Colligan lecture series popular draw at Miami Hamilton

January 14, 2007

The Michael J. Colligan History Project lecture series continues to grow in popularity at Miami Hamilton, and the spring 2008 lineup will be among the best ever, according to Dr. Michael Carrafiello, assistant dean and project director.

“Presenters are timely, insightful and entertaining, and all events are free and open to the public,” Carrafiello said. “The audience is becoming more diverse and the programs more eclectic, appealing to people of all ages from all walks of life.”

Last fall, four of five scheduled Colligan events played out to standing-room-only crowds in the Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, including Tom Griffin’s first-hand account of the Doolitte Raiders; Joyce Hunsaker’s portrayal of Sacagawea; Murray Leff’s World War II memoirs, and Curt Ellison’s exposé on Ralph Stanley.

“We used every chair we had, and people were standing in the atrium,” Carrafiello said. The fifth lecture, David Blight’s A Slave No More, included rare first-person narratives and attracted a near-capacity crowd as well, he added.

Seating capacity in the main conference room is 300.

“We’ve always done pretty well, but in the last couple of years we’ve doubled our attendance,” Carrafiello said.

The Colligan history project is a joint undertaking of the Hamilton Community Foundation’s Colligan Fund Committee and Miami Hamilton, made possible by the generous bequest of Michael J. Colligan, a prominent local businessman and amateur historian.

Continuing with the 2007-08 theme History’s Movers and Shakers, here’s the spring ’08 lineup. All events start at 7:30 p.m.:

 

	On Tues., Feb. 12, in the Wilks Conference Center, Susan Frontczak represents first lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1937 during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s second term as president. Eleanor had worked to advance laws against child labor, minimum wage, maximum hours, and women’s rights during the 1920s. She continued to advance her causes while FDR was in office, often serving as her husband’s eyes and ears since he was confined to a wheelchair. No other first lady had ever taken on such a public role. Behind this public life is the story of a little girl who lost both parents before the age of 10, a debutant who felt trapped by society’s expectations, and a young wife who raised five children before emerging as one of the 20th century’s most remarkable women.
	On Wed., March 5, in the Wilks Conference Center, Jon Kukla discusses Thomas Jefferson’s apparent aversion to women in presenting All MEN Are Created Equal. Kukla’s latest book, Mr. Jefferson’s Women, is a pioneering study of Jefferson’s relationships with women in his personal and political life. The author of the Declaration of Independence who first penned the words “all men are created equal,” Jefferson was surprisingly hostile toward women, according to Kukla. A former director of both the Historic New Orleans Collection and Red Hill – The Patrick Henry National Memorial in Virginia -- Kukla also directed historical research and publishing efforts at the Library of Virginia. He received a doctorate in history from University of Toronto. Kukla now lives and writes in Richmond, Virginia.
	On Wed, March 19, at Miami Hamilton Downtown, Daniel Goldmark traces the history of Hollywood animated cartoons through their songs with Hollywood Singing: Animated Cartoons and the Persistence of Tin Pan Alley. Goldmark is a UCLA music professor who specializes in popular, film, and cartoon music. His current research is focused on New York City’s fabled Tin Pan Alley in the early 1900s. While the Warner Bros. Studios was well known for using a wide variety of popular tunes in its cartoons, other studios including Disney made cartoon songs into pop hits. With a live music demonstration and numerous cartoon examples, Goldmark shows how the development of animated cartoons is inextricably bound to the history of popular music in the United States.
	On Wed., April 2, in Parrish Auditorium, Susan Eisenhower will receive the 7th John E. Dolibois History Prize when she presents The 20th Century Sweep: A Personal Perspective. She is the granddaughter of the late Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during World War II and 34th President of the United States. Today, Ms. Eisenhower is president of the Eisenhower Group, Inc., which provides strategic counsel on political, business and public affairs projects. She also is chairman emeritus of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College, and an appointed member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on International Security and Arms Control. In 2000, she co-edited the book Islam and Central Asia, which a year before September 11 carried the prescient subtitle, An Enduring Legacy or an Evolving Threat?
	The Colligan history project also is sponsoring the 2008 Jim Blount History Educator Award recognizing two outstanding Southwest Ohio history teachers. The awards ceremony will take place during a recognition dinner honoring the winners at 7:30 p.m. Thurs., May 15, in the Wilks Conference Center. This award exemplifies the commitment to and achievement in history education epitomized in Mr. Blount’s life and career. Two awards will be given in 2008: one to a history teacher instructing grades K-6, and one to a history teacher instructing grades 7-12. Each will receive public recognition, the dinner hosted in their honor, an engraved crystal sculpture, and a $500 stipend. For application details, go to www.ham.muohio.edu/colliganproject/blount_award.