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September 2004 -

New Speakers, Same Topic: Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ History Lecture Series Starts Sept. 30

Nothing can stop the University of a Thousand Years, not even a minor injury to its scheduled lecturer, History Professor Emeritus Jon Bridgman. Although Bridgman had to withdraw, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Alumni Association and College of Arts and Sciences will present their five-part lecture series on Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ history, “The University of a Thousand Years,” beginning Sept. 30, as originally planned.

Lecture organizers were still putting the list of speakers and topics together as Columns went to press in mid-August, but many distinguished Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ experts have already agreed to speak.

Leading off the series on Thursday, Sept. 30, Public Affairs Dean Emeritus Brewster Denny, '45, will discuss the origins of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ including the land donation from his family—and the Terry and Lander families—that made it possible. Also scheduled for the Sept. 30 lecture is an overview of early Seattle history by local historian and author Walt Crowley.

On Oct. 7, Architecture Professor Emeritus Norman Johnston, '42, will cover the evolution of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ campus from logged-over forest into one of the most beautiful college campuses in the nation (see the Columns article “Centennial,” Sept. 1995). Johnston is the author of two books about the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ campus, The Fountain and the Mountain and The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Campus Guide.

Other confirmed speakers include President Mark Emmert, '75, who will be a part of a panel discussing the future of public universities.

Also scheduled are Political Science Professor Margaret Levi and Drama Professor Mark Jenkins, who will explore the political turmoil that has, at times, divided the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ community.

Levi is director of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Center for Comparative Historical Analysis of Organizations and States and author of the 1997 book Consent, Dissent, and Patriotism.

Jenkins is the head of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Professional Actor Training Program and the M.F.A. Directing Program. His play about the 1948 Canwell hearings into Communist activity by Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ faculty and staff, All Powers Necessary and Convenient, was produced on the 50th anniversary of the hearings and later published by Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Press (see the Columns article “Seeing Red,” Dec. 1997).

Yet another lecture will cover the history of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ athletics and the future of public universities in the 21st century.

The lecture series will be held at 7 p.m. on five Thursdays—Sept. 30, Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 28—in Kane 130. Series tickets cost $50 for Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAA and A&S Deans Club members, $60 for non-members and $20 for students. Some individual tickets may be available at the door. Visit for the latest information on speakers and topics.

Also during the fall quarter, a special exhibit on the history of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ will be on display at Suzzallo Library. “Defining Moments: A History of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ” opens Sept. 29 in 102 Suzzallo, just off the main entrance. Included in this exhibit are rare Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ memorabilia supplied by alumni and accounts of their student experiences while attending the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ.

For more information, visit , or call the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Alumni Association at 1-800-AÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ-ALUM.