Lakeland College

Subscribe

 

Great Thinkers

As part of the Sesquicentennial, we are proud to present the Great Thinkers Series.

Our 2012-13 lineup of speakers offers thought-provoking presentations on some of today's critical topics, including leadership, business, science, environmental issues, religion and education. The lectures are free, open to the public and begin at 11 a.m. in the Bradley Theatre, unless noted.

Opening Convocation Lecture
Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012
Lonnel Coats, president and CEO, Eisai Inc.
Lonnel Coats joined Eisai Inc. in 1996 as a regional sales director, but quickly advanced through a series of positions, culminating with his appointment as president in 2004. He led the creation of Eisai's managed care group, helped build the company's U.S. presence in neurology and primary care and has worked with the clinical development team on numerous products. After being named vice president of human resources in 2001, he was instrumental in establishing a five-year vision for the company. In his current roles as president and CEO of Eisai Inc. and president of Eisai Corporation of North America, he is responsible for the strategic direction of the U.S. business. In 2007, the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association honored Coats as its Mentor of the Year, an annual award bestowed upon one man in the industry who has demonstrated long-term support for the advancement of women in the healthcare industry.

"Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe"
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012
Alex Filippenko, professor of astronomy and the Richard & Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Professor in the Physical Sciences, University of California, Berkeley
Alex Filippenko, an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, is one of the world's most highly-cited astronomers. He is the recipient of numerous prizes for his scientific research, and was a member of the teams that discovered the accelerating expansion of the Universe, which will be the subject of his Lakeland presentation. This discovery was voted the "Top Science Breakthrough of 1998" by Science magazine and received the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize and the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. Filippenko was voted the "Best Professor" on campus a record eight times and was named the Carnegie/CASE National Professor of the Year in 2006. He has produced several astronomy video courses for The Teaching Company, and appears in numerous television documentaries, including dozens of episodes in "The Universe" series on The History Channel.

"Good Food Revolution"
Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012
Will Allen, founder and executive director, Growing Power, Milwaukee
Named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2010, Will Allen was awarded the 2008 MacArthur Genius Fellowship for his efforts to promote sustainable farming methods in low-income neighborhoods. With more than 50 years of experience in farming, marketing and distributing food, today he shares his knowledge with youth, adults, community groups, migrants, farmers and consumers. Allen will discuss his belief that food is the cornerstone of healthy communities and that we have a responsibility to pass our knowledge to youth and adults about sustainable food systems. He was honored in 2005 with the Ford Foundation's "Leadership for a Changing World Award," and is a featured speaker on Food Systems worldwide. He is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, and in February 2010 was invited to the White House to join First Lady Michelle Obama in launching "Let's Move!" her program to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity.

"The Peculiar Career of Aunt Jemima: Race and Stereotypes in U.S. Culture"
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012 - 7 p.m.
Emilie Townes, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology, Yale Divinity School
Emilie Townes is an ordained American Baptist clergywoman and teacher and has research interests focused on Christian ethics, womanist ethics, critical social theory, cultural theory and studies, postmodernism and social postmodernism. Her specific interests include health and health care; the cultural production of evil; analyzing the linkages among race, gender, class and other forms of oppression; and developing a network between African American and Afro-Brazilian religious and secular leaders and community-based organizations. Her lecture will explore the history and development of racial stereotypes in the U.S. Among her many publications are "Breaking the Fine Rain of Death: African American Health," "Womanist Ethic of Care; Womanist Justice, Womanist Hope;" and "In a Blaze of Glory: Womanist Spirituality as Social Witness." Prior to her appointment at Yale, she was the Carolyn Beaird Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York. She served as president of the American Academy of Religion in 2008.

Founders Day
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013,
"When 'Spiritual but not Religious' is Not Enough"
Lillian Daniel, senior minister, First Congregational Church, Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Before her time at First Congregational Church in Glen Ellyn, Ill., Lillian Daniel spent 14 years in Connecticut where she led two churches. She is the author of "Tell It Like It Is: Reclaiming the Practice of Testimony," which is the story of one church's attempt to get mainline Protestants to talk to each other about God. With Martin B. Copenhaver, she co-authored "This Odd and Wondrous Calling: The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers," a humorous and honest look at the ministry. Her lecture will address the question of "spiritual" vs. "religious" in contemporary culture and how we find God in all kinds of unexpected places, even the church. Daniel hosts the Chicago-based public television program "30 Good Minutes." An editor-at-large for the Christian Century Magazine, and a contributing editor at Leadership, her work has also appeared in The Huffington Post, Christianity Today, Leadership Journal, Books and Culture, The Journal for Preachers and in daily email devotionals available at ucc.org. In October 2010, she received the distinguished alumni award from Yale Divinity School for "Distinction in Congregational Ministry."

"We Believe"
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Paul Adams III, founder and president of Providence St. Mel School, Chicago
In 1971, Paul Adams III was hired as director of guidance for Providence St. Mel School, a private Catholic high school in Chicago. One year later, he became the principal. When the Archdiocese of Chicago withdrew funding from the school in 1978, Adams spearheaded a national campaign to raise money for the school. Donations poured in from across the country, allowing Adams to transition Providence St. Mel into a not-for-profit independent school. Over the next two decades, Adams successfully transformed Providence St. Mel into a premier college preparatory learning institution for African American students. Under Adams' leadership, 100 percent of Providence St. Mel's graduating seniors are accepted to four-year colleges, with more than 50 percent today attending top-tier and Ivy League institutions. His talk will focus on the dynamics that have shaped his life and philosophy of education, as well as his views on how American education is failing our children.

Two other annual Lakeland lectures will be included as part of the Great Thinkers Series: the Constitution Day lecture in the fall, and the Charlotte and Walter Kohler Distinguished Business Lecture in the spring. Speakers, dates and times will be announced in future Lakeland magazines.

Share This Story

 

Digg del.icio.us Yahoo Google Facebook Technorati

<< Return to News