Margaret Waterman Alumnae Group

Waterman Board Meeting
2021-06-08 09:30 (America/Detroit) | Virtual Meeting, by Zoom
Zoom meeting; invitation will be sent to board members prior to the date.

Town Hall: Sean Hartley
2021-05-19 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual Lecture, by Zoom
“Musicals That Changed Broadway”
– Sean Hartley is the director of Theater@Kaufman, the musical theater division of the Kaufman Music Center. He curates, produces and often hosts the series Broadway Close Up and Broadway Playhouse. As a lyricist, composer and/or playwright his productions include Cupid and Psyche, Little Women (Syracuse Stage, Village Theater), Love and Real Estate (written with composer Sam Davis) and Snow, which won the ASCAP Harold Arlen Award for Best New Musical. He is currently writing lyrics for Prelude to a Kiss, based on Craig Lucas’s play, with book by Mr. Lucas and music by Daniel Messe. His works for television include songs for the Disney Channel’s The Book of Pooh and Bear In the Big Blue House. His theater works for children include Number The Stars (adapted from the Newbury Medal book by Lois Lowry), Sunshine (based on a book by Ludwig Bemelmans, music by John O’Neill) and Vashti!, and Holy Moses! (both with books by Bob Kolsby.) He is a proud member of the faculties of Special Music School, One Day University and Lucy Moses School.
(Note that if social distancing allows there may be a luncheon scheduled for this lecture)

Waterman Annual Meeting
2021-05-19 12:15 - 13:00 | Virtual Meeting, by Zoom
The meeting will be held on Zoom before the final 2020-21 Town Hall lecture.

Town Hall: Carol Berkin
2021-04-14 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual Lecture, by Zoom
“Revolutionary Mothers”
– This former Presidential Professor of History brings the early days of our country to life as she examines the times, the issues and the personalities of our Founders. She explodes myths of the American Revolution, examines the evolution of the US Constitution from concept to passage, and sheds light on some early crises that actually put our new republic in peril. By gaining a better understanding of our country’s birth, audiences can extrapolate that knowledge to gain a better understanding of the issues of today. So many of the hurdles we face as a nation today are stunningly similar to the issues of the late 18th century.
(Note that if social distancing allows there may be a luncheon scheduled for this lecture)

Waterman Board Meeting
2021-03-09 09:30 - 11:30 | Ann Arbor District Library – Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr., Ann Arbor, MI, 48103

Town Hall: Joseph Luzzi
2020-11-17 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual Lecture, by Zoom
“The Power of Literature in a Time of Crisis”
– Joseph Luzzi is an award-winning author and widely sought after speaker whose recent books include My Two Italies, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, History, and the Mysteries of Love, a Vanity Fair “Must-Read” selection. He received his PhD from Yale and is Professor of Comparative Literature at Bard College. An active critic and cultural commentator, Luzzi’s essays and reviews appear frequently in the New York Times, Times Literary Supplement, and Chronicle of Higher Education, among many others. His presentation topic is From Twain to Toni Morrison: A Literary Journey Through America.

Waterman Board Meeting
2020-11-10 09:30 - 11:30, 2020-09-09 09:30 - 23:30 | TBD

Town Hall: Colin Woodard
2020-10-06 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual Lecture, by Zoom
“American Nations: The Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America”
– An award-winning author and journalist whose books include American Nations: A History of The Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America, which was named a book of the year by The New Republic and The Globalist and won the Maine Literary Prize for Non-Fiction, and The Republic of Pirates: Being The True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down, a New York Times bestseller. A longtime foreign correspondent, he reported from more than 50 foreign countries and seven continents for The San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Chronicle of Higher Education before joining the staff of the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram, where he won a 2012 George Polk Award was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.

TBD Waterman Board Meeting
2020-06-09 09:30 - 11:30 | Zion Lutheran Church, 1501 W Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48103, United States
First meeting of newly elected board will be held when and how circumstances permit. Look for a meeting announcement by email.

CANCELLED Waterman Annual Meeting
2020-05-13 10:15 - 11:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
For all Waterman members. Election of new board and review of the year.

Waterman Board Meeting
2020-03-10 09:30 - 11:30, 2019-11-12 09:30 - 11:30, 2019-09-10 09:30 - 11:30, 2019-06-11 09:30 - 11:30 | Zion Lutheran Church, 1501 W Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48103, United States

Waterman Member Social Event - Authors/Illustrators Michael and Colleen Monroe
2019-11-19 11:30 - 13:30 | Paesano Restaurant, 3411 Washtenaw Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
For Waterman members and their guests. Enjoy a great lunch followed by a presentation by Michigan’s own Michael and Colleen Monroe. Their books will be available for purchase…great gifts for children.
Cost: $45 per person. Questions and RSVPs to Sue Holdaway-Heys.

Town Hall: Tina Rivers Ryan - Art Historian and Critic
2019-11-13 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Art Historian Tina Rivers Ryan is currently Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY. Dr. Ryan earned a B.A. from Harvard, three Master’s Degrees, and a Ph.D. from Columbia, and specializes in art from the 1960s to present day, with a focus on the uses of new media technologies. She has taught at the Museum of Modern Art, the Pratt Institute, and Columbia, where she was one of the top-ranked instructors of the introductory course, Art Humanities: Masterpieces of Western Art. A regular critic for Artforum, her writing has also appeared in periodicals such as Art in America and Art Journal, and in catalogs published by museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Tate. As a public speaker and scholar, Dr. Ryan has delivered lectures on topics ranging from Michelangelo to Warhol in more than 50 international cities.

Waterman Member Social Event - Author Sharon McRill: Downsizing the Silver Tsunami
2019-10-29 10:00 - 11:30 | Ann Arbor City Club, 1830 Washtenaw Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
For Waterman members and their guests. Sharon McRill, owner and president of the Betty Brigade, an organization and relocation company in Ann Arbor, will discuss her work and book “Downsizing the silver tsunami: who to call and where does the stuff go?” Cost is $30 and includes her best-selling book. Space is limited; please reserve early by contacting Sue Holdaway-Heys. (view event flyer)

Town Hall: James Delgado, Underwater Explorer, Archaeologist, Journalist and Historian
2019-10-15 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
James Delgado, maritime archaeologist, has spent decades in the fascinating world of underwater exploration, from diving in the shallows to supervising cutting-edge modern expeditions that have spanned the seven seas. He has worked on some of the most famous shipwreck sites in history, such as the RMS Titanic and the USS Arizona. His expeditions have solved long-standing undersea mysteries, brought closure to families, and connected the modern world with powerful, human stories from the past.
Within the span of his career, Mr. Delgado has hosted the popular TV show, The Sea Hunters; was the Director of the Maritime Heritage Program at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and is currently the Senior VP of SEARCH, Inc. He is the author of more than 30 books, numerous magazine and newspaper articles, and is a frequent TV guest on breaking news stories.

Waterman Member Social Event at the Kelsey Museum
2019-09-19 10:00 - 11:30 | Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, 434 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States
For Waterman members and their guests. Carrie Roberts from the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology will give a lecture on “Ancient Color in the Roman World.” Cost: $15.00. Contact Susan Holdaway-Heys for more information or to RSVP.

Interpreter of American and European Music - Orin Grossman
2019-05-23 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Orin Grossman has been delighting audiences the world over with his unique approach to performing and explaining great American and European music. Dr. Grossman began piano theory instruction at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the age of five. He studied music at Harvard College, graduating magna cum laude and continued his studies at Yale University, earning a Ph.D. in Music. Dr. Grossman became Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Fairfield University in 1975. In 1991 he was named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. After ten years as the Academic Vice President at Fairfield University, he returned to the faculty in the fall of 2009 as Professor of Visual and Performing Arts. Dr. Grossman is in demand as an interpreter of the music of George Gershwin, playing his songs and classical compositions around the world, including Italy, Egypt, and Australia. In St. Petersburg, Russia, he performed Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and premiered Gershwin’s “Second Rhapsody” to a standing ovation.

American Historian, Authority on Lincoln and the Civil War - Louis Masur
2019-04-16 11:30 - 13:30 | MI
Louis Masur is a Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History at Rutgers University. A graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and Princeton University, he is a cultural historian who has written on a variety of topics. His most recent work is Lincoln’s Last Speech: Wartime Reconstruction & The Crisis of Reunion (2015). His essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. He has also written for the American Scholar; the Chronicle of Higher Education; the news and opinion website, Salon; and the online magazine, Slate. Mr. Masur has been elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Society of American Historians and has received teaching prizes from Harvard University, the City College of New York, and Trinity College. He lectures frequently for One Day University, and some of his most popular topics are: “Learning from Lincoln, How the Civil War Transformed America” and “Hamilton vs. Jefferson: The Rivalry that Shaped America.”

Fire House Museum Tour
2018-12-06 13:30 - 14:30 | Fire House Museum, Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Thursday, December 6, 2018, 1:30-2:30 pm
The Museum, located in the historic district of Ypsilanti’s Depot Town, features an original 1898 firehouse complete with bunk area and brass pole. The entire Museum encompasses a total area of over 26,000 square feet.
A docent led tour will showcase the exhibits that focus on the history of fire fighting in the State of Michigan and fire fighting technology.
There are some lovely restaurants in Depot Town if you’d like to grab lunch before the tour.
Fee: $15 Capacity: 25
Registration Deadline: November 30th
Please make checks payable to: Waterman Alumnae Group and mail to
Anne Bennington-Helber, 1890 Encore Lane, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Questions: Please contact
Anne Bennington-Helber at ecogal123@aol.com,
723-649-3370 or Sue Holdaway-Heys at shhart@aol.com.
All proceeds go towards the Waterman Scholarship Fund

Author, Newspaper Columnist, Speaker - Rochelle Pennington
2018-11-14 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Rochelle Pennington is an award-winning newspaper columnist and is the author of ten books including Highlighted in Yellow (available in four languages; co-authored with H. Jackson Brown), The Historic Christmas Tree Ship (featured on national television), and An Old-Fashioned Christmas (a Midwest Booksellers Choice Award nomination for outstanding non-fiction, 2009). Her work has been included in multiple bestselling series over the past two decades. Ms. Pennington has worked as a consultant providing story and quotation recommendations to several of the publishing industry’s most noted authors including Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul, H. Jackson Brown of Life’s Little Instruction Books, Dr. Richard Carlson of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and Alice Gray of Stories for the Heart. Ms. Pennington is both a lively storyteller and an entertaining lecturer. Her popularity as a presenter is evidenced by the many invitations she receives to return and speak on further topics.

Test Social Event 1
2018-11-01 08:00 - 17:00 | Clements Library, 909 S University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States
Here is a test social event for our page.

Generational Study Pioneer - Chuck Underwood
2018-10-16 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Chuck Underwood is one of the founding scholars who pioneered the field of generational study. As founder/principal of The Generational Imperative, Inc., he travels throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe for consulting assignments, training seminars, research, and keynote speaking engagements. He also authors magazine and newspaper columns, guest lectures at colleges, and is regularly interviewed for generational news stories by national magazines, newspapers, radio, and network television. Mr. Underwood is the creator and host of the national television PBS series, America’s Generations with Chuck Underwood. The miniseries presents the life stories, thus far, of the Silent, Boomer, Gen X, and Millennial generations and does so with humorous, poignant, and unforgettable storytelling. His book The Generational Imperative: Understanding Generational Differences: In the Workplace, Marketplace, and Living Room remains the most comprehensive presentation of generational dynamics and business strategies available today.

Bestselling Author - Denise Kiernan
2018-04-24 11:30 - 13:30 | University of Michigan Union Ballroom, 530 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States
Denise Kiernan has been working as a writer for nearly 20 years. Her most recent book, The Girls of Atomic City, is a New York Times, LA Times, and NPR bestseller. Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Village Voice, Ms. Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Discover, and many more publications. She has also worked in television, serving as head writer for ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” during its Emmy award-winning first season, and producing for ESPN and MSNBC. She has been featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” “PBS NewsHour,” MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” and the “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. In one of her most popular talks, Ms. Kiernan takes audiences back in time to a world where young women and men lived and worked surrounded by top secrecy as the United States faced the challenges of World War II in such situations as the Manhattan Project. Ms. Kiernan enthralls audiences with this story of adventure, intrigue, sacrifice, and controversy.

Waterman Annual Meeting
2018-04-24 10:15 - 11:15 | Michigan Union – Parker Room, 530 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
The Waterman Alumnae Group will hold its annual meeting prior to the final Town Hall Luncheon & Lecture of the season. It will be in the Parker Room of the Michigan Union starting at 10:15 am. At this meeting we will hear a review of the year by outgoing President Cliff Sheldon and elect our new Board members for the 2018-19 year. We encourage all Waterman members to attend.

The Mind's Influence on our Health and Happiness, Psychologist - Catherine Sanderson
2018-03-28 11:30 - 13:30 | University of Michigan Union Ballroom, 530 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States
Catherine Sanderson is the Manwell Family Professor of Life Sciences (Psychology) at Amherst College. Known on campus as the “Professor of Happiness,” she teaches full time and is among the most popular teachers. She received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a specialization in Health and Development from Stanford University, and received both masters and doctoral degrees in Psychology from Princeton University. Professor Sanderson’s research examines how personality and social variables influence health-related behaviors, the development of persuasive messages and interventions to prevent unhealthy behavior, and the predictors of relationship satisfaction. This research has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. Professor Sanderson has published multiple journal articles, book chapters, and textbooks, and in 2012, she was named one of the country’s top 300 professors by the Princeton Review.

Author and Literary Scholar - Elliot Engel
2017-11-09 11:30 - 13:30 | University of Michigan Union Ballroom, 530 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States
Elliot Engel is an author, writer, and literary scholar. He has been a freelance lecturer on humanities topics for more than 30 years. Dr. Engel has written ten books published in England, Japan, and the United States, including A Dab of Dickens & A Touch of Twain, an edited collection of several of his well-known lectures. His mini-lecture series on Charles Dickens ran on PBS television stations across the country. He has lectured throughout the United States and on all the continents including Antarctica. His articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and national magazines including Newsweek. Four plays that he has written have been produced during the last ten years. Dr. Engel resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he has taught at the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and Duke University. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at UCLA. While at UCLA he won that university’s Outstanding Teacher Award. Professor Engel continues to teach outside the classroom and give entertaining and inspiring literary and historical programs throughout the world.
