Margaret Waterman Alumnae Group

Waterman Board Meeting
2024-03-12 09:30 - 11:00, 2025-03-11 09:30 - 11:00 (America/Detroit) | Virtual Meeting, by Zoom

Town Hall: Tom Toro - "Funny Ha-Huh: Cartoons that Make Us Laugh and Think"
2024-04-16 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author, who has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons also appear in Playboy, The Paris Review, The New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. He has written short stories for the New Haven Review as well as contributed a dozen essays to The New Yorker Cartoon Encyclopedia. Mr. Toro has illustrated several books and recently completed his own graphic memoir, Yes, The Planet Got Destroyed (Or: How I Learned to Cartoon Through Catastrophe.) He has a new syndicated cartoon strip called Home Free. Mr. Toro graduated cum laude from Yale. As an undergraduate he received the Betts Prize for his literary work while also serving as captain of the national champion lightweight rowing team and cartoon editor for the Yale Herald. He has had speaking engagements and interviews at NPR, Sirius Radio, Columbia University, Twitter headquarters, the Kansas City Art Institute, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Kansas City Star.

Annual Meeting
2024-05-15 10:30 - 11:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
All Waterman members are invited to attend the annual meeting before the final Town Hall luncheon of the year.

Town Hall: David Helfand - "Global Climate Change: What We Know and What We Don't Know"
2024-05-15 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Dr. David J. Helfand is Chair of the Department of Astronomy at Columbia University. Dr. Helfand’s science course, part of Columbia’s famed Core Curriculum, is taught to all Columbia’s first year students. He received the University’s 2001 Presidential Teaching Award and the 2002 Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates. Dr. Helfand spent three years at the University of Cambridge, most recently as the Sackler Distinguished Visiting Astronomer, and was a visiting scientist at the Danish Space Research Institute and the University of Copenhagen. He has authored more than 200 scientific publications. Dr. Helfand served as a Visiting Tutor and later as President and Vice-Chancellor at Quest University Canada, Canada’s first independent, non-profit, secular university. He is also working to expand this model, creating new universities in England, Wales, and Vietnam. His recently published book, A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age, provides tools to combat the tsunami of mis- and dis-information, and is recommended for all informed citizens.

Waterman Board Meeting
2024-06-11 10:00 - 12:00 | Union Rec, 545 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States

Waterman Board Meeting
2024-09-10 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-11-07 09:30 - 11:00, 2025-06-10 09:30 - 23:30 | Zion Lutheran Church, 1501 W Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48103, United States

Town Hall: Aaron Dworkin - "A Wager on Diversity, Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship in the Arts"
2024-10-08 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
A 2005 MacArthur Fellow and featured artist in the media, including the PBS NewsHour, Washington Post and The New York Times, Aaron Dworkin is a former dean of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance, and is currently professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at the Ross School of Business. He is the author of three books, creator of two albums, and director of an Emmy-winning documentary. Dworkin will share his unconventional personal story and journey to professor and founder of the Sphinx Organization, the leading arts organization transforming minority lives through the arts, along with the renowned Sphinx competition for young Black and Latinx classical string players. Having raised over $50 million for philanthropic causes, he will discuss the role that the arts play in society and share strategies for innovative leadership, creative careers and staying relevant in the evolving landscape of the arts.

Town Hall: William Burke-White - "The Five Most Powerful People in the World"
2024-11-20 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
William Burke-White holds both a bachelor’s and law degree from Harvard University, and a doctorate in international relations from Cambridge University where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He is currently a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania and Inaugural Director of Penn’s International Affairs Institute’s Perry World House. Burke-White was a White House advisor and policy planner during the Obama administration and has written extensively in the fields of international law and institutions. In his presentation, he calls on us to question who the real influencers are on the world. Who makes the decisions that determine war and peace, and economic growth or stagnation, etc.? How are globalization, technology, and economic interdependence changing the ways we should think about power and influence? Burke-White will discuss five individuals, some expected, others perhaps unexpected or even unknown, who are directing global affairs today.

Town Hall: Matthew Stanley - "The Remarkable Genius of Einstein"
2025-04-22 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Matthew Stanley is an award-winning professor who holds degrees in history, astronomy, physics, and religion. Stanley teaches and researches the history and philosophy of science and its connections with the broader world at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. His presentation will examine how Einstein’s youthful philosophical questioning led to a revolution in science and how his epochal theories of relativity emerged from seemingly simple questions about how we experience the world. Professor Stanley will reveal how Einstein’s elevation to worldwide fame was closely tied to political and social developments, and how people sought his views on everything from world peace to the nature of God. Stanley’s current project is a history of scientific predictions of the end of the world.

Waterman Annual Meeting
2025-05-21 10:30 - 11:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States

Town Hall: Francine Segan - "Chocolate!"
2025-05-21 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Francine Segan is a noted lecturer, food historian, and author who regularly appears on radio and TV, including the Today Show, the History, Sundance, and Discovery channels, as well as the Food Network and PBS. Returning to Waterman after her enthusiastically received Town Hall lecture in 2014, Ms. Segan has also spoken at many prestigious venues, including the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, the Smithsonian Museum, the Florida Film Festival, and the Virginia Fine Arts Museum. She has written six books on cooking and cuisine and interviewed such noted chefs as Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, and Mario Batali. Ms. Segan’s presentation on chocolate will guide us through the uncommon history of a familiar and favorite indulgence, revealing the background of this palate-pleaser, from Christopher Columbus and Casanova to Napoleon and World War II, up to the present day.

Waterman Board Meeting
2025-09-09 09:30 - 11:30, 2025-11-11 10:30 - 12:30 | Ann Arbor District Library – Pittsfield Branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr., Ann Arbor, MI, 48103

Town Hall: Brian Carpenter - "The Art of Aging"
2025-10-01 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Brian Carpenter is a professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Co-Director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at Washington University in St. Louis. As Principal Investigator at the Clinical Geropsychology Laboratory, Dr. Carpenter focuses on improving the quality of life for older adults by developing resources that educate them about health conditions and tools that will help them talk with care partners and healthcare providers. His research is primarily concerned with the clinical psychology of aging, and the ways family members and healthcare professionals collaborate with older adults, with an emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Dr. Carpenter’s presentation analyses the science of thought, and shows how our mind set, or thought patterns, exert a substantial influence on our physical health. He suggests specific strategies that we all can use to make minor adjustments in our thoughts and behaviors to improve the quality and length of our lives.

Town Hall: Barbara McQuade - "Law and Democracy in the Age of Disinformation"
2025-11-18 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Barbara L. McQuade received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Michigan and is a Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. Her interests include criminal law and procedure, national security, data privacy, and civil rights. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Ms. McQuade was the first woman to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan (2010-2017). Barbara McQuade currently serves as a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Lawfare, Just Security, Slate, and on National Public Radio, and she has been quoted in The New York Times, Time magazine, Newsweek, Politico, and other publications. She has been recognized by The Detroit Free Press with the Neal Shine Award for Exemplary Regional Leadership, The Detroit News with the Michiganian of the Year Award, and Crain’s Detroit Business as a Newsmaker of the Year and one of Detroit’s Most Influential Women. Ms. McQuade is the author of The New York Times best seller, Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America (2024).

Waterman Social Event at the Purple Rose Theatre
2025-12-10 15:00 - 17:00 | Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St, Chelsea, MI, 48118, United States
Join the Waterman Alumnae Group for the first social of the 2025-26 season at the Purple Rose Theatre to see the play Norma and Wanda by Jeff Daniels. It’s a tale of how two very different sisters get themselves into an outrageous pickle with an old high school boyfriend, a chaotic church social and a secret family recipe for Christmas sausage.

Tickets are $55 each. Guests are welcome! Visit this event registration page link to buy tickets. Please provide the names of guests attending. There are 40 seats available, so please register early, but no later than November 18, 2025.

Waterman Board Meeting
2026-03-10 09:30 - 11:30 | by Zoom

Annual Meeting
2026-05-12 10:30 - 23:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States

Town Hall: Orin Grossman - "George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess: The Great American Opera"
2026-05-12 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Orin Grossman has delighted audiences worldwide with his unique combination of performance and discussion of great American and European music. Dr. Grossman studied music at Harvard College, graduating magna cum laude and earned a Ph.D. in Music at Yale University. Dr. Grossman became Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Fairfield University in 1975 and he was named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1991. 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 now is a frequent star professor for “One Day University,” a premiere lecture organization, giving talks nationwide. He is in demand as an interpreter of George Gershwin’s music, playing his songs and classical compositions around the world. Dr. Grossman will explore the story of Porgy and Bess, its fascinating history, and conclude with a performance of beloved songs from Porgy and Bess in a special arrangement by the great American pianist, Earl Wild.

Town Hall: H. Luke Shaefer - "Ending Infant Poverty in the United States and Beyond"
2026-06-08 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Rescheduled from April 15. Luke Shaefer, one of the nation’s leading scholars on poverty and social welfare policy, is the Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. Shaefer also directs Poverty Solutions, which partners with communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Census Bureau. Dr. Shaefer has presented his research at the White House, before numerous federal agencies, and testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. His work has been cited in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, and The Atlantic, and he has been featured on PBS NewsHour, Marketplace, 1A, All Things Considered, and CNBC’s Nightly Business Report. Professor Shaefer is the co-director of Rx Kids, the nation’s first citywide maternal and infant cash prescription program launched in Flint, Michigan in January 2024.

Waterman Board Meeting
2026-06-09 09:30 - 11:30 | TBD

Fiddler on The Roof at Encore Theatre
2026-06-25 14:00 - 16:00 | Encore Theatre, 7714 Ann Arbor St., Dexter MI, 7714 Ann Arbor St, Dexter, MI, 48130, United States
Join the Waterman Alumnae Group on Thursday, June 25 at 2pm for The Encore Theatre’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. This beloved musical features Hazzan Daniel Eli Friedman as Tevye.
Tickets are $50 each. Guests are welcome! Please buy tickets at this link where you can provide your information and the names of guests attending. Registration will close on May 15 or until tickets are sold out. Reservations and payment are transferable, but not refundable.
Registration will remain open until May 15, 2026 or until capacity is reached.

Town Hall: Robin Wright - "America's Global Challenges in 2026"
2026-10-20 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Robin Wright is an international relations expert, journalist, and author. She has reported from more than 140 countries on six continents for publications such as The Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, and Time Magazine. Wright has also been a fellow at the Brookings Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as well as at Yale, Duke, Dartmouth, and the University of California. She received the U.N. Correspondents Gold Medal, the National Magazine Award, and the Overseas Press Club Award. The American Academy of Diplomacy selected her as the journalist of the year in 2004. Ann Arbor native and University of Michigan grad, Wright received an honorary degree from her alma mater in 2015.

Town Hall: Carol Hutchins - "Challenges for Women's Sports in Today's World"
2026-11-18 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Though the University of Michigan (U-M) claims Carol Hutchins, she was born in Lansing, MI, and attended Michigan State University (MSU). At MSU, she played on the varsity basketball team and was the starting shortstop as a freshman on the varsity softball team. After coaching one year at Ferris State, Ms. Hutchins moved to U-M and began her 38-year head coaching career there (1985-2022). Carol Hutchins has won more games than any other U-M coach, in any sport, and led the Wolverines to their first NCAA softball championship in 2005. Her awards include induction into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2006), the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (2011) and the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame (2022). Since she began coaching at Michigan, the softball team has never had a losing season.

Town Hall: Josh A. Cassada - "The Ultimate Remote Job: Living and Working Aboard the International Space Station"
2027-04-13 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Josh Cassada is an American physicist, test pilot, and a former NASA astronaut. Prior to becoming a naval aviator, Cassada graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Physics from Albion College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Rochester. He conducted experimental high energy physics research at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In 2022, Cassada joined the International Space Station, as the pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5. While there, he conducted three spacewalks totaling 21 hours, 24 minutes. During its mission, the crew contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, spending 157 days in orbit.

Town Hall: Tom Toro - "The New Yorker as a Women's Magazine"
2027-05-05 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Tom Toro, a cartoonist and author, graduated cum laude from Yale. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010, and his cartoons also appear in Playboy, The Paris Review, The New York Times, and elsewhere. He has contributed a dozen essays to The New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons, and his syndicated cartoon strip is called “Home Free.” Toro’s books include And to Think We Started as a Book Club, Crocodiles Need Friends, Too!, How to Potty Train Your Porcupine and illustrations for Back to School, Backpack! by Simon Rich and User’s Guide to Democracy by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice. Notable among his many speaking engagements and interviews are those for NPR, Sirius Radio, Columbia University, Twitter headquarters, the Kansas City Art Institute, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Kansas City Star.
