Larson Scheduled to Speak on Syria at Presidents' College Symposium

U.S. Rep. John Larson

U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) is scheduled to discuss the latest developments in Syria at the beginning of the annual Presidents’ College Symposium on Sunday, Sept. 15.

Larson is scheduled to speak at approximately 9:15 a.m. in Dana Hall.

The Presidents' College Symposium is a day-long program of lectures, panel discussions and performances by University faculty and special guests. This year's symposium will explore a variety of topics on the theme of creativity and innovation.

The symposium will take place from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Dana Hall.  A box lunch will be provided, and the day will end with a reception hosted by President Walter Harrison.

Full-time faculty and staff can attend the symposium for $25 (to cover lunch and registration costs). The cost for the general public is $95 ($80 for Presidents' College Fellows), which includes the box lunch and the reception at the end of the day. You can register on the day of the event, between 8:45 and 9:15 a.m. For more information, see the brochure at the link below, or email pcollege@hartford.edu.

Download a brochure for the Presidents' College Symposium.

Following are just a few of the discussions being held under the Symposium’s overall theme of “Exploring Creativity:”

• Journalist and author Russ Hoyle, talk-show host Colin McEnroe, and Jilda Aliotta, professor of politics and government at the University of Hartford, will look at the gap between the law and technology in the era of WikiLeaks, NSA surveillance, and Edward Snowden, and its implications for such issues as privacy, national security, and freedom of the press and of the individual.

• Historians Robert McLaughlin, Avi Patt, Michael Robinson, and Amanda Walling will discuss how history is used to reinforce the ideologies of the present in a session on “The Future of the Past.”

• A session on “Creativity and Religious Experience” will feature Richard Freund, noted archaeologist and University of Hartford professor of Judaic Studies, along with Steven Blackburn of the Hartford Seminary and Kathleen McGrory, former president of the Hartford College for Women.

• Parallels between the creative impulse in the arts and the process of discovery in the sciences will be explored by painter Power Boothe, composer Stephen Gryc, engineer Ivana Milanovic, and musicologist Michael Schiano, who are all University of Hartford faculty members.

Other sessions will include the Rising Tide of Women in Business and the Discoveries that Occur in Crossing Disciplines. The program will also feature a recital by the Hartt Jazz Quartet, under the leadership of the new chair of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz, Javon Jackson.

The Presidents’ College, headed by University of Hartford President Emeritus Humphrey Tonkin, offers short courses throughout the year taught by leading members of the University of Hartford faculty and visiting lecturers. It also sponsors lecture series both on campus and at local retirement communities, and sponsors overseas trips to such locations as London, Paris, and Rome.