Thursday, November 2
| 10:00 am-12:00 pm | CANCELED due to power outage: "Music Potpourri," ICL members: Sharon Wright, Don Gallegher, Sean Paul, Richard Wilcox, Brenda Kidder [Solveig Holmquist] See November 28th 1 pm to 3 pm |
Tuesday, November 7
| 10:00 am-12:00 pm | "Life-Guided Financial Planning," Brenna Baucum [Eric Reif], Kaneko Auditorium  The failure of financial literacy programs proves that financial planning information is best delivered with a life-guided approach: we learn best when what we're taking in has immediate applicability. For example: Do you have an estate plan that's up to date? Are you gifting in the most tax-efficient way? Is your portfolio invested appropriately for your short and long-term needs? If you answered "I'm not sure" to any of these questions, join us to learn from Certified Financial Planner™ professional Brenna Baucum. Using case studies from real clients, Brenna will provide life-guided examples of how interconnected these seemingly unrelated questions are and how comprehensive financial planning can ensure confidence in all areas of your financial life. She'll also offer guidance in navigating the financial industry to avoid unnecessary products, fees, and high-pressure environments and provide resources to find an advisor whose experience, structure, and skills make them the perfect thought partner for you. Brenna Baucum, CFP®, has lived in and loved on the Salem community for nearly 20 years. She owns and operates Collective Wealth Planning, a values-centered financial planning and wealth management practice. She specializes in tax-efficient planning for public employees, professors, and retirees. As the 2020 First Citizen's Outstanding Young Professional recipient, she loves supporting the organizations that make Salem livable and lovable. She serves as President of the Chemeketa Community College Foundation Board, a member of the Rotary Club of Salem, a gleaner for Salem Harvest, a food packer for the Marion Polk Food Share, a hanger-outer for Salem Warming Network, and a bleeder for the American Red Cross. |
| 1:00 pm-3:00 pm | "Women in Homer’s Odyssey," Ortwin Knorr [Ann Boss], Kaneko Auditorium 
In contrast with the Iliad’s almost exclusive focus on male heroes, the Odyssey virtually teems with interesting female characters. Dr. Knorr’s presentation will focus on these abundant and diverse female characters, and what these characters reveal about Greek gender relations 2,700 years ago. Homer doesn’t just deal in the usual stereotypes like the faithful wife vs. the evil, murderous adulteress. Instead, he portrays all kinds of women, good, bad, and in-between. Moreover, he shows women from all walks of life, from the aged and enslaved female who grinds the suitors’ grain, to respected queens who enjoy considerable power in their realms. Dr. Knorr will discuss Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, as well as women Odysseus encounters on his journeys -- the divine sorceress Circe, the nymph Calypso, the young princess Nausicaa, and female monsters such as the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, and the queen of the giant, man-eating Laestrygonians. Often, Homer sounds surprisingly modern, for example, when Calypso complains about the male gods’ double standards whenever nymphs love mortal men. Exploration of these characters and their roles and actions reveal that women play far more varied and interesting roles in the Odyssey than what most modern readers would expect. Dr. Ortwin Knorr is Professor and Chair of Classical Studies at Willamette University, and a frequent lecturer and supporter of ICL. Dr. Knorr also serves as the Director of the Center for Ancient Studies and Archeology, and he is Past President of the Classical Association of the Pacific Northwest (CAPN). His research focuses on Roman poetry and Roman Comedy. For more than 20 years, he has also taught a class on Greek and Roman Epic Poetry. |
Thursday, November 9
| 10:00 am-1100 am | "Forensic Anthropology," Misty Weitzel [Mark Olsen], Kaneko Auditorium  The general public is fascinated with death investigation. Forensic anthropology is ubiquitous in crime media such as tv shows, movies, podcasts and other media entities but is often portrayed in unrealistic and romanticized ways. In this presentation find out how popular fiction gets it wrong and how forensic anthropologists truly speak for the dead to protect the living. Misty Weitzel, Ph.D. is a Professor of Forensic Anthropology and Chair of the Criminal Justice Sciences Division at Western Oregon University. She holds a Ph.D. in bioanthropology/forensic anthropology from the University of Alberta, Edmonton and Master of Interdisciplinary Science from Oregon State University. Initially trained as a bioarchaeologist she has worked at sites in the U.S., Canada, Siberia, and Cyprus. She enjoys connecting students to the real world of forensic science and was honored to be the 2023 recipient of the Mario and Alma Pastega Award for Excellence in Teaching. |
| 11:00 am-12:00 pm | "The Dying Traditions and New Life of Oregon's Funeral Industry," Elizabeth Fournier [Dave MacMillan], Kaneko Auditorium 
Mortician Elizabeth Fournier will lead a lively discussion of the historical events that have helped change the landscape of the funeral industry here in Oregon. She's the owner and undertaker of Cornerstone Funeral in Boring, the first green funeral home in the Portland Metropolitan area.Elizabeth Fournier has dedicated her career to helping individuals access sustainable, meaningful and affordable burials and funerals. She was called to this work at the tender age of 13 after many family deaths. Elizabeth owns and operates Cornerstone Funeral Service out of a repurposed goat barn in Boring, Oregon, where she uses traditional burial practices that are kinder to humans and the Earth. In addition to her steadfast work as a funeral director, Elizabeth wrote The Green Burial Guidebook, gave a TEDx talk called, "Going Green: The Last Act of Environmental Volunteerism,” and is the voice of the autopsy exhibit in the forensic wing at the United States National Museum of Medicine. She worked with Herland Forest in Washington to steward the first natural organic reduction human composting. Elizabeth lives on a farm with her husband, daughter and several rescue goats and sheep. |
Tuesday, November 14
| 10:00 am-11:00 am | "The Humanity Gap in Artificial Intelligence," Jill Hollingsworth [Brenda Kidder], Kaneko Auditorium 
We will explore the individual and societal impacts of artificial intelligence through a humane technology lens.Raised on the Monterey Peninsula, Jill Hollingsworth has lived in Oregon off and on for the last 27 years. She’s a graduate of the University of Oregon (BA) and Cal State Sacramento (MA), and now considers Salem her home. While attending the University of Oregon, Jill secured a position as program coordinator for the Willamette Science and Technology Center in Eugene where she developed the Cybersisters program that matched University of Oregon women in science and technology-focused graduate programs with middle school girls to motivate the girls to pursue education in STEM fields, increase their science literacy and boost their technical proficiency. Her passion for technology reignited after reading a 2017 report released by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that assessed the extent Russia weaponized social media to influence the 2016 US elections and divide the US. Her interest in the AI algorithms that fueled this effort grew after she watched "The Social Dilemma,” and exploded after watching “The AI Dilemma” and interviews with former Google design ethicist, Tristan Harris. Shortly after taking a course through the Center for Humane Technology, she recognized a glaring need for public education and this is what led to her launching – Humane Tech Talk, LLC, a business that helps people understand the individual and social impacts of unharnessed AI. |
| 11:00 am-12:00 pm | "How the Terrarium Changed the World," Gregg Harris [Eric Reif], Kaneko Auditorium 
How could the discovery of the terrarium, in 1829, shift the geopolitical balance of power among nations, transfer trillions of dollars of wealth, save the lives of millions of people around the world and launch an international social/cultural movement within just three decades?! And, how is it that we are still dealing with both the positive and the negative effects of this discovery even to this day? In this presentation, Gregg Harris, owner of Silver Falls Terrariums, in Silverton, Oregon, delight-directed scholar of the history of terrarium horticultural and a Master Planter of terrariums since 1972, will answer all of these questions and more. As an internationally respected conference keynote speaker with over 256,000 alumni families around the world, he will use his professional-quality Powerpoint slides and charts to explain, not only how the terrarium effect works and why his own terrariums live beautifully for decades, but also how you can plant your own successful terrariums and avoid making the most common terrarium planting mistakes. Gregg Harris has studied the science and history of the terrarium since 1969 in Laguna Beach California, when, as a 17 year old runaway hippy he learned the hobby from older hippy friends. Since then, beginning in 1972, he has owned and operated 3 successful terrariums shops, including Roosevelt’s Terrariums in Portland, Oregon and now Silver Falls Terrariums in Silverton, Oregon (www.SilverFallsTerrariums.com.) Gregg studied Adult Education at the University of Dayton and Wright State University, being just 18 Classical Greek credits shy of receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. His various workshops, seminars and conferences on alternative approaches to education, family business, time management, hospitality and personal lifestyle design have been presented routinely since 1981. |
| 1:00 pm-3:00 pm | "Innovation in Undergraduate Science Education at Willamette University - The Department of Biology’s Microscopy Instructional Classroom," Jason Duncan [Brenda Kidder], Kaneko Auditorium 
Microscopy is a foundational skill in biology, particularly in the areas of molecular biology, cell biology, microbiology, botany, genetics, developmental biology, anatomy, physiology, and medicine. Training students in microtechnique - the basic principles of microscopy, including the underlying physical phenomena of light path and optics, and preparation of biological material - is essential to effectively preparing our students to be innovators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The demand for a workforce trained in multidisciplinary skills, such as those that are acquired with training in microscopy, is high in the STEM workplace. The Department of Biology at Willamette University recently acquired a suite of research grade compound microscopes and accompanying digital classroom technology to provide instructional faculty access to adequately configured microscopes to effectively engage, instruct, and train students in microtechnique, and serve the needs of students in mid-level research-based courses and upper-level senior thesis research. This presentation will detail the origin, construction, implementation, and impact of this new classroom technology on undergraduate science education at Willamette University. Associate Professor of Biology at Willamette University Specialty: Molecular Geneticist Ph.D., University of Southern California, Program of Molecular Biology, 2002 M.Sc., University of Manitoba, Department of Physiology, 1995 B.Sc. (Hons), University of Manitoba, Department of Zoology, 1993 |
Thursday, November 16
| 10:00 am-12:00 pm | "The Great Oxygen Crisis: Mass Extinction by Microbes," Vicki Pedone [Tom Ellis], Kaneko Auditorium
Cyanobacteria, the first photosynthetic organisms, evolved around 3.5 billion years ago, but did not become common and widespread until about 2.2 billion years ago. They wielded the lethal weapon oxygen--deadly to other organisms of ancient Earth. These single-celled microbes fundamentally changed chemical and biochemical processes of Earth, changing the planet from one that would be totally alien to us to one that we recognize. |
Tuesday, November 21
| 10:00 am-12:00 pm | "The History of Museums in the United States and The History of The Hallie Ford Museum," John Olbrantz [Brenda Kidder], Kaneko Auditorium 
There is a long history of museums of all types in the United States and we will be taking a broad look at this history in our first hour and the second hour we will take a deep dive into the history of the Hallie Ford Museum.John Olbrantz is The Maribeth Collins Director of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He holds a BA degree from Western Washington University and an MA degree from the University of Washington in the history of art, and a Study Certificate from the Getty Leadership Institute in arts administration and management. Throughout his long career, he has held museum directorships in Washington, California, and most recently, in Oregon. A specialist in ancient and American art, Olbrantz is particularly interested in Roman art, the history of archaeology, contemporary American art, and the history of museums. Over the years, he has written about the art and architecture of Roman Britain, ancient glass, Roman mosaics from Syria, the history of American Egyptology, the American discovery of the ancient Near East, and the 19th century Scottish artist and traveler David Roberts. |
| 1:00 pm-3:00 pm | "Great Decisions, Video Lecture: Economic Warfare," Mark Blackburn [Jeanette Flaming], Kaneko Auditorium  
What comprises economic warfare? How have these measures been used recently against Russia? Waging economic warfare consists of a variety of measures from implementing sanctions to fomenting labor strikes. Such tools are utilized by states to hinder their enemies, and in the case of the United States have been used as far back as the early 19th century. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, economic warfare has been the main means for the west to challenge Russia. How effective will these sanctions be at convincing Russia to cease its war? Mark Blackburn has been an ICL member since September 2022 |
Thursday, November 23
THANKSGIVING DAY NO CLASSES |
Tuesday, November 28
| 10:00 am-12:00 pm | "Attorney Licensure Reform," Brian Gallini [Brenda Kidder], Kaneko Auditorium 
Attorney licensure and legal education are poised for long overdo changes. On January 13, 2022, Oregon’s highest court unanimously approved “in concept” two new pathways to attorney licensure. The court’s vote paves the way for law graduates to demonstrate competency through methods other than the traditional bar exam. Dean Gallini will address how these pathways will empower law schools to focus more heavily on teaching students skills that the public needs and employers want.Brian Gallini is Dean and Professor of Law at the College of Law. Since he joined the College in March of 2020, the law school has recruited the largest and most academically well-credentialed 1L class in more than a decade, secured the second-largest gift in the College of Law’s history, posted the highest ten-month gold standard employment numbers on the West Coast, and has committed itself to critically evaluating its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through Gallini’s service on Oregon’s Alternatives to Bar Exam Task Force, he has also facilitated national conversations about reform to attorney licensure. Gallini is a leading scholar in criminal law and has developed seminars, taught overseas, and is regularly interviewed by local, state, national, and international media outlets to provide expert legal commentary. His scholarship focuses on law enforcement discretion issues in the context of interrogation methods, consent searches, and profiling. His work has been published in some of the nation’s top law journals, including the Washington Law Review, Hastings Law Journal, the George Mason Law Review--among others. That work is regularly cited by courts, recognized in legal blogs, and discussed in the media. His expert commentary has appeared in worldwide media outlets like ABC News, the Associated Press, the L.A. Times, and The Wall Street Journal. |
| 1:00 pm-2:00 pm | "Music Potpourri," ICL members: Sharon Wright, Sean Paul, Richard Wilcox [Solveig Holmquist], Kaneko Auditorium
Sean Paul: Neil Diamond Richard Wilcox: The Joyousl Pure Voice, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Mariza, Linda Ronstadt Sharon Wright joined ICL in September 1999 Sean Paul joined September 2023 Richard Wilcox joined September 2022 |
Thursday, November 30
| 10:00 am-12:00 pm | "Oregon Ballistics Lab," Justin Greeley [Vernelle Judy], Kaneko Auditorium 
One of the Blast Test Dummies will accompany Justin, along with examples of the other sensors and Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) used to collect information, when he comes to present his talk. ICL members will be invited onstage to touch and examine closely these complex and extremely useful pieces of equipment.Justin Greeley earned a BA in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon State University. He has worked at Oregon Ballistic Laboratories (OBL) since 2005. OBL primarily performs destructive testing on various forms of vehicle armor, glass, military and police body armor, and other forms of protective equipment, such as helmets and riot shields. That is done by many methods from shooting, blasting, and drop impacts, to beating on things with sledgehammers, axes, and a variety of other procedures. Each job is unique in its purpose and application. Justin is licensed by the US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and other branches of government to obtain, transport and possess and use explosives as well as construct and operate grenades, mines, and other explosive devices Justin is the Blast Test Director at OBL, and operates primarily from a blast site in the high desert about 30 miles southeast of Bend. He designs and oversees blast jobs. Beyond this, his specialty is in electronic data collection. This includes not only OBL’s three Hybrid III 50th Percentile Male Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) and associated instrumentation, but also 6 high speed cameras and dozens of other sensors to measure things such as blast pressure, acceleration, deformation, temperature, and force. These are captured on multiple different Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) selected specifically for each job and sensor technology. Then he organizes information and submits it to proper persons. He then repairs, maintains, and prepares the equipment for the next test. These skills are not taught in any class. Justin had to learn how to do this himself. |
| 1:00 pm-2:00 pm | "Israel/Palestine Conflict," Ned Rosch [Anita Owen], Kaneko Auditorium 
Israel-Palestine: Understanding root causes to change the paradigm!Raised in an observant Jewish family that strongly identified with Zionism, and named after a great-uncle killed in the Holocaust, Ned Rosch grew up with a profound connection to Israel where he worked on a kibbutz and studied at the Hebrew University. However, an evolving but deep personal commitment to people’s liberation struggles eventually transformed the way he viewed the Palestine issue. His early belief that Israel was the manifestation of a liberation struggle for the Jewish people gave way to his current understanding that Israel came into existence through the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people. One of Judaism’s most profound teachings is “Justice, justice thou shall pursue”. Consequently, he feels that the most Jewish thing he can do is to actively support the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice. Ned traveled to Gaza two months after the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza. His recollections of that experience - teaching yoga to people in refugee camps and bombed out apartment complexes are chronicled in his chapter in Stories of Personal Transformation: Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism, https://www.interlinkbooks.com/product/reclaiming-judaism-from-zionism. Ned returned to Gaza in 2020 and had hoped to go back again in October of this year to lead a yoga teacher training program. |