Peter Bergen is a print and television journalist who produced the first television interview with Osama bin Laden for CNN, where he is a terrorism and national security analyst. Bergen is also a Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, an Adjunct Lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, as well as a research fellow at New York University’s Center on Law and Security. Bergen’s books include Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World on Bin Laden (2001) and The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader (2006). Bergen spoke at a Miller Center forum on September 12th, 2008.
Rodney Cohen is the director of Multicultural Affairs at Presbyterian College in South Carolina.On September 5, 2008, he addressed the Society on the subject of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
Cohen is the author of two books on the history of Historical HBCUs: The Black Colleges of Atlanta and Fisk University along with a number of articles published about HBCUs in the International Journal of Educational Advancement and the Journal of Urban Education. He is currently researching the history and legacy of black fraternal groups, literary and debate societies prior to the 20th century.His other research interests include alumni giving traditions at historically black colleges and black alumni groups at majority colleges and universities.
Dr. Cohen received his Bachelors degree from Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia and his masters from Western Kentucky University and his doctorate from Vanderbilt University. His dissertation was Black College Alumni; the perceptions, attitudes and giving behaviors of African American alumni at selected HBCUs. Dr. Cohen is an active Rotarian, a member of the National Eagle Scout Association, the Laurens County Cycling Club and a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
On August 20, 2008, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression brought a time machine to the Community Chalkboard at the eastern end of the Downtown Mall. A crowd assembled was transported to the year 1828 to hear from James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States.
The Presidential time machine appears to operate once every August. In 2007, James Madison himself leapt from the past in order to give his view of history.
On August 20, 2008, one of the speakers–Scott Harris–appeared at the Senior Center to talk about the May, 15th, 1864 Battle of New Market in the Shenandoah Valley. Scott received his B.A. with honors in History and Historic Preservation from Mary Washington College in 1983, and got his Master in History and Museum Administration from William and Mary in 1988. He is currently the director of the New Market Battlefield Park which commemorates the fascinating battle and highlights the participation of the 257 Virginia Military Institute cadets who helped capture a Union battery of artillery.
Republican incumbent Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. and Democratic Challenger Tom Perriello spoke at a Senior Statesmen of Virginia event held August 13th, 2008 at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following opening statements by the candidates, questions were taken from members of the audience. Senior Statesmen board member and treasurer, Bob McAdams, moderated the program.
Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. is a lifelong resident of Franklin County and currently resides in Rocky Mount, Virginia. He is married to the former Lucy D. Dodson and has a daughter named Catherine. Congressman Goode completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond where he received his Bachelors of Arts degree in 1969. While a student at the University of Richmond, Congressman Goode was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies. Following his graduation from the University of Richmond, Congressman Goode attended the University of Virginia School of Law where he received a J.D. in 1973. During that time, he was selected for the Virginia Law Review. In 1973, at age 27, Congressman Goode was elected to the Commonwealth of Virginia Senate. He served as the 20th District Senator in the Virginia General Assembly until 1996 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives serving the 5th District of Virginia. He was sworn in to office in the 105th, in January 1997, and has served continuously since then.
Congressman Goode now divides his time between serving in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. and being in the 5th District. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Interior and Environment and the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development.
Tom Perriello, the youngest of four children of Vito and Linda Perriello, was born and raised in the fifth district and lives in Albemarle County a few miles from where he grew up. Tom is a product of Murray, Meriwether Lewis, Henley and Western Albemarle High School and graduated from St. Anne’s Belfield. From an early age, he was taught that a strong faith is a lived faith. His parents raised him to believe that to whom much is given, much is expected, and those lessons have shaped his lifelong commitment to service. Tom was an Eagle Scout in the Stonewall Jackson Area Council. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale University. He is presently a guest lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law. After receiving his law degree from Yale University, Tom accepted an assignment working to end atrocities in the West African countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, which had suffered long civil wars fueled by blood diamonds. Tom’s work with child soldiers, amputees, and local pro-democracy groups in Sierra Leone played a significant role in the peace and reconciliation process that ended twelve years of violence in that country.
Tom became Special Advisor and spokesperson for the International Prosecutor during the showdown that forced Liberian dictator Charles Taylor from power without firing a shot. After this success, Tom served as a national security analyst for the Century Foundation. He has worked inside Darfur and twice in Afghanistan. He has worked on justice-based security strategies in Afghanistan and Kosovo, prosecuted warlords in Sierra Leone, and developed alternative peace strategies to curb acts of genocide in Darfur. He has been a consultant to the International Center for Transitional Justice and the National Council of Churches of Christ, an analyst for AfghanistanWatch, and a Fellow with The Century Foundation. He is a founding partner of Res Publica, which develops innovative solutions to global justice and security threats. Tom also co-founded Avaaz.org, an international on-line community of 1.5 million members, operating in 12 languages, dedicated to building a global response to “problems without borders,” such as climate change.
Clark, a circuit court judge in Patrick County, Virginia, talked about his dual careers as writer and judge, read a selection from The Legal Limit, and answered questions from the crowd.
What is sustainable forestry and how does it affect our region environmentally and economically? This lecture organized by the James River Green Building Council Charlottesville Division will answer that question and many others as part of a series of lectures dealing with the LEED Green Building Rating System.
We have assembled three speakers who together give a very balanced view of the issue.
The first speaker, Dr. John Munsell, is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and a Forest Management Extension Specialist. In his presentation Dr. Munsell introduces sustainable forestry practices and analyzes one of the field’s major certification bodies, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Next is Dr. Brian Bond, an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech’s Department of Wood Science and Forest Products. Dr. Bond describes the market for FSC certified products and presents some intriguing research into consumer demand.
Completing our lecture on sustainable forestry is Mr. Charlie Becker from the Virginia Department of Forestry. Mr. Becker draws from over 20 years of experience to give an overview of forestry practices in Virginia. He also discusses how forest certification programs such as FSC uniquely affect Virginia landowners.
Over two hundred people took advantage of an important opportunity to comment on the near final design for the proposed renovation of Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. They crowded into the CitySpace meeting room overlooking the Mall to view details of the plans created by MMM Design, and to give feedback on key details of the Mall redesign.
For a full writeup and a timeline, see Charlottesville Tomorrow’s coverage here.
President George Bush became the fourth sitting president in U.S. History to visit Monticello on July 4, 2008. The 43rd president was on-hand to address 75 new Americans who were participating in their naturalization ceremony. Bush’s speech was interupted several times by protestors who shouted slogans.
Are friendships optional? Are they necessary to live the good life? Is there a universal need to give and receive affection? Where do our feelings about friendships come from? Why do we treat our friends the way we do? Are friendships more “disposable” than they used to be? How do friendships come to be? How much is it by choice? How much is it by chance? Does it require willful action? What are friends for? What are the motives for making and keeping friends? How can we know if a friendship is “true”? What do we expect from friendship? How do expectations differ? Are friendships meant to last forever? What are the ethics of ending a friendship? Is friendship an investment? Is it ethical to end a friendship with unequal investment, “an unbalanced account”? Is it ethical to just fade away? Must we know and must we give a reason for ending a friendship? How do we reconcile the need to grow and to be free with the expectations of friendship? Can we ever fail to profit from our friendship “investment” so long as we see friendship as its own reward without any further expectations?
Local cartoonist Jen Sorensen was the inaugural guest in the WriterHouse Summer Reading Series on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. Sorensen gave a talk illustrated with slides from her newest collection of Slowpoke comic strips, Slowpoke: One Nation, Oh My God! Afterward, she answered questions from the audience and signed copies of her book.
On May 27, 2008, representatives from Virginia Supportive Housing led an insightful and interactive presentation for the Charlottesville community on Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing for the homeless — a proven, permanent solution to homelessness that’s taking hold in many cities across the country. The presentation took place in the “CitySpace” meeting room at the Charlottesville Community Design Center.
Virginia Supportive Housing, a Richmond-based statewide nonprofit housing provider, recently agreed to work with the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH) and the Charlottesville community to develop and manage an SRO facility in Charlottesville. The May 27 presentation gave members of the public, community agencies, local officials, potential funders and area media a chance to learn more about the SRO concept and to hear about Virginia Supportive Housing’s plans and timeline for opening an SRO in Charlottesville.
A Single Room Occupancy facility typically features several dozen efficiency apartments that are available at low cost to people who have been homeless, with on-site support services and security to help keep the SRO residents stable in their housing. In cities like Richmond, Norfolk, Roanoke, Fairfax and (soon) Virginia Beach, SROs have been successful in moving local residents — many of whom are disabled and/or veterans — off the streets and out of shelters and into permanent supportive housing.
Peter Bergen is a print and television journalist who produced the first television interview with Osama bin Laden for CNN, where he is a terrorism and national security analyst. Bergen is also a Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, an Adjunct Lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, as well as a research fellow at New York University’s Center on Law and Security. Bergen’s books include Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World on Bin Laden (2001) and The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader (2006). Bergen spoke at a Miller Center forum on September 12th, 2008.
Regular listeners of our podcast or our live streaming feed might know
Republican incumbent Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. and Democratic Challenger Tom Perriello spoke at a Senior Statesmen of Virginia event held August 13th, 2008 at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following opening statements by the candidates, questions were taken from members of the audience. Senior Statesmen board member and treasurer, Bob McAdams, moderated the program.
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Completing our lecture on sustainable forestry is Mr. Charlie Becker from the 
Local cartoonist Jen Sorensen was the inaugural guest in the 
On May 27, 2008, representatives from 
A Single Room Occupancy facility typically features several dozen efficiency apartments that are available at low cost to people who have been homeless, with on-site support services and security to help keep the SRO residents stable in their housing. In cities like Richmond, Norfolk, Roanoke, Fairfax and (soon) Virginia Beach, SROs have been successful in moving local residents — many of whom are disabled and/or veterans — off the streets and out of shelters and into permanent supportive housing.