Jitner delivers Kern Lecture

Barbara Martinez Jitner

Latina filmmaker Barbara Martinez Jitner delivered the Peggy Kern Lecture on Women and Society, part of the college’s “Perspectives on the Common Good” lecture series.

For her critically acclaimed documentary “La Frontera,” Martinez Jitner posed as a factory worker on the U.S.-Mexico border in order to uncover a dark world of grueling poverty and sexual abuse. Martinez Jitner is one of the first Latina executive producers of a primetime network television series. The Emmy-nominated “American Family” made history when it debuted in 2002 as the first Latino drama on broadcast television. Writer/director Martinez Jitner wrote the PBS premiere episode that garnered unanimous critical acclaim, and went on to write 10 and direct 7 of the show’s first 22 episodes.

Martinez Jitner is also the first Latina ever to be nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Emmy as an executive producer/writer/director for a miniseries for “American Family.” She is currently slated to executive produce and write the HBO miniseries “Rain of Gold,” adapted from Victor Villasenor’s original text. She is also scheduled to be the executive producer and writer of a miniseries for ABC starring Jimmy Smits, which discusses the themes of immigration and the border. She is currently penning “A Day Without An Immigrant,” a script for Antonio Banderas about last spring’s immigration march.

A collaborator of Academy Award nominee Gregory Nava (“El Norte,” “Mi Familia”), Martinez Jitner began working with Nava on his feature film “Selena,” based on the life of the slain Tejano singer. She directed the music videos for the feature and served as the second unit director and visual effects production supervisor on both “Selena” and Nava’s “Why Do Fools Fall In Love,” starring Halle Barry.

Raised by her grandmother, a Mexican immigrant, Martinez Jitner’s mission is to bring the untold stories of Latinas to both television and film. In her William Jewell lecture, entitled “Femicide At Our U.S. Border: To Be A Woman In Juarez Is A Death Sentence,” Martinez Jitner discussed the crippling poverty and gender discrimination in the Mexican city of Juarez, where more than 400 women have been found raped, mutilated and murdered.

“These women are being incredibly devalued. How does somebody go from being a dispensable worker to being a dispensable person?”—Barbara Martinez Jitner, The Peggy Kern Lecture on Women and Society, September 26, 2007

The Peggy Kern Lecture on Women and Society is named in memory of the mother of Jewell alumna Penny Kern White of the William Jewell class of 1968. This annual lecture honors Mrs. Peggy Kern, who lived through the Great Depression, sent a husband and son to war, developed and ran a successful business, served as an active community volunteer, and was a longstanding member of the First Baptist Church of Independence.

“Mrs. Kern valued education,” said Dr. Chad Jolly, vice president for advancement at the college. “The lecture established in her memory is committed to addressing contemporary topics and subjects that encourage the betterment of society and women in particular, and is designed to foster greater awareness of issues that influence women’s lives. The annual lecture celebrates Mrs. Kern’s life and is a living memorial of her commitment to helping others.”

Binns Lecture addresses Christian-Muslim relations

Dr. Charles Kimball

Dr. Charles Kimball invited a William Jewell College audience to ponder the world of Islam in The Binns Lectures on the Sacred and Secular, and Power and Justice in Society.

Dr. Kimball is professor of religion in the Department of Religion and professor of comparative religion in the Divinity School at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. Dr. Kimball’s topics for the two-lecture series were “The Struggle for the Soul of Islam: What in the World is Going On, and Why?” and “Sharing the Road into an Uncertain Future: Obstacles and Opportunities for Christians and Muslims in the 21st Century.”

In addition to the two Binns Lectures, Dr. Kimball participated in a panel discussion on “What makes religion newsworthy: how the media cover religion.” The panelists joining Dr. Kimball were Lewis Diuguid, columnist at The Kansas City Star, and Dr. Charles Marsh, associate professor of journalism at the Kansas University Journalism School.

Dr. Kimball is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and holds the M.Div. degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, he received his Th.D. from Harvard University in comparative religion with specialization in Islamic studies. His courses at Wake Forest include Introduction to Religion, World Religions, Conceptions of the Afterlife and Islam. He is a frequent lecturer in universities and church-related settings as well as an expert analyst on issues related to the Middle East, Islam, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations and the intersection of religion and politics in the United States.

Dr. Kimball was one of seven people invited to Iran in December 1979 as a representative of the larger religious community to facilitate communication in the wake of the Iranian hostage crisis. This visit, as well as two others in 1980 and 1981, provided an opportunity for personal meetings with the Ayatollah Khomeini and other leading ayatollahs.

Before joining the Wake Forest faculty in 1996, Dr. Kimball taught for six years at Furman University, where he also served as the Director for International Education. From 1983 to 1990, he was the Director of the Middle East Office at the National Council of Churches, based in New York. He has made more than 35 visits to the Middle East and worked closely with Congress, the White House and the State Department during the past 20 years.

Dr. Kimball’s articles have appeared in a number of publications, including Sojourners, The Christian Century, The Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor and The Boston Globe. He is the author of four books, including When Religion Becomes Evil (Harper San Francisco, 2002). When Religion Becomes Evil was named one of the “Top 15 Books on Religion for 2002” by Publishers Weekly. His three other books are Striving Together: A Way Forward in Christian-Muslim Relations (Orbis Books); Religion, Politics and Oil: The Volatile Mix in the Middle East (Abingdon Press); and Angle of Vision: Christians and the Middle East (Friendship Press).

Since the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001, Dr. Kimball has been interviewed by some 500 television and radio stations as well as major newspapers and broadcast outlets throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Sweden, France, Australia and South Africa.

“If you leave with nothing else tonight, please, please, please leave with this: Allah is just the Arabic word for God.”—Dr. Charles Kimball, The Binns Lectures on the Sacred and Secular, and Power and Justice in Society, November 6, 2007

The presentation was part of the college’s “Perspectives on the Common Good” lecture series, which incorporates the Walter Pope Binns Lectures. Dr. Binns served as president of William Jewell College from 1943 to 1962. A pastor, writer, counselor and educator, Dr. Binns epitomized the compatibility of intellectual curiosity and uncompromising Christian commitment. The lecture series was endowed in 1980 by the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation of Georgia to enhance intellectual inquiry within the Christian tradition at William Jewell. The lectureship brings to the campus annually an eminent scholar to share research and experience with students, faculty, staff and interested community members.

Cope Lecture takes aim at global warming

Chris Mooney

Chris Mooney, the Washington correspondent for Seed magazine and the author of Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming, presented the Cope Lecture on Science, Technology and the Human Experience.

The Washington Post hailed Storm World as a work that “skillfully anatomizes the scientific and political debate over hurricanes and global warming.” Mooney’s previous book, The Republican War on Science, published in 2005, has been called a “landmark in contemporary political reporting” by Salon.com; a “well-researched, closely argued, and amply referenced indictment of the right wing’s assault on science and scientists” by Scientific American; and was honored as a finalist for the 2005 Los Angeles Times book prize in the category of “Science and Technology.” His shorter writings have been nominated for a National Magazine Award and included in the volume Best American Science and Nature Writing 2006. Mooney was also named one of Wired magazine’s top ten “sexiest geeks.”

Mooney is an accomplished public speaker, having given numerous public lectures at distinguished universities including the Harvard Medical School, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Rockefeller University, and Duke University Medical Center, and at major venues such as the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco and Town Hall Seattle. In 2006 alone, Mooney was the keynote speaker for the 43rd Annual Dinner of Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties, the Edward Lamb Peace Lecturer at Bowling Green State University, and the “Preserving Core Values in Science” award speaker for the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals annual meeting. He has also participated in the CalTech Social Activism Speaker Series, the Skeptics Society annual conference, and many other major events and meetings.

Mooney has also been featured regularly in the national media. He has appeared on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” CSPAN’s “BookTV,” “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” “NPR’s Science Friday,” and “The Al Franken Show,” among many other television and radio programs. He lives in Washington, D.C.

“We cannot say definitively now what will happen in the future. It’s not only rational to think about what the worst case scenario might be, but it’s also responsible to think about what the worst case scenario might be.”—Chris Mooney, The Cope Lecture on Science, Technology, and the Human Experience, February 5, 2008

William Jewell’s Cope Lecture provides an ongoing examination of relevant scientific issues viewed within a context of contemporary technology and social ethics. It was established by Jewell alumnus and physician Dr. James C. Cope of the class of 1937.

Archeologist looks to the past

“Archeology and the Rise of Ancient Israel” was the topic of a William Jewell lecture by Dr. Zvi Lederman. Dr. Lederman is co-director of the Tel Beth Shemesh Excavation Project sponsored by the Tel Aviv University Institute of Archeology.

Dr. Zvi Lederman

“Dr. Lederman’s lecture is timely given the ongoing debate concerning the origins of the current Middle East political struggle,” said Dr. Andy Pratt, vice president for religious ministries at William Jewell. Dr. Lederman holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. The title of his thesis was “An Early Iron Age Village at Khirbet Raddana: The Excavations of Joseph A. Callaway.”

In 1990 Dr. Lederman began excavating at Tel Beth Shemesh. During seventeen seasons of digging, Tel Beth Shemesh has proven to be one of the most important current excavations in Israel. The interpretation of the finds of the material culture at Tel Beth Shemesh has contributed to the current discussion concerning the nature and character of the monarchy in early Israel. The excavations have yielded a series of important finds: a series of Canaanite cities which preceded Israelite occupation; a large village spread over the mound during the days of the Judges; a regional administrative center from the time of the monarchy which shows evidence of planning and investment; an elaborate system of fortifications on the Northeastern side of the Tel; a large retaining tower in front of a massive wall; a large underground water reservoir cruciform in shape; and an iron-smith workshop dating to the 9th and 10th centuries which is the earliest of its kind in Israel.

“Beth-Shemesh is the story of the creation and definition of the Biblical people of Israel. It is a window you can look through into history.”—Dr. Zvi Lederman, William Jewell College, October 17, 2007

Baker offers Willard Lecture

Dr. Blane Baker, professor of physics at William Jewell College, presented the 2007 Carl F. Willard Distinguished Teacher Lecture. Dr. Baker’s presentation was entitled “From Principles to Action: An Approach to Teaching Physics in the Liberal Arts Setting.”

Dr. Baker received his B.A. from William Jewell College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Washington University. He joined the Jewell faculty in 1999 and was named the Wallace Hilton Professor of Physics in 2006.

“In my view, the aim of teaching is to promote the betterment of humanity. My work as a teacher and scholar in physics contributes to this betterment by developing methods of teaching, by adding to the body of scientific knowledge, and by applying knowledge in service to others.”—Dr. Blane Baker, The Carl F. Willard Distinguished Teacher Lecture, November 13, 2007

The Willard Lecture is named for the late Carl Willard, a trustee at William Jewell from 1967 to 1991. To honor Willard’s memory and perpetuate his ideals, friends established the Carl F. Willard Distinguished Teacher Award at William Jewell as a continuing investment in tomorrow’s leaders. The Faculty Development Committee recommends honorees for the award to the President and Dean, and the recipient is announced at the Annual Faculty Dinner in May.

Journeys of Mind and Faith

Presentations in the 2007-2008 “Journeys of Mind and Faith” lecture series included:

Dr. Ian Coleman, professor of music and chair at William Jewell: “War and Peace: Questions Born from the Worship Wars.”

“My journey of mind and faith has inevitably involved me being at the intersection of music and worship. While I do not profess to have all, or even any, of the right answers to the tensions that exist where these two entities come together, I do feel that I might be able to offer some of the right questions to ask, and this, I believe, is the place to start.”—Dr. Ian Coleman, Journeys of Mind and Faith Lecture, September 25, 2007

Dr. Coleman received his B.A. from Bath (U.K.) College of Higher Education; his P.G.C.E. from the University of Exeter (U.K.); and his M.M. and D.M.A. from the University of Kansas. He joined the William Jewell faculty in 2002.

Dr. Kim Harris, professor of communication and director of the William Jewell College Theatre: “Through a Child’s Eyes.”

“The world is a confusing place in which to find faith and to understand it. At least this is what I have thought from the time I was a child. Still very much a child at heart, I react to the bombarding questions of why humans exist, why they love to fight each other and hate to love each other. In the midst of the daily questions filtered through newspapers, television, the Internet and interpersonal interactions, God sits. And where God sits many more questions intersect, including whether God can or does ‘sit’ or set himself in any particular paradigm.”—Dr. Kim Harris, Journeys of Mind and Faith Lecture, October 24, 2007

Dr. Harris received his B.A. from Carson-Newman College and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University. He has completed additional study at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He joined the William Jewell faculty in 1979.

Dr. Donna Gardner, associate professor of education and chair at William Jewell: “Being an American Catholic.” Dr. Gardner examined her evolving conception of what it means to be Catholic in an individualistic country. She received her B.S.Ed. and M.A. from Northeast Missouri State University and her Ph.D. from Saint Louis University. Dr. Gardner joined the William Jewell faculty in 2003.

“Helping to heal a world that’s broken—that’s the part of the Catholic Church that I wish to be a part of.”—Dr. Donna Gardner, Journeys of Mind and Faith Lecture, February 14, 2008

The “Journeys of Mind and Faith” series focuses on the tension often inherent in addressing questions of faith and intellect. “As a Christian liberal arts college, William Jewell has at its disposal the uncommonly conjoined resources of intellectual inquiry and faith,” said lecture series coordinator Dr. Milton Horne. “This series takes advantage of those resources to present to the community the stories of individuals whose Christian and intellectual journeys, while not yet complete, have been rewarding and worthwhile.”