Thought-Provoking Topics Featured at Luncheon Seminars

Schemel Forum World Affairs Luncheon Seminars offer something for everyone with lively discussions on pressing global and cultural topics.
Speakers for The University of Scranton Schemel Forum’s spring semester World Affairs Luncheon Seminars are, from left: Richard Greene, former senior advisor and counselor to UNICEF Executive Director; Steven D. Hales, Ph.D., professor of Philosophy, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania; Cynthia M. Otto, DVM, Ph.D., director, Penn Vet Working Dog Center and professor of Working Dog Sciences and Sports Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Lauren Baillie, J.D., senior program officer, Atrocity Prevention, U.S. Institute of Peace;Theresa MacPhail, Ph.D., medical anthropologist, writer, and associate professor of Science and Technology Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology; Jill Dougherty, former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief, and adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies. The series is sponsored by Munley Law. Reservations are required to attend the luncheons.
Speakers for The University of Scranton Schemel Forum’s spring semester World Affairs Luncheon Seminars are, from left: Richard Greene, former senior advisor and counselor to UNICEF Executive Director; Steven D. Hales, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania; Cynthia M. Otto, DVM, Ph.D., director, Penn Vet Working Dog Center and professor of Working Dog Sciences and Sports Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Lauren Baillie, J.D., senior program officer, Atrocity Prevention, U.S. Institute of Peace;Theresa MacPhail, Ph.D., medical anthropologist, writer and associate professor of Science and Technology Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology; Jill Dougherty, former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief, and adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies. The series is sponsored by Munley Law. Reservations are required to attend the luncheons.

The University of Scranton’s Schemel Forum will feature informative and energizing discussions on pressing global and cultural topics during the spring semester World Affairs Luncheon Seminars.

The series will feature six seminars in total. All will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be held on the University’s campus. In addition, a Zoom link will be provided for those who wish to attend remotely. The luncheon series is sponsored by Munley Law.

The series opens Thursday, Feb. 13, with “Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine: Humanitarian Responses and Challenges” presented by Richard Greene, former senior advisor and counselor to UNICEF Executive Director. The luncheon seminar will be held in Brennan Hall, Rose Room.

With a decades-long career in government and nonprofit service, Greene most recently worked supporting UNICEF’s emergency humanitarian response efforts worldwide, particularly in the Middle East, Africa and Central America. Greene will highlight realities in key places of conflict and crisis and discuss the challenges facing humanitarian responses today.

On Wednesday, Feb. 26, Steven D. Hales, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, will present “Values and Choices in Art Restoration.” The luncheon seminar will be held in the DeNaples Center, McIlhenny Ballroom.

Dr. Hales has published 13 books and several dozen articles, and was recently visiting senior professor at the University of Cambridge in England. A professional-level hand bookbinder and restorer, Dr. Hales developed an interest in the restoration of books while in graduate studies at Brown University. There, he met a rare book binder who taught him the age-old skill of hand-binding books from his private studio. That experience, said Dr. Hales, “got me thinking about issues in restoration of books … and the interplay among different values that restorers have to consider.”

During the luncheon presentation, Dr. Hales will engage the audience in discussion about three salient types of value to consider in the restoration of any type of art or artifacts: relic, aesthetic and practical. While these are all legitimate values, a restorer can’t maximize them all, said Dr. Hales. Typically, as you maximize one value, you devalue the others.

The restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral following its tragic fire demonstrates the careful balancing of restoration values, said Dr. Hales. The Cathedral has been restored back to the period in which it was built using construction techniques of that time, yet its restoration gives a nod to modern concerns such as fire prevention in building elements.

The spring luncheon series continues Wednesday, March 12, with the seminar “How Dogs Save Our Lives.” The seminar will be presented by Cynthia M. Otto, DVM, Ph.D., director, Penn Vet Working Dog Center and professor of Working Dog Sciences and Sports Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and will be held in Brennan Hall, Rose Room.

In her work as a veterinarian, Dr. Otto began working in emergency and critical care. This led to an interest in search and rescue dogs, which ultimately placed her at the site of the World Trade Center following 9/11 and “impacted my view of what dogs can do,” she said.

During the presentation, Dr. Otto will discuss how dogs use their sense of smell, how they communicate that to us, and how it helps us in a wide range of situations, from search and rescue to cancer diagnosis and conservation, among other areas.

“There are so many ways to partner with dogs to use their noses to give insight into a world we cannot see,” she said.

Dr. Otto will also discuss what dog owners can do to help with mental stimulation, fitness and health of pets to enhance their quality of life and longevity.

You don’t need to be a dog owner, or even a dog lover, to appreciate this seminar, said Dr. Otto. “If you’re curious about life and things around you, it’s going to be of interest to you.”

On Friday, March 28, Lauren Baillie, J.D., senior program officer, Atrocity Prevention, U.S. Institute of Peace, will present “The United States Institute of Peace: Strengthening U.S. Capacity to Prevent, Mitigate, and Resolve Violent Conflict.” The luncheon seminar will be held in Brennan Hall, Rose Room.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical and essential for U.S. and global security. This lecture will introduce USIP’s efforts to prevent and respond to mass atrocities.

On Wednesday, April 30, the luncheon series will explore the topic “Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World,” presented by Theresa MacPhail, Ph.D., medical anthropologist, writer and associate professor of Science and Technology Studies at Stevens Institute of Technology. The luncheon seminar will be held in Brennan Hall, Rose Room.

In her new book, Dr. MacPhail sets out to unravel the mystery of why the number of people diagnosed with allergies has been steadily increasing over the last half-century, placing a growing medical burden on individuals, communities, families and our healthcare system. Through a holistic and historical examination of allergies, Dr. MacPhail will discuss allergies from their first medical description in 1819 to recent innovations. She will present surprising discoveries and connections among climate change, pollution and biologists, underscoring how interconnected our bodies are to our environments.

“I hope that attendees will take away a better understanding of the relationship between their immune cells and the invisible worlds around them, and marvel at how ancient and intricate our immune systems really are,” Dr. MacPhail said.

The spring luncheon series wraps up on Friday, May 9, with Jill Dougherty, Russia expert, former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief, and adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies. Dougherty will discuss “My Russia: What I Saw in the Kremlin” at the luncheon, which will be held in the DeNaples Center, McIlhenny Ballroom.

At the height of the Cold War, Dougherty and her twin sister began studying the Russian language. It launched her on a journalistic career that would span half a century, reporting on Russia for CNN from the White House, the U.S. State Department and Moscow. In her new book, My Russia: What I Saw in the Kremlin, Dougherty recounts her experiences in Russia, her reporting on Russia’s leaders, and her encounters with Vladimir Putin. During the luncheon, she will present her book and predictions for where Russia is headed.

Admission to the seminars is free for University of Scranton and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students, faculty, staff and Schemel Forum members. For non-members, the seminars are $30 in-person (buffet lunch included) and $15 for remote access.

To register for the seminars, call 570-941-4740 or email schemelforum@scranton.edu. Or, to pay online, visit: www.scranton.edu/schemelforum.

Additional Schemel Forum events can be found on the Schemel Forum’s webpage.

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