Tag: Jefferson Literary and Debating Society

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Edgar Allan Poe appears before Jefferson Society on Friday the 13th

Poet, wastrel, and former University of Virginia student Edgar Allan Poe presented a selection of his best known works to the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on Friday, November 13, 2009. Mr. Poe’s recitations included Eldorado, The Raven, and a chilling enactment of The Tell-Tale Heart.

Scott Craig Jones is the image and voice of Edgar Allan Poe. He presents “Edgar Allan Poe Comes Alive!” to middle school, high school, and college audiences throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Find out more about The Traveling Jones Theater at his website.

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“The Life and Times of Winston Churchill” at Jefferson Society

University of Virginia Professor C. Brian Kelly and Ingrid Smyer-Kelly are co-authors of the recently published “Best Little Stories from the Life and Times of Winston Churchill.” The Kellys’ book won an honorable mention in the London Festival of Books last December and was praised by a reviewer for the international Churchill Centre’s quarterly publication “Finest Hour.” On Friday, October 9, 2009, the Kellys spoke to the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on “Anecdotally Speaking: The Life and Times of Winston Churchill” as part of the Jefferson Society’s Fall Speaker Series.

The Churchill book is the ninth in the Best Little Stories series of historical books produced by the husband-and-wife writing team. They began in 1989 by self-publishing Best Little Stories from World War II. Two more self-published anecdotal histories soon followed, one on the history of the White House and one on the Civil War. Each book features a section by Mrs. Smyer-Kelly on the women of the historical period.

Mr. Kelly was a newspaper reporter for 20 years and now teaches news writing at the University of Virginia. Mrs. Smyer-Kelly is a former freelance writer for newspapers. In recent years she has served on the board of the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center of Virginia in Charlottesville and as a member of the city’s Historical Resources Committee

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Jefferson Society: Kenneth Elzinga on Unconventional Leadership Principles

Kenneth Elzinga
Kenneth Elzinga

The third speaker in the Jefferson Society’s Fall 2009 Speaker Series was Professor Kenneth Elzinga. On Friday, September 18, Professor Elzinga spoke on the topic, “Some Unconventional Principles of Leadership.”

Kenneth G. Elzinga is the Robert C. Taylor Chair in Economics at the University of Virginia, and has been a member of the faculty since 1967. Mr. Elzinga has received many distinguished awards, including the Thomas Jefferson Award, the highest honor the University of Virginia accords its faculty. Each fall Mr. Elzinga teaches the largest class offered at the University of Virginia, introductory economics.

Mr. Elzinga’s major research interest is antitrust economics, especially pricing strategy and market definition. He has testified in several precedent-setting antitrust cases. He is a former Fellow in Law and Economics as the University of Chicago and a Thomas Jefferson Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University. Mr. Elzinga is the author of more than seventy academic publications.

He also is known for three mystery novels, co-authored with William Breit under the pen name Marshall Jevons, in which the protagonist employs economic analysis to solve the crime.

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Former Governor Jim Gilmore speaks on “The New Liberty”

Former Governor of Virginia Jim Gilmore addressed the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on Friday, April 17, 2009. His subject was “The New Socialism vs. the New Liberty.” Mr. Gilmore touched on themes of individual freedom in the context of taxation, economic stimulus packages, global warming, health care, gun ownership, and foreign policy. He then took questions from the capacity crowd.

University of Virginia alumnus James Gilmore III has devoted a career of service to his home state of Virginia and to his nation. He served as governor of Virginia from 1998-2002. From 1999-2003, he was the chair of the U.S. Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, commonly known as the Gilmore Commission. In 2001 he served as chair of the Republican National Committee. He is currently chairman of the National Council on Readiness and Preparedness. You may read his official blog at Virginia Patriot.

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Thomas Jefferson Addresses the Jefferson Society

Steven Edenbo as Thomas Jefferson

Founding Father, international diplomat, and University of Virginia Founder Thomas Jefferson of Monticello addressed the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on Friday, March 27, 2009. Though he claimed to not be “an adept at public speaking,” he spoke to the assembled guests on a variety of topics ranging from the contentious election of 1800 to the dangers of holding our political leaders in too exalted an esteem.

Steven Edenbo has been a Thomas Jefferson impersonator, historian, and motivational speaker
with the American Historical Theatre since 1999.

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Dr. William Wulf addresses the Jefferson Society

William Wulf

Professor William Wulf addressed the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on Friday, March 13, 2009, on the topic, “Responsible Citizenship in a Technological Democracy.” His lecture addressed the importance of science and technology education in promoting an informed citizenry.

William Wulf is the AT&T Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia. From 1988 to 1990, Dr. Wulf served as Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation, where he headed the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). Dr. Wulf is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the ACM, the IEEE, and the AAAS. In 1968 Dr. Wulf received the first Computer Science Ph.D. ever awarded at the University of Virginia.

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Jefferson Society: William Cochran on The Power of Seeing Differently

William Cochran

William Cochran addressed the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on Friday, February 20, 2009, drawing on his work as a public landmark artist to illustrate his lecture, “The Power of Seeing Differently.” Afterwards he took questions from the audience.

William Cochran creates landmark public artworks in paint, glass, masonry, bronze, steel, stone and light. These projects frequently engage the community directly in the creative process. They explore local history and the meaning of place in ways that illuminate common ground. The artworks are carefully woven into their social and architectural environments, yet they retain a strong sense of the human hand.

William and his partner Teresa work with a wide range of government, private, community-based and non-profit organizations to develop and implement these projects. This work often involves master planning and visioning processes for public art and placemaking.