From the President's Desk
Next Tuesday we are launching our first “EPIC Conversation” with Professor Emeritus Victor Navasky, journalist, eminent author, teacher, and long-time editor of T
he
Nation
, in conversation with Professor Emeritus Michael Rosenthal, an eminent scholar in his own right. The School of Journalism is co-sponsoring the event – so note the venue – Joseph Pulitzer World Room, Pulitzer Hall. (See below for details and do RSVP.)
Send in suggestions
for future interviews and do come to the event. I am certain it is going to be a treat. We would like to have an EPIC conversation once each semester. We will build up a video archive of the EPIC Conversations on YouTube.
Nicole Thompson, a newly minted Columbia Ph.D., gave us a wonderful talk about the evolution of social behavior in Kenyan blue monkeys. As EPIC Vice-President Lou Cleveland noted, these talks are particularly valuable because they let us see the evolution of techniques and paradigms from the time when we were starting out. I personally love listening to talented, enthusiastic young scholars. Puts brightness and hope into the world.
EPIC yoga, led by Professor Emerita Ginny Papaioannou, continues on Thursday mornings with two session options, mat at 10 AM or “gentle”/beginner chair format at 11:15.
Have a good day.
Jeanne Mager Stellman, President, EPIC
Professor Emerita & Special Lecturer
Mailman School of Public Health
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Tuesday, March 6: EPIC Conversation with Victor Navasky
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Please join us for the first in a series of conversations with distinguished colleagues from the Emeritus Professors in Columbia community. This EPIC Conversation is co-sponsored by the
Columbia Journalism School
.
Victor Navasky chairs the
Columbia Journalism Review
. He was the George Delacorte Professor of Magazine Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he directed the Delacorte Center for Magazine Study. He has served as editor, publisher and now publisher emeritus of
The Nation
, which he joined in 1978.
In the 1970’s Navasky served as an editor on
The New York Times Magazine
. In the 1960’s he was founding editor and publisher of
Monocle
, a “leisurely quarterly of political satire” (that meant it came out twice a year). His books include
Kennedy Justice
and
Naming Names
, which won a National Book Award, and (with Christopher Cerf)
The Experts Speak: The Definitive Guide to Authoritative Misinformation,
and also
Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War In Iraq, A Matter of Opinion,
which won the 2005 George Polk Book Award and the 2006 Ann M. Sperber Prize, and of which
The New York Times
wrote, “Anybody who has ever dreamed of starting a magazine, or worried that the country is losing the ability to speak seriously to itself, should read
A Matter of Opinion.
”
Navasky is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Most recently he has published
The Art of Making Magazines: On Being an Editor and Other Views from the Industry,
edited by Victor S. Navasky and Evan Cornog, and
The Art of Controversy: Political Cartoons and Their Enduring Power
(Knopf, 2013).
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Navasky will be in conversation with Michael Rosenthal, Roberta and William Campbell Professor Emeritus of the Humanities, another distinguished Columbia author and scholar, and an EPIC steering committee member.
12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Joseph Pulitzer World Room
Pulitzer Hall
Columbia University
Lunch provided.
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Tuesday, March 20: "The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century"
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For twenty-seven years, Professor Despommier, a microbiologist and an ecologist, conducted research on cellular and molecular parasitism and held lectures and courses on parasitic disease, medical ecology, and ecology. From one of these courses, in 1999, he founded the root for his idea of raising crops in tall buildings, vertical farming. In 2010, he published his widely received book
The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century
(St. Martin's Press). Not long ago vertical farms were regarded as utopian, but prototypes have now been built, including a three-story farm in Suwon, South Korea, over 50 plant factories that qualify as vertical farms in Japan, a commercial vertical farm in Singapore that opened in 2012, and another in Chicago that was built in an old industrial building. Vertical farms have many advantages: food is organically farmed, urban space is saved, it is possible to farm all year round and in any place, and use of agrochemicals is eliminated. Professor Despommier's idea was regarded as visionary several years ago, but today it has become a beacon for all countries where food imports are high.
Copies of
The Vertical Farm will be given as door prizes.
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The Sky Greens, Singapore Photo: Edgar Su/Reuters
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Faculty House
Garden Room 2
Guests welcome!
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Housing Mobility Deadline is March 9
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The Housing Mobility Program (HMP) offers tenants in Columbia housing financial support for moving out of Columbia housing or to a smaller apartment that may better fit their needs.
The University offers an application round each academic year, typically in the fall. For 2017-2018, there is also a spring application round with a deadline of
Friday, March 9, 2018.
The program description, available here
,
outlines the program’s parameters, describes eligibility requirements, and includes copies of the application. It also includes characteristics of typical “downsized” apartments – including examples of rent – and information about professional organizers who help people move to a new residence.
If you have questions or wish to learn more, please reach out to Carrie Marlin, Assistant Provost for Administration and Planning, at
212-854-0218
or
cm3509@columbia.edu
.
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EPIC Yoga Spring Schedule
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Professor Emerita Virginia Papaioannou, a registered teacher with the Yoga Alliance, continues to lead EPIC Yoga Thursdays in Faculty House in the Spring 2018 semester.
No prior experience is required to join. Yoga can benefit people at all levels of physical training and health, but it is always wise to consult with a physician before undertaking any new exercise regime. Modifications will be offered to any participants with specific limitations arising from recovery from injury, arthritis, limited movement, or other causes.
Two one-hour classes are offered each week.
The 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. class practices breathing techniques and moves through some basic yoga poses, concentrating on alignment, balance, and flexibility. Those with experience move more deeply into the poses.
From 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., we practice gentle/chair yoga, which is ideal for those of more limited mobility or flexibility. Classes include breathing, stretching, and yoga poses, done either seated in a chair or standing. No yoga mats are required for this class.
Please see the EPIC events calendar for schedule details.
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Morningside Gardens Speaker Series
Continues March 14
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Spring 2018 Program
February 21, 7:00 p.m.
“Yoking Up Yoga” Where does Yoga come from and where is it going? Is Yoga an important part of Hinduism? Some answers to these questions may surprise you. You don't need to be a yogi to find this talk interesting!
Speaker: Frances Pritchett, Professor Emerita of Modern Indic Languages, Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University
March 14, 7:00 p.m.
“Rethinking Rural Healthcare Delivery: A Nigerian Diaspora-Town Union Partnership."
Dr. Ferdinand Ofodile will share experience and insights from the Nnobi USA Diaspora Health Group, a path breaking medical mission project in Nnobi, the Nigerian village where he was born. The free health fairs and screening offered by the group in 2016 and 2017 have benefited over 2500 people, hundreds of whom were treated on the spot for malaria, hypertension, and diabetes. The Nnobi project is not only providing much needed health screening, but also developing a model for further Diaspora-Town Union efforts to improve and sustain health in Nigeria, which remains near the bottom of World Health Organization indices.
Speaker: Ferdinand Ofodile, M.D., Clinical Professor Emeritus of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center
April 18, 7:00 p.m.
“Eve and Adam in the Gardens” For millennia, readers have interpreted the story of Adam and Eve by pandering to him and blaming her for their expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2-3). But there are more excellent ways to understand the story. This talk will undercut the traditional reading by exploring anew the story of Eve and Adam as they enter the Gardens of Morningside.
Speaker: Phyllis Trible, Baldwin Professor Emerita of Sacred Literature, Union Theological Seminary
May 16, 7:00 p.m.
“Columbia University on Morningside Heights: The Early Years in Postcard Views” As the title implies, Mr. Susi takes us on a tour of Morningside Heights using vintage postcards he began collecting more than 20 years ago.
Speaker: Michael V. Susi, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Columbia University; local historian and postcard collector
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Tuesday Talks
April 10
Professor Justin Golub
"How Age-Related Hearing Loss Affects the Brain"
April 24
Professor Sunil K. Agrawal
Lecture and Tour: Robotics and Rehabilitation (RoAR) Lab, Columbia University
First Thursday Graduate Scholar Talks
April 5
Michelle Van Tieghem, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Psychology:
"Neurobehavioral Predictors of Risk and Resilience following Early Adversity"
Social Media Workshop
March 27
Annual Reception
May 8
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