Margaret Waterman Alumnae Group

Town Hall: Austin Sarat - Political Scientist, Author, and Teacher "Four Trials That Changed America"
2022-05-10 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Detroit) | 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, 2025-06-10 09:30 - 23:30 | 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, 2025-03-11 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.

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

Town Hall: H. Luke Shaefer - "Ending Infant Poverty in the United States and Beyond"
2026-04-15 11:30 - 13:30 | WCC – Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, United States
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.
