11:30 am in the Auditorium
January 10: Personal Choices for the Last Act
PRESENTERS: Lois Hansen and her son, Andy Hansen
Today most Americans hope for a “good death” at life’s end. This is commonly explained to include being at home in bed, surrounded by loved ones, free of pain or violence. Yet a random sample of Nebraskans, asking what specific arrangements they have made, to be carried out when they are dying, drew a response from only 12%. Two-thirds of these respondents had not completed the most basic of such documents, a Living Will. Thinking about and writing your end of life wishes is the most likely way to get what you want at the end of life. These are not easy assignments. But resources are available to provide food for thought, information and a framework for decisions and changed circumstances.
Compassion and Choices is a national organization, whose mission is to support, educate and advocate for choices and care at the end of life. Since individuals in a family may have varying ideas, it is good if family members talk about their own tentative choices and written decisions—which may evolve with time. It’s time to think about your end of life choices and act so your wishes will be known.
February 14: Europe 2009
SPEAKER:Patrice Berger, Professor of History, Director, University Honors Program, is a professor of history and director of the University Honors Program. He has taught at the university since 1970, offering introductory courses in modern European history and upper-division classes on French history from the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, to France's role in the new European Union. Berger has also had the pleasure to participate in an Alumni Association study trip to Switzerland. Since becoming director of the Honors Program, he has added academic administration to his continued investment in teaching history to undergraduates. He earned his B.A. in history at Columbia University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Chicago.
TOPIC Europe: 2009
Who could have foreseen in 1950 that the modest proposal of the French Foreign Minister to pool European coal and steel production under a common authority would be the first step in the creation of the European Union? With a population larger than that of the United States and an economy that rivals America’s, the European Union now plays a leading role in world affairs. There is the potential for cooperation and competition between the European Union and the United States. In this presentation, Berger will discuss the development of this new power in the world, its goals, its assets, its structure, and its future role in our global community.
March 14: Reading the Quilt: Stories Told in Textiles from the Era of the Civil War
SPEAKER Maureen Ose, Communications Coordinator for the International Quilt Study Center & Museum, has enthusiastically represented the university for ten years, first at the Medical Center in Omaha and now at UNL's internationally recognized Quilt House. Hailing from rural Iowa, Maureen holds a B.A. in Speech and Drama from the University of Iowa and has a broad range of experience in communications and marketing in higher education, senior living and telecommunications. She has volunteered her time to cultural and social service organizations in the Lincoln and Omaha areas and fills her leisure time with music, creative textile projects, exploration of Lincoln's expanding bicycle paths, and as much travel as possible.
Maureen Ose's presentation will focus on the stories told by Lucinda Ward Honstain, the maker of the "Reconciliation Quilt", renowned by experts as "one of the most important pieces of Americana" of its time. The images and information embedded in this quilt, as well as other reproductions which will be on display, paint a vivid picture of the history and culture, as well as individual lives, of the times (pre, during and post Civil War) in which they were made.
