Newsletter Volume 7 Issue 9 January 6, 2021 |
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Our Lunch Colloquiums last year ended with a delightful program by George Brown on Armchair Travel. Thanks to Jan Pratt, you can read about that below. The idea of virtual travel created a lot of interest among many of our members who are very seasoned travelers and who are missing many travel opportunities due to the pandemic. George’s talk spurred Ron Gould and Marilynne McKay to offer an “Emory Virtual Travel Guides” seminar series beginning next month. More information about that is below, as well as directions to let them know of your interest in participating. The seminar should be both a lot of fun and very educational.
We begin this year with a fascinating talk next Monday by Tony Martin focused on what one can learn about both natural and human histories of the Georgia Isles almost hidden clues. The following week we will have yet another Lunch Colloquium concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, with Polly Price exploring the legal issues involved. This is an extremely important topic that is relevant not only for the current pandemic but perhaps even more so for the next pandemic that we will surely face.
I hope you all appreciate being able to read reports about our Lunch Colloquiums. Even if you were in attendance for the talks, the reports can give new insights about what was presented. Below is a call for additional writers and I hope you will respond. Most of us have had to do some type of writing in our careers and we would like to give more of you an opportunity to share the writing of these reports. It is not necessary to be an expert in the topic! Also, given our virtual talks, you don't even have to live close by to contribute to this effort. Volunteering in advance will be a great help for our Mind Matters Committee and will be much appreciated. You also don't have to volunteer for a specific date--you can just let the committee know you would be willing to help with the writing.
It is with great pleasure that we announce three members who are being awarded Bianchi-Bugge awards for this year. We are very fortunate to have an endowment that will support funding for our members’ scholarly activities. It is also always a celebration to be able to welcome new members and I hope you will reach out to the new members listed below.
It appears that demand for mock interviews by pre-health students is over for this year, and I want to thank the members who have done a total of 58 interviews, as well as Dianne Becht who has scheduled all of those interviews and sent out the appropriate interviewing materials. It has been a lot of work, but has been a very valuable service for these students, and we have already heard from several students who let us know how grateful they were for the practice, as they had been accepted to their first-choice school!
I am very grateful to Gretchen Schulz, Ann Hartle, and Marge Crouse for help with editing and proofing.
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Lunch Colloquium - Monday, January 11
Tony Martin
“Tracking the Golden Isles: What Traces Tells us about the Natural and Human Histories of the Georgia Coast”
Please scroll to read more below
Lunch Colloquium - Tuesday, January 19
Polly Price
“Pandemics and the Law of Social Distancing”
Please scroll to read more below
Seeking Volunteers
Seeking Volunteers for our Roster of Reporters
Please scroll to read more below
Report - Lunch Colloquium - Monday, December 14
George Brown
"We Celebrate the Holidays with the Arm Chair Traveler"
Please scroll to read more below
Emory Virtual Travel Guides Seminar
Please scroll to read more below
New Members
Please scroll to read more below
Bianchi-Bugge Excellence Awards
Please scroll to read more below
PHA Mock Interview Program
Please scroll to read more below
Walking the Campus with Dianne
Please scroll to read more below
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Lunch Colloquium - Monday, January 11, 2021 |
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“Tracking the Golden Isles: What Traces Tells us about the Natural and Human Histories of the Georgia Coast”
Tony Martin
Professor of Practice, Department of Environmental Sciences
Zoom Meeting
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
The Georgia coast is world-famous for both its natural and human histories. Still, the evidence for these histories isn’t always obvious to casual visitors. In this lively presentation based on his new book, Tracking the Golden Isles, Anthony (Tony) Martin will teach us how to detect and understand the clues to these histories via ichnology, the study of traces. In his talk you will learn how trace fossils enabled geologists to find ancient barrier islands, how modern traces tell stories of animals’ everyday lives, and how human traces – ranging from Native American shell rings, to the effects of invasive species, to the consequences of climate change – have affected the Georgia coast.
About Tony Martin:
Anthony (Tony) J. Martin is a paleontologist and geologist who specializes in ichnology, the study of modern and ancient traces caused by animal behavior, such as tracks, trails, burrows, and nests. He is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Emory, where he has been for 27 years. He teaches a variety of courses in paleontology, geology, and the environmental sciences on campus and in field courses, including study-abroad programs.
Along with his interest in the ichnology of the Georgia barrier islands – summarized in his earlier book, Life Traces of the Georgia Coast (2013, Indiana University Press) and revisited in his newest book, Tracking the Golden Isles (2020) – Professor Martin has studied modern traces and trace fossils from elsewhere in the U.S. and other countries. In addition to his seven books thus far, he has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed articles and abstracts on traces and trace fossils made by plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates representing the past 550 million years of the geologic record. His research results and discoveries have been reported by The New York Times, the BBC, National Geographic News, Smithsonian Magazine, Wired, and Australian Geographic.
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Lunch Colloquium - Tuesday, January 19, 2021 |
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“Pandemics and the Law of Social Distancing”
Polly J. Price
Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law, Professor of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health
Zoom Meeting
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
COVID-19 familiarized many Americans with “social distancing,” a term encompassing a variety of actions intended to mitigate spread of contagious disease. Elected leaders (especially state governors) varied remarkably in their attitude toward social distancing, especially for business and school closures, size limits on gatherings, dining at indoor restaurants, travel restrictions and quarantine policy, and the use of face masks. The dizzying patchwork of COVID-19 policies looked more like the response of fifty different nations than that of the resource-rich and technologically advanced single nation that we are. Some governors opposed mandates in favor of voluntary compliance on the grounds that citizens should be “allowed to exercise their constitutional freedoms,” as Governor Kemp stated. Polly J. Price will explain the law of social distancing, and why it can vary so markedly between states. Who decides what safety measures are necessary? Where is the line between emergency mandates and what sometimes seem to be a politically-charged view of constitutional freedoms? When might public health orders violate individual rights? The answers to these questions inform the prospects for legal reform in advance of the next pandemic.
About Polly J. Price:
Polly J. Price, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, is also Professor of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health. She has published widely on public health law and regulatory policy, federalism, immigration, property rights, and the judiciary. In 2017, Price was named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, a distinction awarded to a small group of scholars, journalists, and authors whose work addresses the most pressing issues of our day and serves to strengthen US democracy. Her fellowship-supported project will result in a book, Plagues in the Nation (forthcoming from Beacon Press), about challenges for control of contagious disease in a democratic system of governance. In 2018, Price was named the winner of the Supreme Court Historical Society’s 2018 Hughes Gossett Award. Beyond the academy, Price has been honored by election to both the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation.
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Sharpen your pencils! Or flex those fingers for typing!
As members of the Emory University Emeritus College, you receive the Emeritus College newsletter and there read the reports on the Lunch Colloquiums organized by members of the Mind Matters Committee—a great service for those who have missed a presentation or who just want to revisit one they’ve particularly enjoyed.
As a member of the Mind Matters Committee, I have been working with Gretchen Schulz to recruit Colloquium reporters. We had some really wonderful reports this past fall from Anna Leo, Brooks Holifield, Jim Keller, Holly York, Angelika Pohl, Liza Davis, Marianne Skeen, Ron Gould, Jim Roark, Denise Raynor, and Mike Kutner. Our thanks to all of them.
And I might note that, sometimes, our presenters thank our reporters, too. In fact, when Deboleena Roy read Denise Raynor’s article about her presentation in the newsletter of December 16, she wrote the following:
What a fantastic article! Honestly, this is the best and most accurate review of my work I have seen to date. Please extend my heartfelt thanks to Denise for such a close and attentive reading of my presentation and book project. I am touched by her scholarly generosity.
I hope that all of our reporters to date will be willing to write for us again, but there may be others of you who would like to volunteer. We are currently recruiting reporters to cover the January and February Colloquiums. The Colloquium speakers and topics are listed on the Emeritus College website, beginning with Tony Martin’s presentation on January 11, on tracking the natural and human histories of the Golden Isles of the Georgia Coast. Those of you with homes along that beautiful coast and/or wonderful memories of vacations spent there might be especially interested in what he’s got to say—and in sharing a review of what he’s got to say with others who can’t be with us on Monday.
Please take a look at the online info on upcoming Colloquiums and see if there is one (or maybe two?) on which you might like to report. If so, please email me at jprat01@emory.edu. I’ll be in touch to let you know if we’re taking you up on your kind offer—and will identify you to the speaker on the day of the Colloquium and arrange for you to have a copy of his or her PowerPoint (etc.) and an early copy of the recording of the Colloquium itself to assist you with the assignment. As perusal of earlier newsletters archived online will show you, the reports generally run at least 500 words, but may run much longer if you prefer. And like length, content will be up to you, though Gretchen and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have and happy to provide a little light editing before publication, too. Thank you again to our past reporters and anticipatory thanks to any new volunteers, as well.
--Jan Pratt
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Lunch Colloquium Report - Monday, December 14, 2020 |
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“We Celebrate the Holidays with The Armchair Traveler”
George Brown
Retired President/CEO of Friendship Force International
On Monday, December 14, for the last Emeritus College Lunch Colloquium of the fall semester and of the calendar year, 2020, members were treated to a presentation by George Brown, the retired President and CEO of the Friendship Force, the international citizen exchange organization with people-to-people programs in more than 60 countries. George had presented this program at the recent meeting of GA-HERO, the Georgia Association of Higher Education Retirement Organizations, where several of our members heard it and decided to bring it to the Colloquium participants generally as a special holiday gift.
Like all of us who like to travel, George has been sidelined in 2020 by the pandemic. Unable to take the trips he had planned himself or take others on the trips for lifelong learners that he has been organizing since he retired from the Friendship Force, he began to reconsider something that he admitted he was initially rather lukewarm about – Armchair Travel. In the past he had always been politely bored by slide presentations about people’s trips and thought virtual travel was definitely not for him. But, as he explained, he began to develop a new view of Armchair Travel and its possibilities. After all, given the resources available to us online, we can roam the globe (and areas closer to home, as well) and investigate issues of history, geography, and culture from our chairs.
As George explained, there are three requirements for travel of this kind. First, the Armchair Traveler is relaxed in a comfortable chair, perhaps with beverage in hand. Second, the traveler is committed to exploring, doing research into a place, digging deep into its history and culture, perhaps by developing a theme such as music, art, architecture, or cuisine. In this regard, he suggested consulting sites such as Armchair Travel Co., which sponsors virtual tours, or reading books such as the Ultimate Guide to Armchair Travel published by Conde Nast. Regular travel guides and also essays and books with personal accounts of travel can provide insights, too. George mentioned three books to illustrate these genres, In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin, Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, and Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams.
Both fiction and non-fiction may also be useful reading for a would-be traveler (in time or space). His examples of some of his own favorites were Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (which takes readers to “visit” people building a medieval cathedral much like Salisbury), Through a Glass Darkly by Donna Leon (which take readers to contemporary Venice where Commissario Brunetti solves mysteries), and Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose (in which readers can retrace the steps of Lewis and Clark). Of course, one book may lead to another. Reading about the construction of the Eiffel Tower and the ironwork involved led George to read a book about the construction of the Statue of Liberty and its iron skeleton.
His recommendations of a comfortable chair and some interesting research (to taste) completed, George turned to the third requirement for an Armchair Traveler—reflection. After a virtual trip as after a real one, a traveler should reflect on his experiences. And it’s never too late to do so. He suggested that each of us identify a top 10 list of our travel experiences and consider what it was about those experiences that made them so special and memorable. He illustrated his own top 10 example with a photograph he took on June 26, 1969, driving through the Wye Valley in Southern England. Unexpectedly, he and his companion, came across the ruins of Tintern Abbey (of Wordsworthian fame) in its beautiful setting. It was the unexpectedness that made this experience especially memorable. He has learned that a traveler should always be prepared for the unexpected.
Further he suggested that a traveler should not hesitate to return to the same memorable place again. One place that he once visited all-too-hurriedly was Salisbury Cathedral. He has since returned and taken time to learn and absorb the history of the place. Staying for Evensong on that return visit, sung that night by the boys’ choir, he felt a connection with the place which he has since renewed several times. Finally, he noted that a traveler should not be afraid to go to a famous site that has been visited and photographed by thousands upon thousands of travelers—fearful that it might disappoint. One such site he has visited is Uluru in the red center of Australia. It is difficult and expensive to reach this massive rock formation, and he was sure it would not meet expectations, but in fact, it more than did so. It is surely a magical place, and he now understands why it has been so much visited and is held holy by generations of Aboriginal Australians. The lesson here is that the traveler should reflect on his own experience, not the experiences of others.
In concluding his presentation, George reminded us that Armchair Travel is a wonderful way to explore and enjoy the world ANYTIME. Nevertheless, George admitted he is looking forward to getting back to real travel—both on his own and with the travel groups he organizes. It is likely to be different from the past when we took travel for granted. There will probably be masks, and before we are allowed to proceed, we may have to produce evidence of vaccination or a recent negative test for COVID-19 or meet other new requirements not necessary prior to 2020.
George’s next real, non-Armchair trips are tentatively scheduled for September and October 2021. Let us hope for his sake and for and ours that we are all able to travel by then!
--Jan Pratt
AN INVITATION FROM GEORGE BROWN:
In the last two weeks of October 2021 George and his non-Armchair travel company GTB are planning to celebrate the end of pandemic isolation by offering prospective travelers the classic experience of a seven-day transatlantic cruise from New York to Southampton on the Queen Mary 2, followed by nine days in England, including three days in London and six days in the medieval city of Salisbury, staying within the cathedral grounds there with visits to nearby Bath, Stonehenge, Winchester, Wells, Glastonbury, and Avebury readily available, plus all the pleasures of local pubs, lovely footpaths, weekly markets, storied estates, and lush gardens. Though the tour is already “about half full with a good group of people,” George says he “would be glad to have others from among Emory retirees join, as well.”
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Emory Virtual Travel Guides Seminar |
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If you Zoomed into the Christmas Colloquium on December 14, you heard George Brown's excellent talk on Armchair Travel, where he proclaimed the joys of taking a closer look at venues we visited before the world shut down. George inspired a lot of discussion and, since then, many EUEC members have expressed interest in trying our own version of Zoom exploration.
We, Ron Gould and Marilynne McKay, have volunteered to initiate an “Emory Virtual Travel Guides” seminar this spring to meet at regular intervals from late February through April. For presenters, or tour guides, if you will, we’re seeking people offering more than "what I did on my vacation." We’re hoping for some in-depth looks at various cities, states, countries, or regions. Topics could be history, geography, literature, art, music, architecture, religion, food, drink, science, education, industry, events, or whatever else the speaker thinks might be interesting. Photos can be shared via PowerPoint, and we can also circulate reading materials via a shared folder or internet link.
This first two-month seminar will meet weekly or alternate weeks, depending on the number of volunteer presenters. We’d like to divide a 90-minute session into segments and allow for plenty of discussion time. Thus, presentations should be 45 minutes or less. Thursday has been a good meeting day for us in the past, since it doesn’t conflict with the Monday-or-Tuesday Colloquiums.
If you’re interested in being a part of this seminar, please contact either Ron Gould (rg@emory.edu) or Marilynne McKay (mmckay@emory.edu) before February 1, 2021.
Please include the following information in your response:
Name
Contact information (phone and/or email)
Possible topic(s) (in very general terms)
Estimated length of presentation (just a guess for scheduling purposes)
Which of the following times would work best for you? (identify more than one if possible)
Thursdays from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Thursdays from 1:30 to 3:00 pm
Thursdays from 2:30 to 4:00 pm
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New members are the lifeblood of any organization.
Please make a special effort to welcome them to EUEC!
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Carolyn D. Drews-Botsch, PhD, Professor Emerita of Epidemiology
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Sheryl G. A. Gabram-Mendola, MD, MBA, FACS, Ada Lee Correll Chair and Professor Emerita in Surgery
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After joining Emory in 2005 as a breast surgical oncologist and professor of surgery, Dr. Gabram-Mendola led numerous initiatives focused on decreasing disparities for breast cancer, was named a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar in 2007, established the inaugural breast surgical oncology fellowship in the School of Medicine that same year, and directed the highly successful Avon Comprehensive Breast Center at Grady, which has been consistently accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) starting in 2010. She was named the Principal Investigator on the AVON Foundation Emory Winship Cancer Institute Grant in 2009 until the program ended nationally in 2018.
In 2009 she was appointed deputy director of Grady Health System's Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence, and in 2011 began serving as Surgeon-in-Chief and Chief of the Division of Emory Surgery at Grady. She was named the inaugural Ada Lee Correll Academic Chair in Surgery in July 2019. During her tenure at Grady, Dr. Gabram-Mendola recruited over 20 faculty; oversaw the expansion of services in the areas of acute care surgery, burns, surgical oncology, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and plastics; and doubled the patient volume of the clinical breast program.
Dr. Gabram-Mendola is currently a member of the board of directors of TurningPoint Breast Cancer Rehabilitation, continuing her focus on disparities and improving access to rehabilitation and survivorship care for all women diagnosed with breast cancer. In January 2021, she will assume the position of Chief Scientific Officer with the Georgia Center for Oncology, Research and Education (CORE), an organization that was formed through public and private collaborations nearly 20 years ago, with the mission of “advancing cancer care through partnerships and innovation.”
“I am proud to accept the honor of Emory Emerita Professor of Surgery and looking forward to the next phase of my career, fulfilling my passion of continuing to provide access to high quality cancer care, by bringing together exceptionally accomplished individuals and organizations across local hospitals, community and academic programs to positively impact the lives of cancer patients throughout the state of Georgia.”
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Kurt F. Heiss, MD, Professor Emeritus of Surgery
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Affiliate Members
Ronald S. Hosek, PhD, DC, MPH
Ron Hosek, husband of member Marilynne McKay, has been a faculty member at Marquette University, the University of Miami, and Life Chiropractic College in Marietta, GA. Like many of our members, he is now “semi-retired.”
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Bianchi-Bugge Excellence Awards |
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It is a great pleasure to announce the results of the Bianchi-Bugge Excellence Awards for this year. The awards are funded through the Bianchi Excellence Fund, named in honor of the co-founder of the Emeritus College, Eugene Bianchi, Professor Emeritus of Religion, which was established largely by his own very generous bequest to Emory, as well as by contributions from many of his retired colleagues. After the death of John Bugge, our other co-founder, gifts in honor of John were made to the Bianchi Excellence Fund, and those gifts have greatly enhanced the fund corpus. With Gene Bianchi's enthusiastic blessing, the awards from this expanded fund are now named in honor of both of our co-founders.
The Awards are meant to advance the interests of the Emeritus College by providing its membership with financial support for ongoing intellectual activities by means of small, strategic grants to cover expenses incurred in pursuit of a broad range of activities, including, among others, research and writing, lecturing, training, development of teaching materials, and presentations at academic conferences.
Awards for this year were made to the following members:
Dalia Judovitz, NEH Professor Emerita of French, to cover the costs incurred in procuring photo and museum rights and reproductions from museums for her chapter “Monetary Exchanges and Artistic Gambles in Georges de La Tour,” in the volume Embodying Value: Representing Money in the Early Modern Period to be published by Amsterdam University Press.
Carol Newsom, C. H. Candler Professor Emerita of Old Testament, for her publication project on the Dead Sea Scrolls, The Thanksgiving Psalms (Hodayot), to be published in The Oxford Commentary on the Dead Sea Scrolls by Oxford University Press.
Stephen Nowicki, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology Emeritus, to fund new projects associated with his long-term project “A Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.”
Congratulations to these members for their continuing scholarship! Thanks to the Awards and Honors Committee consisting of Chair JIm Roark with members Donna Brogan, Marianne Scharbo-Dehaan, and Jim Keller for administering these awards.
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PHA Mock Interview Program |
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Since 2017, we have been offering mock interviews to undergraduate students as preparation for interviewing at medical and dental schools. These interviews are arranged through the Pre-Health Advising Office (PHA) and are intended to help with general interview skills and not to supply students with "correct" answers. As good as our undergraduates are, many have had little experience in interview situations and those who have participated in these interviews are grateful for the opportunity to meet with our members in an interview situation. The number of students participating in previous years has been limited in part by a fairly rigorous screening process in the PHA. Members conducted 21 interviews in 2017, 12 in 2018, and 13 in 2019.
This year has been a very different situation for interviews. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical school interviews are being conducted virtually. This meant that it would be very helpful to offer virtual interviews and members have been very supportive in volunteering. A total of 58 interviews have been conducted since August! Many thanks for making this process work are due to Dianne Becht, for each request results in many emails to the member volunteers and the students to find a mutually agreeable time and then to schedule separate Zoom meetings for each interview.
These members conducted the interviews:
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Not only is this program a great opportunity for our students, but the members who conducted the interviews enjoyed the interaction with the students. Although we all wish that we could get back to meeting in person, Zoom does open up new possibilities. As just one example, Judy Raggi Moore and Nick Krawiecki are in Florida, Gerald Staton is in North Carolina, and Fereydoon Family is in California!
Thanks to all of the volunteers for participating in this program.
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Walking the Campus with Dianne |
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Happy New Year everyone!!
It's been a while since I've actually walked on campus, so I'm raiding my old stash of photos. I'm hoping to resume my on-campus walks and eventually get a chance to step inside some of our buildings, but until the pandemic allows, it will be outdoor views for the time being. This next photo shows something I visited a few months ago and as far as I know, it is still in place, so let's start the year with something artsy, something a bit odd, something very green.
Where will you find this on the Emory Campus?
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Emory University Emeritus College
The Luce Center
825 Houston Mill Road NE #206
Atlanta, GA 30329
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