Ohio Wesleyan Graduates to Share Expertise at ‘Alumni College’
DELAWARE, Ohio – When they return to Ohio Wesleyan University for Alumni Weekend, five graduates will do more than just visit their former professors. The alumni will step into their own educators’ shoes and teach “Alumni College.”
The OWU graduates will share their expertise with former classmates and the general public in free public presentations May 16-17.
Ohio Wesleyan’s 2014 Alumni College topics and teachers include:
2-2:45 p.m. May 16 – “From Beeghly to the World: The Global Walt Whitman,” presented by 1969 OWU alumnus Ed Folsom, Ph.D., editor of the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review and professor of American literature at the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Folsom’s presentation will be held in Benes Room A of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. 3-3:45 p.m. May 16 – “The Pursuit of Excellence in Sport and Life: A 40-Year Journey,” by Rich Gordin, Ed.D., sports psychologist and professor of sports psychology at Utah State University. Gordin, a 1973 OWU graduate, has worked with U.S. athletes during four Olympic competitions and walked with Olympic flag-bearer and skier Todd Lodwick at the Sochi Olympics. Gordin grew up in Delaware and is the son of Paula and Richard “Dick” Gordin, a 1952 OWU graduate and a former Battling Bishops athletics director and golf coach. Rich Gordin will speak in Benes Room B of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center. 10-11 a.m. May 17 – “How Economics Plays a Role in Conserving, Reserving, and Restoring Nature,” by Sahan Dissanayake, Ph.D., assistant professor of economics at Maine’s Colby College, specializing in environmental and resource economics. His research applications have focused on land use, ecosystem services, and conservation within military installations. Dissanayake, a 2004 OWU graduate, will teach in Room 203 of the R.W. Corns Building, 78 S. Sandusky St. 10:30-11:30 a.m. May 17 – “The Year the Future Began,” by W. Joseph Campbell, Ph.D., tenured professor at American University’s School of Communications in Washington, D.C. His presentation will be tied to his forthcoming book, “1995: The Year the Future Began.” The book takes a fresh look at the decisive moments of 1995, including the rise of the Internet and the World Wide Web, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the O.J. Simpson “Trial of the Century.” Campbell also is the author of five other books, including “Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism.” Campbell, a 1974 OWU graduate, will speak in Room 312 of the R.W. Corns Building. 2:30-3:30 p.m. May 17 – “Portrait of the Poet as a Young Bishop,” by Maggie Smith-Beehler, owner of Versed Creative Services, has written five collections of poems and is the author of “The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison,” which will be released in 2015. Smith-Beehler, a 1999 OWU graduate, will present in Room 203 in the R.W. Corns Building.Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, minors, and concentrations, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.