Archived Events

Churchill

Presented by Professor Frank Cardimen, Oakland University & Smart Towns Co-Founder
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

Winston Churchill was the greatest orator of his day, the greatest leader of the Second World War, the greatest statesman of his age, and the greatest Englishman of the twentieth century….perhaps of all time. The debt owed to Sir Winston Churchill by the free world remains immeasurable. Yet at the heart of this often intimidating colossus lay a man of vast humanity, enormous wit and boundless humor, much of it mischievous and a prolific writer.

Learn more with Oakland University Professor Frank Cardimen, about his WWII exploits, his life with Clementine, his writings, his leadership in Parliament and his wit….. for this talented Englishman WAS an agent of change in the 20th Century.

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Good Roads Movement

Presented by Jim Craft
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm
Admission: $5, Free for Museum members

The Model T is considered Michigan’s most significant contribution bringing change to the world.
 
The model T revolutionized travel in the United States and was constructed to make car ownership affordable to average American workers. Ford built more than 15 million of the vehicles and they could reach a top speed of 45 miles per hour. But what about the roads that they traveled?
 
Join historian and author Jim Craft, as he presents the history of road building and maintenance in Michigan. Light refreshments will be served.

Register at Rochester Hills Museum!

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woodward

Presented by Joel Stone, Detroit Historical Society, Senior Curator
Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

Joel Stone, Senior Curator at the Detroit Historical Society, will use everyday street signs to explore the 300 years of Detroit’s history, and the story of the people whose legacy is traversed by citizens every day. Setting Detroit apart are the recognizable names of streets like Woodward, Beaubien, Mount Elliot, and Selden. Behind each of these monikers is a man or woman who played a part in Detroit’s past.

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Cathy Parker

Presented by Dr. Catherine Parker, Rochester College, School of Humanities
Monday, October 22, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester College Auditorium

If modern civilization as we know it-- internet, mass transit, international commerce, electricity --came to an end, what stories should be held on to, and what remnants of culture should be passed on? In New York Times bestselling novel, Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel depicts a world 20 years after 99% of the human of the population has been wiped out by a superbug. Amid the chaos and struggle for survival, the novel follows a small traveling band of symphony players and actors performing Shakespeare, and a young woman's search for the origin of a mysterious comic book. Stories have played a central role in all societies throughout history. To learn about people who lived in the past, we examine their art and read their poetry. Even as technology has changed the world in almost every other way... perhaps the humanities are still what make us human after all!

See more information at Rochester College!

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Theresa Anasti

Presented by Dr. Theresa Anasti, Oakland University, Dept. of Sociology
Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

Sex work—the exchange of sexual services for tangible goods such as money, housing, drugs or food—is criminalized in the United States. While the range of punishments vary by state, both individuals selling sexual services and those purchasing sexual services are subject to punishment in the form of jail time, mandated rehabilitation, or fines. Because the sex trade is criminalized, buyers and sellers of sex have had barriers to accessing social services. Oakland University Professor Theresa Anasti will discuss her new project, which includes interviews with social service managers in the city of Chicago, looks at how these managers perceive their work with individuals involved in the sex trade. It discusses the divergence of those who perceive involvement in the sex trade as a necessary aspect of survival, a type of labor, a criminal enterprise, or the cause of victimization, reflecting on how these different perceptions affect the type of services that those in the sex trade receive. Through this work, she hopes to provide a better understanding of what types of services are needed for individuals in the sex trade, and how managers' beliefs around this population can affect the type of services provided.

Register at Rochester Hills Public Library!

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ADHD Signs and Treatment

Presented by Dr. Rose Natheer
Thursday, September 20, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

Dr. Natheer of Ascension Crittenton Hospital will discuss how ADHD develops, clinical manifestations, the course of the disease and available treatment plans.

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2000px Christianity percent population in each nation World Map Christian data by Pew Research.svg

Presented by Dr. Jamey Walters
Monday, September 17, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester College, Auditorium

Why did Christianity succeed in the Roman Empire? How did this movement, which began with a small group of disciples who had dedicated their lives to following the teachings of a Jewish peasant who was crucified as an insurrectionist against the Roman Empire, ultimately become so widespread and popular that it would be adopted as the official religion of the Empire? It is obvious from surviving historical data that Christianity grew exponentially in its first few centuries, but it is not obvious how or why it grew so quickly. Scholars of early Christianity have been writing about this problem for quite some time, yet the answer remains a highly-disputed issue.
 
In this presentation, Dr. Walters will provide a survey of the major theories that have been proposed regarding the rise of the Christian movement, as well as the historical and methodological problems that make this question so difficult to answer.

See more information at Rochester College!

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WAB

Presented by Patrick McKay, Rochester Hills Museum
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm
Free for Museum members, $5 for public attendees

Imagine a world without the discovery of iron ore in the Upper Peninsula, the solar compass or the Global Positioning System, the equatorial sextant, used to determine the location of a ship at sea, or the typewriter and, subsequent, keyboard.

William Austin Burt inventor, legislator, surveyor and millwright was known as the “father of the typewriter” and invented the first workable solar compass, and the equatorial sextant. He also discovered the Marquette Iron Ore Range in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1844.

Born in Massachusetts, Burt moved to Michigan in 1822 settling in the village of Mount Vernon near the village of Stoney Creek. From the age of fifteen, he determined his calling to be such as would be useful to mankind.

Join Patrick McKay of the Rochester Hills Museum and learn the fascinating story of this amazing local man, one of our own, who achieved his desire to be useful to mankind and about the products of his life’s work that were Agents of Change.

See more information at Rochester Hills Museum!

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bletchly

Presented by Frank Cardimen, Smart Towns Co-Founder & Oakland University Professor
Thursday, May 17, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

In the early part of World War II, the British were able to secure the German’s Enigma Machine….a code system that was “unbreakable.” Alan Turing, professor of mathematics at Cambridge and his team at Bletchley Park north of London broke the code early and provided Churchill and the allied Commanders with intercepted messages from the Germans. Experts forecasted that this code breaking with this new technology saved the lives over 2 million soldiers and citizens and reduced the war by 2-3 years.

How was this code broken? How was it used during WWII? Turing’s genius created a machine that intercepted the German’s code and help the Allies – the first known computer! What happened to Turing? What impact did this new machine have on the world today?

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Medical weight loss

Presented by Dr. Richard S. Duff, MD, Ascension Crittenton Hospital
Tuesday, May 15, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

The RHPL has partnered with both Smart Towns and Ascension Crittenton to bring you a series of conversations with a variety of Crittenton doctors! These leaders and agents of change will talk about the newest advancements in exciting medical fields and answer questions the audience has about these innovations!

In the final installment Dr. Duff, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist also committed to ending obesity, will present what's new in medical weight loss for women, and how these new technologies can help women achieve their lifestyle and wellness goals.

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the doctors

Presented by Dr. Robert A. Keller, MD & Dr. Nicholas B. Frisch, MD|MBA
Tuesday, May 1, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

The RHPL has partnered with both Smart Towns and Ascension Crittenton to bring you a series of conversations with a variety of Crittenton doctors! These leaders and agents of change will talk about the newest advancements in exciting medical fields and answer questions the audience has about these innovations!

In the second installment in this series, Dr. Keller and Dr. Frisch, two orthopedic surgeons, will tackle two different topics for the audience. Dr. Keller will be presenting on whats new in stem cells, and how they will impact the future of medicine. Dr. Frisch will take on changes in joint replacement surgery, and how it could change the lives of those who undergo joint replacement. .

Register at Rochester Hills Public Library!

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Riding on the Edge Book Cover

Presented by Madelyn Rzadkowolski, Director of Curatorial Services, Meadow Brook Hall
Friday, April 13, 2018 - 4:30 pm to 6 pm
Meadow Brook Hall

The past of the Meadow Brook estate includes the secret test driving of the first Dodge Brothers cars, the construction of Meadow Brook Hall, a National Historic Landmark, and the founding of Oakland University, but there is one more important story on the estate that remains largely untold: that of equestrian Frances Dodge and her world-renowned Dodge Stables.

Thanks to a new book published by Meadow Brook Press, Riding on the Edge by Karel Bond Lucander, the story of Dodge Stables is finally getting its due. Curator Madelyn Rzadkowolski will tell the story of Frances, her trainers, her horses and the accomplishments they achieved.
The lecture will conclude with a special exhibit of photos, costumes and archival materials of Dodge Stables and its most famous horse, Wing Commander, who was foaled on Meadow Brook 75 years ago.

Plus, Riding on the Edge author Karel Bond Lucander will be signing books!

Reservations are $15 per person and are required. To make a reservation, please call Jill at (248) 364-6252.

See more information at Meadow Brook Hall!

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Flu Epidemic

Presented by Dr. Adam Hull, Ascension Crittenton Physician: Primary Care Internal Medicine
Friday, March 30, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm
Free for Museum members, $5 for public attendees

The Flu Epidemic of 1918 killed more than 50 million people, one-fifth of the world’s population, and affected over 25% of the population of the United States. The year of 1918 was an unforgettable year of suffering and death and peace as World War I ended.
A quote from the Journal of the American Medical Association in December of 1918 stated: “... Medical Science for four and one half years devoted itself to putting men on the firing line and keeping them there. Now is must turn with its whole might to combatting the greatest enemy of all – infectious disease.” Join Dr. Hull as he looks back over this tragic time that lead to great discoveries and change.

See more information at Rochester Hills Museum!

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robotic surgery

Presented by Dr. Daniel Sullivan, MD, Ascension Crittenton Hospital
Thursday, March 29, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

The RHPL has partnered with both Smart Towns and Ascension Crittenton to bring you a series of conversations with a variety of Crittenton doctors! These leaders and agents of change will talk about the newest advancements in exciting medical fields and answer questions the audience has about these innovations!

To kick this series off, Dr. Sullivan, a doctor with more than 20 years of experience and among one of the 21 doctors at Crittenton Hospital who specialize in surgery, will be coming in to talk about robotic surgery and the exciting new techniques and inventions that are making medical breakthroughs. .

Register at Rochester Hills Public Library!

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tosca

Presented by Colin Knapp, Program Director, Michigan Opera Theatre
Thursday, March 22, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library

Rochester Hills Public Library invited the Michigan Opera Theatre back, to share stories and perform excerpts from Pucinni’s Tosca. Program Director Colin Knapp will tell the story Tosca and share a little information on Pucinni. Several of MOT's talented opera singers will perform excerpts from the show.

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Political Map of 2016 Presidential Election

Presented by Dave Dulio, Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department, Oakland University
Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 6 to 7 pm
Sponsored by Oakland University
Located at The Older Person's Commission

Dave Dulio, Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at Oakland University, will revisit 2016 and some of the most interesting, important and significant election results. He will go on to discuss why they are important changes to how our state has voted in the recent past, and will then look ahead to 2018 and how things might change again.

Register at Oakland University!

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AntiCathAntiMus

Presented by Dr. Keith Huey, Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion, Rochester College
Monday, February 26, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester College Auditorium

Foreign conspiracy theories have been a standard part of American life, and each generation has defined itself against the foil of a different mortal enemy. We will consider this American tradition, with special attention to the anti-Catholic conspiracy theories of the 19th century and the anti-Islamic conspiracy theories of the 21st century. We will discuss the recurring themes and hopefully get a better perspective on our present-day situation.

See more information at Rochester College!

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hollywood sign

Presented by Al Eicher and Dave Eicher
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library - Multipurpose room

When Hollywood Went to War is the real life story of nearly 90 celebrities who served in the United Stateilitary during World War II. Presenter Al and Dave Eicher collected hundreds of photographs, films and several interviews of men and women from the entertainment world. These 1940’s celebrities, young and some older, took time out in their successful careers to protect and preserve our freedom. This presentation will explain where they went to serve and what battlefields and/or naval battles they experienced.

Register at Rochester Hills Public Library!

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Disturbing the Peace

Presented by Professor Alan Epstein and Professor Laura Landolt,
Political Science Department, Oakland University
Thursday, Febuary 8, 2018 - 6 pm
Located at Oakland University
Hannah Hall - Room 190

In a world torn by conflict - in a place where the idea of peace has been abandoned - an energy of determined optimism emerges. When someone is willing to disturb the status quo and stand for the dream of a free and secure world, who will stand with them? This joint Palestinian-Israeli film demonstrates how combatants on both sides of the divide discover their common humanity and jointly endeavor to struggle for a resolution to the conflict. After the film, OU Political Science professors Alan Epstein and Laura Landolt will engage the audience in discussion.

For more information about the film, please visit http://disturbingthepeacefilm.com/about/

Registration from Oakland University!

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martin luther king

Presented by Jamon Jordan, Detroit Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, President
Tuesday, February 6, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester Hills Public Library - Multipurpose room

Jamon Jordan is President of the Detroit Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. ASALH Detroit is responsible for Black History Month activities in the Metropolitan Detroit area. An educator and writer, Jordan has spent decades researching Black history. He also runs Black Scroll Network History and Tours. He’ll share insights on unsung heros of the Civil Rights Movement.

Register at Rochester Hills Public Library!

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growing money plant

Presented by Jaymes Vettraino, Director of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Rochester College
Tuesday, January 30, 2018 - 7 pm
Rochester College Auditorium

The presentation will explore the influence of Muhammad Yunus, innovator of modern micro-finance. Dr. Yunus established the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1983 with the objective of helping people escape from poverty by providing them small loans with reasonable terms. This idea, known as micro-finance, earned Dr. Yunus the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 and inspired a generation of social entrepreneurs to think differently about microloans and social change. With the availability of tools like Kiva.org, everyone can now be a micro-financier and an agent of social good change for the world’s most vulnerable populations.

See more information at Rochester College!

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