Voices: A Library Lecture Series Schedule for Spring 2019 Semester Announced

January 15, 2019

Voices: A Library Lecture Series is offered each semester at Hudson Valley Community College to broaden and enrich the scope of studies at the college by presenting speakers on timely and enduring issues, and sharing these lectures and discussions with the community. All Spring 2019 lectures are 50 minutes long and are held in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium on the Troy campus at the times listed below. The public is welcome to attend; admission is free.

"One Like the Sea": Frederick Douglass’ Global Search for Democracy and Equality, 1886–1887
Tuesday, Feb. 5 from Noon - 12:50 p.m.
The Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Presentation
The activism of American abolitionist Frederick Douglass did not end with the abolition of American slavery. After suffering the loss of his home in Rochester, N.Y., due to arson and what he deemed “the spirit of Ku Klux,” Douglass toured Ireland, England, France, Italy, Greece, and Egypt seeking tools to combat scientific racism and discriminatory policies. Verdis Robinson, director of Community College Engagement at Campus Compact, will discuss Douglass' journey in search of democracy and equality.

A Place at the Table
Thursday, Feb. 21 from Noon – 12:50 p.m.
Jinah Kim has found that food is a powerful means of bringing people together and creating dialogue. Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen, a local Korean restaurant and bar in downtown Troy, was founded with the core mission of empowering immigrants and refugees through employment and educational opportunities. Join Kim as she recounts her family’s own story of resettling in the United States, as well as the journey she shares with many others to build the Sunhee’s social enterprise.

Conflict Resolution in our Community
Tuesday, March 5 from 1 – 1:50 p.m.
Whether it involves parents parenting separately, youth talking with other youth or the adults in their lives, neighbors not seeing eye to eye, or employees in a difficult situation with their employers, conflict creates anxiety. Sarah Rudgers-Tysz, executive director of Mediation Matters, will explore innovative approaches to meditating conflict.

Fresh Start: Preparing Teens for Post-Incarceration Using the Performing Arts
Wednesday, March 13 from 1 – 1:50 p.m.
In 2017, LUMBERYARD Center for Film and Performing Arts based in Catskill, N.Y., designed Fresh Start to engage 16- and 17-year old inmates at Hudson Correctional Facility in creative and challenging performing arts exercises to reinforce required education and programming. Jason Forrester, director of LUMBERYARD’s business development, will describe how imprisoned youth learn to express themselves in constructive and productive ways in preparation for post-incarceration. Fresh Start has now expanded to other juvenile facilities in New York State.

Lessons in Positive Psychology
Thursday, April 4 from 11 – 11:50 a.m.
Hudson Valley Community College Psychology Professor Andrew Schott, will explore positive psychology research that sheds light on life satisfaction. Can we be happier?

The Climate Crisis: Must we change? Can we change? Will we change?
Wednesday, April 17 from Noon – 12:50 p.m.
As the planet continues to warm, glaciers are melting, seas are rising, wildfires are worsening and stronger storms and droughts are threatening food supplies and displacing people. We need to change our ways in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Hudson Valley Community College Adjunct English Professor, Bonnie V. Cook, a certified Climate Reality Leader who recently trained with former Vice President and Noble Laureate Al Gore, will show Gore’s most recent presentation and talk about what we all can – and should – do.