forester lecture series

Huntington University presents the Forester Lecture Series each semester. The lectures are designed to bring interesting persons and topics to the attention of students and the regional community. The Forester Lecture Series is open to the public and free of charge.

The Forester Lecture Series at Huntington University is coordinated by Dr. Jeff Webb of the Department of History. For further information, contact Dr. Jeff Webb at (260) 359-4243.

Podcasts of chapel messages, Forester Lectures, and special events now available in the HU Portal. 

Scheduled presentations for the 2011-2012 academic year include:

	“Yes, You Can Do That” Andrew Hoffman September 22, 7:00 PM Zurcher Auditorium Merillat Center for the Arts Andrew Hoffman is Executive Director of NeighborLink Fort Wayne and the NeighborLink Network. He is a 2003 graduate of Huntington University, 2010 HU Young Alumnus of the Year, 2011 NE IN 40 Under 40 recipient, and a member of Christian Community Development Association’s Emerging Leader Cohort.  His presentation will address the ways in which social media and web 2.0 have enhanced the ability of movement-builders to impact the world.  He will share his story of his radical worldview shift that led to a career change and a wholesale lifestyle transformation.  His efforts to mobilize a grassroots, faith-based nonprofit utilizing a web-based environment offers a model for others who aspire to similar forms of social entrepreneurship.
	“A Christian Perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” Jonathan Kuttab October 11, 7:00 PM Zurcher Auditorium Merillat Center for the Arts Jonathan Kuttab is a leading human rights lawyer in Israel and Palestine. Born in West Jerusalem, he graduated from Messiah College and the University of Virginia Law School. After practicing with a Wall Street law firm for several years, he returned to his homeland and co-founded the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence, Al-Haq, and the Mandela Institute for Political Prisoners. He also co-founded the Palestinian Center for the Study of Non-Violence and the Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems.  He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Bethlehem Bible College and of the Holy Land Trust.  His presentation will recount his own journey of faith and address issues pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspective of a Palestinian Christian.
	"Spirit vs. ‘The Spin’: Affirming Your Values in the Secular Workplace” Nicole Dreiske November 8, 7:00 PM Zurcher Auditorium Merillat Center for the Arts Nicole Dreiske is the Executive Director of the International Children’s Media Center, a non-profit cultural and educational organization dedicated to changing the way children view, use and engage media. She has extensive experience in the secular filmmaking industry, including long tenures as director of Facets Multi-Media, the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, the Dreiske Performance Company and Facets Performance Ensemble.  She has spoken and written widely on the subject of media literacy and child development.  Her presentation will focus on the challenges presented by our celebrity and wealth-obsessed culture, and how to recognize a “life well lived” in one’s chosen vocation.  She will encourage us to commit to a higher purpose even as we endeavor to succeed in our secular occupational pursuits.
	The Adams Tribute Lecture:  "Christian Social Ethics and American Prisons" James Samuel Logan March 6, 7:00 PM Zurcher Auditorium Merillat Center for the Arts James Logan was born in Harlem and raised in the South Bronx. Later, he earned graduate degrees from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Princeton Seminary. He is Associate Professor of Religion, and Associate Professor and Director of African and African American Studies, at Earlham College. His book, Good Punishment? Christian Moral Practice and U.S. Imprisonment (Eerdmans, 2008) introduced the language of Christian social ethics to the national discussion on the nature and purpose of incarceration.  His presentation will address issues raised in his book and identify ways that people of faith can enrich their spiritual lives through reflection on the subject of restorative justice.
	I’ll Have a Salad and a Diet Coke: Eating as a Gendered Act” Christina Van Dyke March 22, 7:00 PM Zurcher Auditorium Merillat Center for the Arts Christina Van Dyke is associate professor of Philosophy and Director of Gender Studies at Calvin College. She has co-edited The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy and serves as Executive Director for the Society of Christian Philosophers.  Her presentation will discuss the cultural constructions of male and female appetites, and the cultural myths surrounding eating and dieting, which are particularly damaging to women.  She portrays the Christian diet industry as complicit in creating an unhealthy understanding of food and nutrition in American public life, and shows how resources in the Christian tradition can help improve our thinking about eating and the human body.
	Forester Lecture Series Faculty Lecture: “A Chinese Servant, a Civil War General and an Indiana Lady: A Case Study in Personal Agency, Unlikely Friendship and Missiological Partnership" Luke S. Fetters April 10, 7:00 PM Zurcher Auditorium Merillat Center for the Arts Luke S. Fetters is Associate Professor of Ministry & Missions and Associate Professor and Director of the Institute for TESOL Studies at Huntington University.  He is an HU alumnus, and received his doctoral degree from Ball State University following a ten-year period of missionary service in Macau and southern China. His presentation tells the story of Mei Ling, who immigrated from southern China to Portland, Oregon in 1872.  Over the next 50 years, Mei became a community educator and Christian leader in the Portland Chinese community.  His correspondence with Cora Loew, general secretary of the United Brethren Women’s Missionary Association, and U.S. Civil War General O.O. Howard reveals Mei’s remarkable ability to establish effective intercultural partnerships.