New Topics New College 2009-2010

Tickets

Series (5 Evenings):  $65
Individual Lectures:  $15
NCF students, faculty & staff: Free
Reservations: (941) 487-4888 or email events@ncf.edu

Click to download the order form 2009-2010 Order Form.

Dates and Venue

Dates: October through March
Place:  Mildred Sainer Pavilion, New College of Florida, 5313 Bay Shore Road
Time: 7:00 pm
Format: Lecture or panel discussion of about one hour in length, including Q&A
Postlude:  Meet the speakers, students and faculty at a reception following each program

Thursday, December 11, 2008

“Post-Election Washington: What Lies Ahead?”

Alexis Simendinger ‘75, White House Correspondent, National Journal

Charles Mahtesian, National political editor, Politico

Frank Alcock, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science

Alexis Simendinger ‘75 is a native of Washington, D.C., and has been a reporter in the capital since 1986. Since 1997, she has served as a White House and national correspondent for the nonpartisan weekly news magazine National Journal.  She also appears regularly on the PBS news program Washington Week with Gwen Ifill. For her “sustained excellence in White House coverage,” Simendinger was recently awarded the Aldo Beckman Award by the White House Correspondents’ Association.  The award judges recognized her in particular for breaking the story about the use of Republican National Committee email accounts by some White House officials.  In addition to her bachelor’s degree from New College, Simendinger holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri at Columbia.  Prior to joining the staff at National Journal, she served as a White House correspondent for the Bureau of National Affairs and as a reporter for The Tampa Tribune.

Charles Mahtesian earned his bachelor’s degree in politics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and his J.D. from American University. He is Politico’s national politics editor. He comes to Politico after five years as the editor of National Journal’s Almanac of American Politics, the biennial book often referred to as “the bible of American politics.” Prior to joining the Almanac, he spent eight years as a national correspondent for Governing magazine, where he covered state legislatures, governors and urban politics. Mahtesian has served as an election night analyst for National Public Radio and appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including NPR’s “All Things Considered," MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews," and on FOX News, C-SPAN, CNN and the BBC.  He has written for a variety of newspapers, journals, and magazines including The Washington Post, The Weekly Standard, National Journal, Congress Daily, Government Executive, and Campaigns and Elections.

Frank Alcock, assistant professor of political science at New College, teaches courses on world politics, international law and sustainable development. He appears regularly on Sarasota’s television station ABC7, as a political analyst.  He also serves as the director of the Marine Policy Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D. from Duke University, he spent five years as an international policy analyst/economist at the U.S. Department of Energy. Alcock also holds an M.A. from George Washington University and a B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

“The Search for Sunken Gold”

Gregg Stemm and Mark Gordon, deep-ocean shipwreck researchers and explorers

Greg Stemm ’75 is co-founder and CEO of Odyssey Marine Exploration, a company engaged in the exploration of deep-ocean shipwrecks that uses state-of-the-art technology to conduct extensive search and archaeological recovery operations around the world. Odyssey discovered the Civil War era shipwreck of the SS Republic in 2003 and recovered over 50,000 coins and 14,000 artifacts from the site nearly 1,700 feet deep. In May 2007, the Company announced the historic deep-ocean treasure recovery of over 500,000 silver and gold coins, weighing 17 tons, from a Colonial era site code-named "Black Swan." A pioneer in the emerging field of deep-ocean exploration, Stemm has played a primary role in the development of new technologies and the development of private sector standards for underwater cultural heritage resource management.

Mark D. Gordon was appointed president and chief operating officer of Odyssey Marine Exploration in October 2007. Prior to joining Odyssey in 2005, Gordon started, owned and managed four different entrepreneurial ventures. As a shipwreck diver with the National Diving Center in Washington D.C., he has conducted hundreds of dives and explorations on shipwrecks and was the first person to discover and dive on the wreck of the S.S. Proteus, a ship that had been missing since the early 1900's. Gordon holds a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.B.A in Finance from the American University.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

“Charles Darwin at 200: The Concise Story of An Extraordinary Man”

Tim Berra, Professor Emeritus, Department of Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University

Meg Lowman, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Environment Studies

Tim M. Berra is professor emeritus of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at the Ohio State University and the recipient of a Ph.D. in biology from Tulane University.  He is a two-time recipient of Fulbright Fellowships to Australia, where he has spent over seven years doing fieldwork.  He also taught at the University of Papua New Guinea before joining the faculty of OSU in 1972. Berra is the author of over 75 scientific papers and six books, including Evolution and the Myth of Creationism and A Natural History of Australia. His latest book, Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man, will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in November 2008 and features 60 black and white illustrations and 16 color plates.
   
Meg Lowman is professor of biology and environmental studies and director of environmental initiatives at New College. She specializes in canopy ecology, science education and conservation biology. Her research on tropical rain forests spans over 30 years in Australia, Peru, Africa, the Americas and the South Pacific. In 2006, she received a Mendel Medal from Villanova University for advancing the cause of science.  Lowman holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, a M.Sc. from the University of Aberdeen, and a B.A. from Williams College.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

“Crystal Balling the Economy”

Tim McGee, Ph.D., Director of Macro Strategy & Research, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management

Tim McGee is Director of Macro Strategy & Research at U.S.Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. Previously, he was Chief Economist at U.S. Trust. In his new capacity, he manages a team that researches global economic trends and turns them into strategies for investment professionals and high net worth clients. Prior to joining U.S. Trust, McGee was a strategist and economist with UFJ and Tokai Banks. He is well known in Japan for his regular market column in the Nikkei Financial Daily. Over the years, he has been recognized by Bloomberg News, Business Week, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal for outstanding forecast accuracy, including being ranked the number one forecaster several times.

McGee began his career in the academic world teaching at Florida State University and New York University. He also spent three years at the New York Federal Reserve Bank and one year as a fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies. McGee received his B.S. from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his M.A. and Ph.D.degrees from the University of Wisconsin. He has served as chairman of the American Banker Association’s Economic Advisory Committee and president of the Forecasters’ Club of New York. He is also a member of the New York City Economic Advisory Panel. He is currently Chairman of the NABE (National Association of Business Economics) Financial Roundtable.