Margaret Waterman Alumnae Group

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

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 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: 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 Board Meeting
2021-06-08 09:30, 2021-09-14 09:30, 2021-11-16 09:30, 2022-03-08 09:30, 2022-05-10 09:30 | Virtual Meeting, by Zoom
Zoom meeting; invitation will be sent to board members prior to the date.

UM Alumnae Council Virtual Meeting
2021-10-16 11:00 - 13:00 | Virtual Meeting, by Zoom
You’re invited to the VIRTUAL University of Michigan Alumnae Council Fall Meeting and program on Saturday, October 16, 2021.
Business Meeting – 11:00 a.m.
Program – 12:00/Noon
(The Zoom Link will be sent later.)
Join us as we honor Michigan’s National 2021 Championship Women’s Gymnastics Coach Bev Plocki
And save the date for the Spring Alumnae Council Meeting: April 2, 2022.

Town Hall: Kara Cooney - Egyptologist "The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt"
2021-10-19 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual Lecture, by Zoom
Kara Cooney, a professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at UCLA, specializes in craft production, coffin studies, and economies in the ancient world. Dr. Cooney earned a Ph.D. in Egyptology from Johns Hopkins University. She was co-curator of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She also produced a comparative archaeology television series, Out of Egypt, which aired on the Discovery Channel, and is available online via Netflix and Amazon.
In The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt, Dr. Cooney crafts an illuminating biography of a lesser-known female king. As an archaeologist who spent years at various excavations in Egypt, Dr. Cooney draws from the latest field research to fill in the gaps in the physical record of Hatshepsut’s reign as a woman in a patriarchal society. Her current research in coffin reuse, focusing on the 20th Dynasty, studies the socioeconomic and political turmoil that plagued the period, ultimately affecting funerary and burial practices in ancient Egypt. Over the span of six years, Dr. Cooney has studied and documented more than 300 coffins from collections in Cairo, London, Paris, Berlin, and Vatican City. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Town Hall: Andrew Och - Television and Multimedia Producer "First Ladies: Influence and Image"
2021-11-10 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual Lecture, by Zoom
Andy Och, an award-winning television and multimedia producer, has traveled the world with his pen, paper, and camera. A University of Maryland graduate, Och began his production career in music, later adding his camera to the mix. A storyteller from a young age, he will go anywhere in the world for knowledge, greater understanding, and a good story. Och is a true documentarian of life. For C-SPAN’s First Ladies: Influence and Image, he traveled widely to tell the stories of every First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS).
Through this unique and historical journey to learn about first ladies before, during, and after their time in the White House, Och has completed one of the most comprehensive collections of material and information about this unique sorority of women. Known as “The First Ladies Man,” Och brings a fresh look to an oft-overlooked subject in American history. Och cannot name a favorite FLOTUS, noting that “…their separate contributions need to be looked at as a whole because together they’ve helped sew the unique fabric of our country, and for that we’re extremely lucky.”

Town Hall: Caroline Winterer - Historian and Author "The Genius of Ben Franklin"
2022-04-13 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual Lecture, by Zoom
Caroline Winterer, the William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University, earned a Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan. She specializes in American history before 1900, particularly the history of science, ideas, and political theory. Dr. Winterer has authored or edited five books, most recently Time in Maps: From the Age of Discovery to Our Digital Era, and is currently writing How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America. She has also written 33 refereed articles and book chapters, and has received numerous awards, including the Smithsonian Institution’s American Ingenuity Award for mapping Ben Franklin’s social network. She was elected to membership in the Society of American Historians for “literary distinction in the writing of history.” In addition to her endowed and public lectures throughout the U.S., Dr. Winterer can be heard on public media such as NPR, with popular presentations including, “The Remarkable Genius of Benjamin Franklin”; and “Unexplained History: What Historians Still Don’t Understand.”

Town Hall: Austin Sarat - Political Scientist, Author, and Teacher "Four Trials That Changed America"
2022-05-10 13:00 - 14:30 | Virtual Lecture, by Zoom
Austin Sarat is Associate Dean of the Faculty and the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. He is also the Hugo L. Black Visiting Senior Faculty Scholar at the University of Alabama School of Law. Dr. Sarat earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and a J.D. from Yale University Law School. At Amherst, Dr. Sarat founded both the Department of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought and the Association for the Study of Law, Culture, and the Humanities. A well-known author, teacher, and researcher, Dr. Sarat is also a pioneer in the development of legal study in the liberal arts, and the humanistic and cultural study of law. Dr. Sarat’s primary research interest is the use of the death penalty. His teaching has been featured in the New York Times and NPR’s Fresh Air, and one profile noted he is “one of the best loved professors at Amherst College.” Dr. Sarat has authored or edited more than 90 books including Mercy on Trial: What It Means to Stop an Execution, and is currently writing Hollywood’s Law: Film, Fatherhood, and the Legal Imagination. His writing has appeared in The Boston Globe and the Daily Beast, and he has been a commentator or guest on ABC World News Tonight, Al Jazeera America, The O’Reilly Factor, and NPR’s All Things Considered.

Town Hall: Carl Raymond - "Divas and Dinners: A Culinary Look at Opera"
2022-10-04 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
As a food historian, writer, and classical singer, as well as a professionally trained chef, Carl Raymond
brings together the worlds of food, history, literature, and opera. Mr. Raymond received his
culinary diploma from New York’s Institute of Culinary Education and studied further at the French
Culinary Institute. He speaks regularly on food history for such notable New York institutions as the
Metropolitan Opera Guild, the Royal Oak Foundation, as well as many other museums and cultural
institutions. Mr. Raymond has sung with the Opera Company of Boston under Sarah Caldwell and
appeared for five seasons as an actor with the Metropolitan Opera.
Mr. Raymond has taught culinary arts professionally since 2008. An experienced cookbook editor,
recipe developer, and food writer, he has worked for the Food Network, Conde Nast, and Rodale’s
Prevention magazine, as well as serving as a contributing writer for SAVORING GOTHAM: A Food Lover’s
Companion to New York City

Town Hall: Richard Bell - "The Two Harriets: Tubman and Beecher Stowe"
2022-11-16 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Dr. Richard Bell is a scholar, writer, and teacher at the University of Maryland. Among his numerous
teaching awards is the University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence
in Teaching, the highest honor for teaching faculty in the Maryland state system. British by birth,
Dr. Bell received a B.A. from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. His
research focuses on the early history and culture of the United States between 1750 and 1877. Most
recent among his publications, Dr. Bell’s book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped Into Slavery and Their
Astonishing Odyssey Home, received the National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar
Award.
Dr. Bell has held a research fellowship at Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of
Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition. He has also served as the Mellon Fellow in American History at the
University of Cambridge, among many other fellowships, and is currently an Andrew Carnegie Fellow.
He lectures on the C-SPAN television network and the Smithsonian Institution.

Town Hall: Denise Budd - "The Groundbreaking Genius of Leonardo da Vinci"
2023-04-18 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Art historian and renaissance expert, Denise Budd received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in
2002, and has taught art history courses over the past two decades at institutions such as Rutgers
University and Columbia University, where she was a Lecturer-in-Discipline of its renowned Core
Curriculum. A Leonardo da Vinci scholar and an “archival detective,” she has published articles based
on documentary evidence which serve to de-mythologize and humanize his exceptional genius.
Expert in all things Italian Renaissance, including other great masters such as Michelangelo and
Raphael, Dr. Budd has extended her research into the history of collecting and issues of cultural
preservation. Recognizing that the works of the distant past continue to be a vibrant part of our
lives today, she has served as director of the not-for-profit organization ArtWatch International, which
brings attention to the way we restore and treat our artistic heritage, as in the case of Michelangelo’s
Sistine Chapel Ceiling.
Dr. Budd has appeared on television’s A&E’s Biography speaking about Leonardo, and she lectures
throughout the U.S. and internationally, sharing her passion with art lovers and not-yet art lovers
alike.

Town Hall: Wendy Schiller - "The Impact of Women in Politics"
2023-05-17 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Dr. Wendy Schiller is Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science, Professor of
Political Science, Professor of International & Public Affairs, and Director of The A. Alfred Taubman
Center for American Politics and Policy at Brown University. After graduating from The University of
Chicago (B.A. with Honors, Political Science), Dr. Schiller served on the staffs of Senator Daniel Patrick
Moynihan (D-NY) and Governor Mario Cuomo (D-NY). She earned her Ph.D. from the University of
Rochester, followed by fellowships at the Brookings Institution and Princeton University. At Brown, Dr.
Schiller teaches popular courses such as The American Presidency and Introduction to the American
Political Process. Books she has authored or co-authored include Gateways to Democracy: An
Introduction to American Government; and Partners and Rivals: Representation in U.S. Senate Delegations.
Dr. Schiller has published in academic journals, including the American Journal of Political Science,
Legislative Studies Quarterly, Studies in American Political Development, and the Journal of Politics. She
regularly speaks to local and national organizations on current and historical American politics.

Waterman Board Meeting
2023-09-12 09:30 - 11:00, 2023-11-14 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-09-10 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-11-07 09:30 - 11:00 | Zion Lutheran Church, 1501 W Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48103, United States

Town Hall: Kim Hess - "Seven Lessons from the Seven Summits"
2023-10-10 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Seven billion people inhabit our planet, and less than 60 have ever completed the Explorers
Grand Slam, and only 12 of those are women. So writes Kim Hess on her website – https://
kimhessclimbs.com. Ms. Hess set the goal of climbing the Seven Summits – the tallest mountain
on each of the seven continents – and did so by the time she was 33 years old. Next are the
Explorers Grand Slam, at the North Pole and the South Pole. A graduate of the University of
Colorado, Kim Hess is a trailblazer and an inspirational speaker who exemplifies the power of a
positive attitude. Through entertaining tales of adventures in climbing the Seven Summits, she
takes audiences through a series of seven everyday lessonsfor life, lessons that are applicable to
anyone at any age. Using breathtaking and awe-inspiring visuals, humor and candor, Ms. Hess
focuses on strategies for overcoming obstacles and adversity, defining success and failure, and
teamwork.

Town Hall: Marcia Coyle - "A Look Inside the Current Supreme Court"
2023-11-15 11:30 - 13:30 | Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Bldg, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
Marcia Coyle is the Chief Washington Correspondent for the National Law Journal, a weekly newspaper that covers law and litigation. A lawyer as well as a journalist, she has covered the Supreme Court for 30 years. She is also a regular contributor of Supreme Court analysis to PBS NewsHour. Ms. Coyle has written about the Supreme Court and a variety of legal issues for Vogue, Ms. Magazine, and The New York Times Book Review. She is the author of The Roberts Court and is a contributing author to A Year in the Life of the Supreme Court. Ms. Coyle earned her B.A. from Hood College, her M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, and her J.D. degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law. Her national journalism awards include the George Polk Award for legal reporting, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, the American Judicature Society’s Toni House Journalism Award for a career body of work involving coverage of the nation’s courts and justice system, and the Scripps-Howard Foundation Award for environmental journalism.

Waterman Board Meeting
2024-03-12 09:30 - 11:00 | 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

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.
