Colorado College Notable Lectures & Performances

Susan Ashley, Dean of the College and Dean of the Faculty, and Trustee Neal Baer, MD, '78 speak to parents about the benefits of a liberal arts education. Recorded May 22, 2011.

America is at a crossroads in its history. The world is changing rapidly. How we react to these changes, among them global climate change and shortages of key energy resources, will determine whether we prosper or flounder. Unfortunately, extremely powerful forces now prevent us from enacting the measures required to build a truly sustainable future based on a renewable energy economy. Dan Chiras is a visiting professor of environmental science and director of The Evergreen Institute in east-central Missouri. Recorded April 27, 2011.

This year President Richard Celeste will award the 2011 Champion of the Rockies Award to conservationist, advocate for free speech, and author of "Refuge," Terry Tempest Williams. Terry Tempest Williams will then address the audience with several selected readings. Recorded April 4, 2011.

David Philipps talks about his book, a chronicle of the Army unit from Fort Carson that was plagued by post-traumatic stress disorder. Misdiagnosed or untreated since returning from war, some soldiers from the unit embarked on drug-fueled crime sprees, some of which resulted in murder. Recorded March 1, 2011.

Anti-racist writer and activist Tim Wise has spoken to more than a million people in 49 states, and on over 500 college campuses, including Harvard, Stanford, and the law schools at Yale, Columbia, and Vanderbilt. He has trained teachers as well as government, corporate, media, entertainment, military, and law enforcement officials on methods for dismantling racism in their institutions, and has served as a consultant for plaintiff's attorneys in federal discrimination cases in New York and Washington State. Recorded February 23, 2011.

Van Jones is the best-selling author of "The Green-Collar Economy." Jones is currently a senior fellow at the Center For American Progress. Jones also holds a joint appointment at Princeton University as a distinguished visiting fellow in both the Center for African American Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Recorded March 3, 2011.

Suzanne Jones and Sloan Shoemaker give an insight into the role of environmental group and public involvement in the forest decisions made by the government concerning the future of our national and state forests. Suzanne Jones is the central Rocky Mountain regional director of the Wilderness Society and Sloan Shoemaker is the executive director of the Aspen Wilderness Workshop. Recorded January 31, 2011.

Nolan Doesken is a state climatologist who has been monitoring Colorado�s climate for decades. Mike King is the executive director of Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Their combined expertise will offer a unique view of Colorado forests from a Colorado government perspective. Recorded December 6, 2010.

Veteran globe-trotting correspondent Willy Stern will talk about his experiences as the only journalist to have been inside Afghanistan's "secret" prisons. Stern found many surprises in these facilities, including conjugal huts, a first-rate toy box in a women's prison, brand-new 40" flat screen TVs, and a fleet of golf carts. Stern was even invited back for tea in the jail cells by the Taliban! He will share an inside look at the U.S. military's new strategy on detentions and interrogations in this ragged, war-torn country. Recorded November 15, 2010.

Tony Dixon is the deputy regional forester of the Rocky Mountain Region and Jan Burke is the forest health coordinator for the White River National Forest. Their talk stems from their many years of experience working for the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado and examines the White River National Forest in Northwestern Colorado. Recorded November 8, 2010.

David Weddle, professor of religion, will present his new book on miracles. The work examines the enduring interest in miracle stories in five world religions from tales of flying yogis and rebbes with healing power to levitating bodhisattvas, miracle-working saints, and disappearing Sufi masters. Recorded November 9, 2010.

Phi Kappa Visiting Scholar Jack Goldstone will lecture on global population trends and their significance. Recorded November 4, 2010.

Opening Convocation marks the beginning of Colorado College's 137th academic year. Angela Cobian '11 and Vincent Bzdek '82 address those gathered. Recorded September 6, 2010.

Timothy Egan gives a talk titled, "Big Burn: the lasting legacy of the nation's largest wildfire." His talk is based on his new book, The Big Burn- Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America, a New York Times Bestseller and winner of 2009 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. Mr. Egan is also author of The Worst Hard Time, winner of the national book award for nonfiction and an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, writing his weekly "Opinionator" section. Recorded October 18, 2010.

Candace Falk, Goldman biographer and director of the Emma Goldman Papers Project, will uncover the history and legacy of this influential American anarchist. Since 1980, the Emma Goldman Papers Project at the University of California-Berkeley has collected, organized, and edited tens of thousands of documents by and about Goldman from around the world. The leading authority on Goldman, Falk is the author of "Love, Anarchy, and Emma Goldman" (1984). Recorded September 23, 2010.