records. He and Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr founded the Trio at Michigan State in 1972.

Elsa Ludewig-Virdehr studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and at the Eastman School where she earned a Performer’s Certificate and a Dr. of Musical Arts. She has performed frequently in the U.S. and Canada as a recitalist, clinician and soloist with numerous Orchestras and, of course, performed all over the world with the Trio. She was awarded a Distinguished Faculty Award at Michigan State University where she is Professor of Music and was recently named a Distinguished University Professor.

The Many Faces of Islam

Mohammed Ayoob,University Distinguished Professor of International Relations, James Madison College and Department of Political Science, Michigan State University

Date: Thursday, April 24
Time: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM (2:00 p.m. for refreshments)
Place: Radiology Auditorium
Free parking is available in the Radiology parking lot. (east of the MSU Clinical Center on Service Road)
(Remember to bring your parking ticket to the lecture to be stamped)

Professor Ayoob's presentation will cover the major arguments made in his recently published book The Many Faces of Political Islam, which attempts to portray the political manifestations of Islam in all their diversity and to make the point that such manifestations are primarily contextually driven. The presentation will make the argument that political Islam, like Islam itself, is not a monolith and can only be analyzed within the discrete contexts provided by different nation-states. It will also shed light on related issues such as the compatibility or incompatibility of Islam with democracy and whether political Islam is inherently violent. It will attempt to address the issue of the transnational extremist manifestations of Islam and place groups such as al-Qaeda within the larger universe of political Islam. Finally, it will look at the complex relationship between the United States and Islamist political movements since the end of World War II in order to decipher why political Islam, which was seen as an ally by the United States from the early 1950s to the end of the 1980s, is now perceived in antagonistic terms. Below is the link to the page on the University of Michigan Press website that features Professor Ayoob's book.

http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do;jsessionid=C3B08B7E9A7756584C037314E774ED12?id=189346

Mohammed Ayoob is University Distinguished Professor of International Relations with a joint appointment in James Madison College and the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University. He is also Coordinator of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University. He is known primarily for his work in two areas: (a) issues of conflict and security in post-colonial countries and their relationship with the process of state-making, and (b) the interaction between religion and politics the Muslim world. The two books by him that exemplify his work in these areas are: The Third World Security Predicament: State Making, Regional Conflict, and the International System (1995) and The Many Faces of Political Islam (2008). He has authored, co-authored and edited 12 books and published over 90 papers in leading journals and as chapters in edited volumes. His latest article titled "Challenging Hegemony: Political Islam and the North-South Divide" was published in the Winter 2007 issue of International Studies Review.

“MICHIGAN IS COUGAR COUNTRY”

Dennis Fijalkowski, Executive Director of the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy

Date: Thursday, March 27
Time: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM (2:00 p.m. for refreshments)
Place: Radiology Auditorium

Free parking is available in the Radiology parking lot. (east of the MSU Clinical Center on Service Road) (Remember to bring your parking ticket to the lecture to be stamped)

The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy has rediscovered the cougar (Puma concolor) in Michigan. In 2001, this non-profit organization proved the existence of the big cat in the Upper Peninsula with a variety of evidence including tracks, cougar-killed deer, and DNA from scats (droppings).

In April 2006 the Conservancy and Central Michigan University published their research of Michigan’s cougars in the American Midland Naturalist, a peer-reviewed scientific journal of Notre Dame University. This research was the first scientific documentation of a cougar population East of the Great Plains, outside of Florida, in American history. On October 5, 2006 the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reluctantly acknowledged the credibility of Conservancy research that proved Michigan had cougars. However, the DNR maintains the big cats are not wild, resident or breeding in Michigan, instead just released pets or transients from South Dakota.

The Conservancy’s discovery, and subsequent proof, lends credibility to the large number of sightings of cougars in Michigan throughout the 20th century. Dennis Fijalkowski has Masters degrees in both Wildlife Ecology and Forestry. He has worked his entire career in the private sector, starting with more than five years at the Michigan United Conservation Clubs. For two years Fijalkowski was a private environmental consultant, his primary client being the Michigan Senate. In 1982 he co-founded the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy and has been the Executive Director since. He also co-founded the Michigan Chapter of The Wildlife Society and the Michigan Wild Turkey Federation. Fijalkowski is active in farmland and open space preservation and moving society towards environmental sustainability.

Stem Cells: Their Potential Role in the Cause, Prevention and Treatment of Human Disease

Jim Trosko, Professor, Department of Pediatrics/Human Development

Date: Wednesday, January 23
Time: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM
Place: Radiology Auditorium

The news of human stem cells has reached the lay, scientific, medical, business and political communities as few other scientific discoveries have done so. How to distinguish the real scientific and medical potentials from "political and scientific hyperbole" will be attempted. In addition, a unique approach to the study of human stem cells will be discussed as coming from the understanding of the cause of an important disease, i.e., cancer, rather than from trying to cure any disease with stem cells.

Wind Power: Renewable Energy Option for the Future

Stephen Harsh, Professor, Agricultural Economics

Date: Wednesday, December 12
Time: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM
Place: Radiology Auditorium

This presentation will focus on how the recent heightening of concerns regarding global climate change is impacting U.S. energy policy and the role renewable energy sources, particularly wind power, will play in addressing these concerns. Professor Harsh will discuss the current status of the U.S. wind industry, wind power development options, the economics of wind energy, and opportunities for implementation in Michigan. Professor Harsh is in his 40th year as a member of the MSU faculty working in the field of agribusiness management. Currently he is conducting research in the renewable energy area with an emphasis on wind power, serves as the coordinator of the extension energy thrust and is involved with teaching at both undergraduate and graduate level.

Diversity and Inclusion at MSU in a post-Proposal 2 Environment: Debunking the Myths and Confronting the Challenges

Paulette Granberry Russell

Date: Thursday, October 25
Time: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM
Place: Radiology Auditorium

On November 7, 2006 a majority of the voters in the State of Michigan passed an amendment to the State’s Constitution banning discrimination and prohibiting preferential treatment on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, sex, and national origin in public education, employment, and contracting. Ms. Russell will briefly outline the provisions of Proposal 2, the myths currently prevalent regarding what can and cannot be done to achieve a diverse campus community, and the role that faculty emeriti can play in building and sustaining an inclusive MSU.

Help! I'm Eating Genetically-Modified Food

Bob Hollingworth
Professor Emeritus
Department of Entomology and National Food Safety & Toxicology Center

Date: Wednesday, September 19
Time: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM
Place: Radiology Auditorium

If you have been living in the USA for the last decade, you and your family have been consuming food made from or by genetically-modified organisms. Most people in Europe refuse to eat such food. Do they know something we don’t? We’ll talk about how genetically modified crops are made, what is in the GM foods you eat, and what kind of risks may arise for people who eat them. Finally we’ll look at the future and explore what kinds of new genetic modifications are in the pipeline, including work at MSU – if the public will accept them.

Past Lectures:

2006-07 FACULTY EMERITI ASSOCIATION LECTURES

Future of Nuclear Physics at MSU
Michael Thoennessen
Professor and Associate Director, Department of Physics & Astronomy
June 27

The Changing Life and Times of MSU Faculty: a 40 Year Perspective
Robert F. Banks
Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources, MSU
April 26, 2007

Memory and Aging: It's Not All Downhill
Rose T. Zacks, Professor
Psychology Department, MSU
March 21, 2007

The Great Lakes Salmon Story
Howard Tanner
Chair and Professor Emeritus, Fisheries and Wildlife
September 16, 2006

Health Benefits: National and Local Perspectives
Pamela Beemer
Assistant Vice President for Human Resources
Monday, October 16, 2006

Media Body Images and Eating Disorders
Bradley Greenburg
University Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication and the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media
January 11, 2007

2005-06 FACULTY EMERITI ASSOCIATION LECTURES

Reading for Your Life
Gordon Rohman
Professor Emeritus, English
Thursday, March 30, 2007

Reflections on Environmental Geography Behind Human History
H.J. DeBlij
Distinguished Professor, Geography
January 12, 2006

Saints' Rest 2005: An Exploration of MSU's First Dormitory
Lynne Goldstein
Chair, Anthropology
November 29, 2005

Human Diversity and Change
James Potchen
Chair, Radiology
October 24, 2005

The MSU Faculty Emeriti Opportunities Program held an introductory seminar from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. June 2 in room 10B Nisbet Building. The seminar, presented by David R. Rovner, professor emeritus, was “Medical Decision Making: When are decisions the Best That Can be Made.” The lecture was open to the public. Below are some pictures from the seminar:

Lecture Series