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Emeriti Council resumes Wednesday programs

Sept. 8, 2008

KALAMAZOO--The Wednesdays II informal talks sponsored by the Emeriti Council at Western Michigan University will resume at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the first-floor lobby of Walwood Hall's west wing.

Mary Brown will speak on the Department of Natural Resources and the impact of financial cuts on Michigan's critical natural resources and on the environment. The public is welcome to attend.

Brown, who taught for several years in WMU's Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, was appointed to the seven-member Michigan Natural Resources Commission in 2004. She previously spent 18 years in the state Legislature, serving on several environmental committees.

An active volunteer, Brown helped found the Kalamazoo Environmental Council and the Coalition for Urban Redevelopment in Kalamazoo. In 2007, she received the Helen and William Milliken Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Environmental Council.

The Emeriti Council has scheduled additional Wednesdays II programs for 2008-09. All of these programs will take place at 2 p.m. and most will be held on the second Wednesday of the month in the Heinig Emeriti Lounge, which is located on the second floor of Walwood Hall's west wing.

2008-09 Wednesdays II events

• Wednesday, Oct. 8: "From Moccasins to Main Street: A Droll, Quixotic, Quaint, Erratic and Whimsical History of the Sauk (native American) Trail in Michigan Through Its Various Iterations." The slide-illustrated talk on the Sauk Trail, now known as U.S. 12, will be presented by Dr. John Geisler, WMU emeritus in counselor education and counseling psychology. The speaker is billed as "a droll, quixotic, quaint and whimsical dilettante who has not outgrown his boyhood fixation on roads and highways--a tour-de-force by a 'roadaholic' (currently in remission)."

• Wednesday, Nov. 12: "People to People: Ways to Experience Cultures and Exchange Friendships Around the World." The presenters will be Dr. David Hargreave, WMU emeritus in environmental studies, and his wife Lynette. They will speak about their experiences traveling and living in other cultures, and provide information as to how others may become involved in international exchange programs.

• Wednesday, Dec. 3: "Holiday Stories Presented by Students From the Department of Theatre." This program will feature students from WMU's theatre department and is slated for the first Wednesday of December so as not to conflict with the University's final exams week. Light refreshments will be provided by the Emeriti Council Board in Walwood Hall's west wing lobby.

• Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2008: "The Fun and the Uncertainty of the November Election and Implications for the New President." The presenter will be Dr. Richard McAnaw, WMU emeritus in political science and a former director of the University's Center for Public Administration Programs. McAnaw, who retired in 1999, has been observing state and national politics for more than four decades.

Media contact: Jeanne Baron, (269) 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu

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