Category: Speeches and Presentations

These are speeches and presentations put on by people in the Charlottesville area. Some of them may be mere excerpts, some of them may be complete.

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Hillary Clinton addresses UVa politics class on eve of primary

On the day before Virginia’s presidential primary, students in Larry Sabato’s American Politics 101 class were treated to one of the two main candidates left in the race – New York Senator Hillary Clinton. The venue for the class was changed to Old Cabell Hall to accomodate the crowd.

Shortly into Clinton’s talk, a power failure knocked out the recording equipment being used to supply the audio feed to the media. Our recording picks up after a few minutes, with Clinton continuing her theme of the role of democracy in the United States. Several of the questions are not audible, and we’ve done what we can to restore the sound.

Over the course of her talk, Clinton responded to students’ questions on the topics including: the role of United Nations, making English the official language, embryonic stem cell research, and whether being a woman has helped or hurt her in her race for the presidency.

Read a full report on her appearance at the Hook.

If you’re planning on voting in the Democratic primary, we have audio from the two other Democrat. Senator Barack Obama spoke on October 29, 2007, and Representative Dennis Kucinich spoke on December 10. Clinton’s first appearance in Charlottesville from last September is also available.

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MIT’s aeronautics chair addresses Jefferson Society

On February 1st, 2008, the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society began its spring season of lectures with a presentation from Dr. Wesley Harris, the Chair of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. Harris was the first African-American to finish the Engineering Honors program at the University of Virginia. Over four decades later, Harris is currently working on a new algorithm to help unlock the genetics of sickle cell anemia. But his talk at the Jefferson Society covered Harris’s efforts to encourage young people, especially minorities, to pursue career in science and math.

Dr. Harris answers questions on whether we should be sending to astronauts to Mars, the future of NASA, his thoughts on private space enterprises, and how experience at UVa shaped his life. While a student, Harris was one of the people responsible for bringing Martin Luther King Jr. to Grounds in the spring of 1963.

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Rolling Stone writer with C-Ville ties reads at New Dominion

In 1989, Rob Sheffield moved to Charlottesville. It was here that he met and married Renee, “a real cool hell-raising Appalachian punk-rock girl.” They shared a love of music that they expressed by making mix tapes for every occasion.

Tragically, and suddenly, Renee died at the age of 31. Sheffield has written the story of their love and his grief as evoked by the music of their years together. The result is Love is a Mix Tape. On Tuesday, January 22, 2008, Sheffield appeared at the New Dominion Bookshop to read from his memoir. He also took questions from the audience about the book and his life with Renee.

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Author James Collins reads from Beginner’s Greek

James Collins is a former editor at Time, and has contributed to the New Yorker, among other magazines. He grew up in New York City, but he and his family now call Charlottesville home. On January 15, 2008, Collins appeared at New Dominion Bookshop to read two passages from his first novel, Beginner’s Greek. He also took questions from the audience on topics ranging from his influences to how much of his own life experiences entered into the work.

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Upper Mattaponi Chief tells Democrats why his tribe deserves federal recognition

Chief Kenneth Adams of the Upper Mattaponi (courtesy George Loper)The state of Virginia recognizes eight Indian tribes, six of whom are seeking federal recognition so they can have more self-governance and self-reliance.V On January 19, 2008, Chief Kenneth Adams of the Upper Mattaponi updated a crowd assembled at the monthly breakfast of the Charlottesville and Albemarle County Democrats on the status of pending legislation to grant federal status to the six tribes. Adams was the first Indian in Virginia to graduate from a public high school.

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Green Matters: “It pays to be Green”

The Habitat Store hosts “GreenMatters,” a series of lectures on sustainable building. On January 9, Karl Bren with GreenVisions Consulting and Mark Watson with Piedmont Housing Alliance discussed affordable ways to go green, with a focus on available tax incentives from municipal, state, and federal agencies. For more information on upcoming workshops, visit www.greenmatters.info or call 434.293.6331.

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Slavery expert John Miller addresses Jefferson Society

On November 2, 2007, the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society heard from John Miller, a former U.S. Congressman who is an expert on the issue of contemporary human slavery. From 2002 to 2006, Miller served as the director of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. He left that position to become Research Professor in International Studies at the Elliott School, George Washington University.

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Benazir Bhutto at Roanoke College, September 2002

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was shot and killed today after a campaign rally in Rawalpindi. Bhutto only returned to her native Pakistan two months ago after a long exile. She was campaigning on behalf of her People’s Party in the country’s upcoming Parliamentary elections.

Bhutto spoke at Roanoke College on September 17th, 2002, one year after the terrorist attacks of 9-11. The speech was part of the College’s Henry Fowler Lecture series. The Virginia Podcasting Network now brings you the complete audio of that speech. She is introduced by John Day, the Roanoke College’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College.

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JABA: Affordability, Accessibility and Sustainability in Cohousing Communities

On October 19, 2007, the organization hosted a one-day conference called Crafting Intentional Communities: Cooperating Living Along LifeGuv,!v,,us Journey. The event was designed to explore new housing and living innovations for seniors to live, grow and age in community.

In this panel on cohousing communities, Peter Lazar of Blue Ridge Cohousing & Shadowlake Village Cohousing and Janaka Casper of Community Housing Partners tell the story on the creation of three Virginia cohousing neighborhoods. They explore the topics of affordability, accessibility and sustainability in communities.

Peter spoke from the perspective of a current cohousing homeowner creating a new community with future neighbors. Janaka spoke from the perspective of the developer and promoter of affordable community-oriented housing. Janaka’s company was builder of Shadowlake Village Cohousing in Blacksburg, and ElderSpirit in Abingdon, and is currently developing a wheelchair-accessible cohousing community in Crozet, Virginia. A rezoning application for Blue Ridge Cohousing was recently approved by the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

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JABA: Innovations for Aging in Community

On October 19, 2007, the organization hosted a one-day conference called Crafting Intentional Communities: Cooperating Living Along LifeGuv,!v,,us Journey. The event was designed to explore new housing and living innovations for seniors to live, grow and age in community.

In this “thinking outside the box” panel, three Charlottesville-area panelists share information and ideas about concepts and environmental factors (buildings, neighborhoods, community design, etc) that offer new and innovative ways to give individuals, families, neighborhoods, organizations, businesses, etc additional options to address needs and hopes for aging in community.

Moderated by Gordon Walker of JABA, the panel consists of: Frank Stoner, Vice President of Business Development, Stonehaus; John Quale, U.Va. Assistant Professor of Architecture, ecoMOD Project Director; Chris Murray, My Home for Life (JABA).

This is the fifth in a series of podcasts. Check the JABA category for the rest of the events. Also check out the conference’s website to learn more about the participants.

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JABA: Overarching Concepts Applied

On October 19, 2007, the organization hosted a one-day conference called Crafting Intentional Communities: Cooperating Living Along Life’s Journey. The event was designed to explore new housing and living innovations for seniors to live, grow and age in community.

The first panel discussion of the day explored how many of the concepts discussed in early sessions can be applied. How are these kinds of communities created? How can we learn from the experiences of others? How do different types of intentional communities function?

The panel is moderated by Dene Peterson of the ElderSpirit Community and panelists include: Marione Cobb of Twin Oaks; Monica Abbleby of the ElderSpirit Extension Project; Zev Paiss, co-founder of the Elder Cohousing Network; Marty Klaif of Shannon Farm; and Carolyn Ohle, Director of Innisfree Village.

This is the fourth in a series of podcasts. Check the JABA category for the rest of the events. Also check out the conference’s website to learn more about the participants.

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Jefferson Society: Renewable energy expert discusses ethanol

On November 16, 2007, the Society hosted Larry Peck, formerly the Vice President for Global Fuels Technology for BP, and the current Chief Operating Officer of Cilion, a new biofuels company. Peck talked about efforts to develop renewable energy sources. His experience spans agricultural and fuel markets as well as ethanol technology.