Faculty Brown Bag Series Continues posted 1/28/09
February dates announced

ADRIAN, Mich. – Adrian College is pleased to announce that the Faculty Brown Bag Scholarship Series will continue throughout the month of February. The three dates offered are Friday, Feb. 6 at 12:00 P.M., Monday, Feb. 9 at 12:00 P.M., and Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 4 P.M. The first two presentations will take place in Knight Auditorium and the presentation on Feb. 18 will take place in the Shipman conference room located in the Shipman Library.

Dr. Elizabeth Lamprecht, department chair of mathematics, will start the February series on Feb. 6 and will be speaking about “George Polya: His study of the methods and rules of discovery.” Polya is well-known for his research and teachings on problem solving. The presentation will explore Polya’s four principles and consider his contributions to the field of mathematics education. Lamprecht received her PhD from the State University of NY, and specializes in Statistics Education, Statistical Quality Control, Probability and Mathematical Statistics and Bandit Problems.

The second presentation will be given on Feb. 9 by Dr. Tony Coumoundrous, assistant professor of philosophy who specializes in Ancient Philosophy, Ethics, Political Philosophy and History of Philosophy. Coumoundrous will discuss “Tyranny before Plato.” He will discuss the ways ancient Greek authors used the term “tyranny” and its derivatives before Plato. This discussion intends to ground our historical understanding of the perennial phenomenon of tyranny and to reveal several similarities between the ancient Greek usage of political terms and our own. Coumoundrous received his PhD from Duquesne University.

The final presentation of the month will be given on Feb. 18 by Mr. Charles Vanderwell, professor of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice, and Ms. Susan Nichols, associate professor, Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice. They will be presenting “Multi-measure Assessment of Objective Attainment: The Social Work Program Self-Study Results.” The Social Work Program has been collecting data on attainment of program objectives for three years. They will be presents the results of this self-study. This presentation will be held in the Shipman Conference Room located in Shipman Library.

The 2008-2009 Faculty Brownbag Scholarship Series is focusing on scholarly work that discusses and extends the mission of Adrian College with a particular emphasis on social justice issues. All presenters are Adrian College faculty and staff members. This year’s series is focused on the College’s 150th anniversary which takes place in 2009. Each presenter will incorporate the College’s mission statement in some way into their presentations.

Knight Auditorium is located in Valade Hall off of Williams St. All sessions are free and open to the public. Everyone is encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch if they so choose. More information may be obtained by visiting http://www.adrian.edu/faculty_staff/accet/brown_bag.php.