Isabel Wilkerson
January Series 2014
Wednesday, January 8
Underwritten by: John & Mary Loeks and Spectrum Health
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author, Wilkerson spent 15 years interviewing more that 1,200 people to write The Warmth of Other Suns, her award-winning work of narrative nonfiction that tell the epic story of the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America and has become known as the Great Migration. Wilkerson is a gifted and passionate speaker who has addressed the topics of migration, social justice, urban affairs and 20th Century history at universities across the country and in Europe. She has appeared on national programs such as CBS's 60 Minutes, PBS's Charlie Rose, NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, NBC's Nightly News, MSNBC, C-SPAN, and others. She is currently Professor of Journalism and Director of Narrative Nonfiction at Boston University.
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Olympia Snowe
January Series 2014
Thursday, January 9
Underwritten by: Meijer, Inc.
An outspoken centrist, Senator Snowe stunned Washington in February 2012 when she announced she would not seek a fourth tern and offered a sharp rebuke to the Senate, citing the dispiriting gridlock and polarization. After serving in the legislative branch at the state and federal levels for 40 years, including 18 years in the U.S. Senate, she explained that Washington wasn't solving the big problems anymore. In her book Fighting for Common Ground she explores the roots of her belief in principled policy-making and bipartisan compromise. A leading moderate with a reputation for crossing the aisle, Senator Snowe proposes solutions for bridging the partisan divide in Washington, most notably through a citizens' movement to hold elected officials accountable. In 2005, Snowe was named the 54th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine. in 2006, Time magazine named her one of the top ten U.S. senators.
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Bob Goff
January Series 2014
Friday, January 10
Underwritten by: Barnes & Thornburg, LLP
Bob Goff is the New York Times bestselling author of Love Does, as well as an attorney who founded Restore International, a nonprofit human rights organization operating in Uganda and India. Bob often appears at leadership and university events, inspiring current and future influencers to get to the "do" part of life. With a team of dedicated people, Restore International has pursued justice for the needy and worked with Uganda's judiciary in bringing to trial over 200 cases, including cases involving children who were languishing in jail without trial. In India, Restore investigated and intervened to relieve minor girls from a life of forced prostitution, leading to the identification and arrest of over 80 perpetrators. Bob's inspiration has been fueled by the friendships he has developed with others around the world who desire to pursue strategic ways to help people in need. As an attorney, Bob shares leadership in a Washington law firm, Goff & DeWalt. Additionally, he serves as the Honorary Council for the Republic of Uganda to the United States. He is also an adjunct professor at Pepperdine Law School where he teaches nonprofit law, and Point Loma University, where he teaches business law.
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Kevin Schut
January Series 2014
Monday, January 13
Underwritten by: Jeff & Shirley Hoogstra
An associate professor and chair of the department of media and communication at Trinity Western University on British Columbia, Schut writes about the intersection of communication, culture, media, technology and faith related to computer and video games. He has published articles or chapters on fantasy-role-playing computer games and masculinity, computer games and myth, and evangelicals and games. He has guided interdisciplinary groups of students in designing and constructing small indie-style computer games. As a Calvin College alum, he is returning to share his insights into the compatibility of the Christian faith and interactive entertainment.
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Nicole Baker Fulgham
January Series 2014
Tuesday, January 14
Underwritten by: <a href=
Fulgham is the president and found of The Expectations Project, a national organization that mobilizes people of faith to support public education reform and close the academic achievement gap. She is the former vice president of faith community relations at Teach for America, has appeared on CNN and ABC News, and was named on the list of "50 Women to Watch: Those Most Shaping the Church and Culture" by Christianity Today. A native of Detroit, Nicole graduated from the University of Michigan and joined Teach for America where she taught fifth grade in Compton, California. She received her doctorate from the University of California at Los Angeles, with a focus on urban education policy and teacher preparation. She is the recipient of an Education Entrepreneur Fellowship with The Mind Trust and serves on teh board of several non-profit and community organizations, including the National Association of Evangelicals and Faith in Public Life. Nicole and her husband have three children and live in the Washington, DC area.
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Zachary Karabell
January Series 2014
Wednesday, January 15
Underwritten by: The Peter C. and Emajean Cook Foundation
Designated a "Global Leader for Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum, Karabell is bringing a profound and refreshing optimistic outlook to a world economy in crisis. He is a regular contributor on CNBC and Fast Money, and is also a frequent commentator on MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Fox News and The History Channel. Karabell regularly wrights for such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Newsweek: the Daily Beast. He is also the author of several books including his latest Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World. He is a graduate of Columbia, Oxford and Harvard and served as a professor of American History, American Government, Middle East History, and International Relations at several universities including Dartmouth and Harvard.
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Michael K. Le Roy
January Series 2014
Thursday, January 16
Underwritten by: <a href=
Appointed in June 2012, Le Roy is the 10th and current president of Calvin College. Born in La Mesa, California, he grew up in Bainbridge Island, Washington and attended Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in political science at Vanderbilt University in 1994. From 1994 to 2002, Le Roy taught political science at Wheaton College where he chaired the department of politics and international relations, developed a new international relations major, and served for six years as the director of the Wheaton in Europe program. In 2002, he returned to Whitworth where he taught political science for three years before being appointed vice president of academic affairs and dean of faculty. He is a strong believer in the role of Christian liberal arts in the landscape of Christian higher education and is leading Calvin College forward during a challenging era in the history of higher education.
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Linda Smith
January Series 2014
Friday, January 17
Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST), which is the commercial sexual expoitation of children through buying, selling, or trading their sexual services, happens all over the world including the United States. At least 100,000 U.S. children are exploited in prostitution every year in America. Linda Smith has dedicated her life to changing this story. In 1998, while serving in the U.S. Congress, Smith traveled to a notorious brothel district in India where the hopeless faces of women and children forced into prostitution compelled her to found Shared Hope International. Share Hope International is dedicated to bringing an end to sex trafficking through a three-prong approach - prevention, restoration, and justice.
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Dr. John M. Perkins
January Series 2014
Monday, January 20
Underwritten by: The Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation
Paul Douglas
January Series 2014
Tuesday, January 21
Underwritten by: Wolverine Gas & Oil Corporation
The concept of "normal weather" has shifted with the increase of more extreme weather events; drier droughts, wetter storms, and more historic flooding events. As Minnesota's first CBM broadcast meteorologist with a meteorology degree from Penn State, Douglas has spent 36 years in broadcasting radio and television, web production, print, and reporting. A serial entrepreneur, Douglas started EarthWatch, the first company to bring 3-D weather graphics to broadcasters in 1991. In 1998 he started Digital Cyclone, the first company to have an application on a cell phone. He has taught college classes on broadcast meteorology, lectured extensively on climate change, and he still writes a daily weather column for the Star Tribune newspaper. His software was use in Steven Spielburg's movies Jurassic Park and Twister, and his reporting and television weathercasting has garnered AP awards and a local Emmy.
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Dr. Victoria Sweet
January Series 2014
Wednesday, January 22
Underwritten by: <a href=
Dr. Sweet is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, and a prize-winning historian with a Ph.D. in history. She practiced medicine for twenty years at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco where she began writing. In her recent book, God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine, she lays our her evidence for some radically new ideas about medicine and healthcare in this country. Oliver Sacks says God's Hotel should be "required reading for anyone interested in the business of health care - and especially for those interested in the humanity of health care."
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Bill Rasmussen
January Series 2014
Thursday, January 23
Underwritten by: <a href=
On September 7, 1979, ESPN was launched. Entrepreneurial daring, irrepressible enthusiasm and a dash of good luck gave the world the first 24-hour television network. Once unleashed upon sports fans, ESPN's impact forever change the way we watch television. The man who had the dream, the founder of ESPN, is Bill Rasmussen. A life-long entrepreneur and sports fan, Rasmussen's innovations in advertising, sports, and broadcasting are too numerous to list, but they include the creation of Sports Center, wall-to-wall coverage of NCAA regular-season and March Madness college basketball, and coverage of the College World Series. Rasmussen is a frequent guest on radio, television and the internet, and is the author of the best-selling book, Sports Junkies Rejoice: The Birth of ESPN. A United States Air Force veteran, Rasmussen received his bachelor's degree in Economics from DePauw University and his MBA from Rutgers University.
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Jennifer Wiseman
January Series 2014
Friday, January 24
Underwritten by: Holland Litho Printing Services
An American astronomer, Wiseman received her bachelor's degree in physics from MIT and her Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University. Wiseman discovered periodic comet 114P/Wiseman-Skiff while working as an undergraduate research assistant in 1987. With a keen interest in science policy and public dialogue, she served as a Congressional Science Fellow and currently directs the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is currently a senior astrophysicist at Goddard Space Flight Center, where she previously headed the Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, and where she studies the formation of stars in interstellar clouds. A committed Christian, she has authored several essays addressing the relationship of astronomy and Christian faith. She grew up on an Arkansas farm, where she enjoyed late night star-gazing walks with her parents and pets. She will share the latest astronomical discoveries and images from space and discuss how galaxies, stars and planets form and mature, what they can teach us, and how good science can strengthen our faith.
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Anne Zaki
January Series 2014
Monday, January 27
Underwritten by: <a href=
Anne is a resource development specialist for global and multi-cultural resources at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, living with her husband and four sons in Cairo, Egypt. She currently teaches at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. Anne received her bachelor's degree from Calvin College in Psychology and Sociology in 1999, her master's degree from The American University in Cairo in the field of Social Psychology in 2002, and her masters of Divinity from Calvin Theological Seminary in 2009. In September 2011, nine months after the events of the Arab Spring, she and her husband felt called to make the move to Cairo. Anne will share with us what life is like in Egypt for Middle Eastern Christians and where she finds her hope.
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Jeremy Begbie
Reshaping Lament: Music and the Way to Joy
Tuesday, January 28
Underwritten by: The Center for Excellence in Preaching
Professor at Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina and Cambridge University in England, and founder of Theology Through the Arts, Begbie has performed extensively as a pianist, oboist, and conductor. He is the author of several publications as well as the co-editor of Resonant Witness: Conversations Between Music and Theology. He studies philosophy and music at Ebinburgh University and theology at Aberdeen and Cambridge. He is the ordained minister of the Church of England, having served for a number of years as the assistant pastor of a church in West London. He has taught widely in the UK, North America and South Africa.
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