Discussions on Creativity and Innovation to Highlight Presidents’ College Symposium

Discussion of the widening gap between technological
advances and the law (as seen in the NSA surveillance issue) and the impact of
recent scientific discoveries on the way we live our lives are among the topics
that will be explored at the University of Hartford’s Presidents’ College
annual Symposium, on Sunday, Sept. 15, in the University’s Dana Hall.

            Among the discussions being held
under the Symposium’s overall theme of “Exploring Creativity” are:

·        
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 day will end with a reception hosted by University of Hartford
President Walter Harrison. The program runs from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The
cost to attend the program is $80 for Fellows of the College and $95 for
non-members of the College. More registration details can be found at www.hartford.edu/presidentscollege or by calling 860.768.4269.

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.