Lunch & Learns

James II of England was overthrown in the “Glorious Revolution” of 1689. Attempts to bring back the Stuarts failed. A third began on August 19, 1745, when Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of James II, landed at Glenfinnan on the Scottish west coast to lead the Jacobites south to retake the British throne. This rebellion ended tragically at Culloden, near Inverness, in April, 1746. The “Highland Culture” was destroyed and Scotland was never the same afterward. We will discuss all of this and speculate on how UK history, and ours, would have been changed drastically had Bonnie Charlie been successful.

Ian Russell Hardin was born in Glasgow, Scotland, of a Scottish Mother (British Land Army) and an American GI from Birmingham, AL. At 18 months old, Ian accompanied his mom to America on the Queen Mary in February, 1946, to rejoin his father in Birmingham. Half of the family still lives in Scotland, and Ian visits every year. At an early age, Ian learned the story of the last Jacobite Rebellion.

Most people have no idea how electricity gets to their homes or how electric rates are set. The people of Georgia have granted Georgia Power a monopoly through the state legislature, and in exchange for having no competition, the utility agrees to oversight from state regulators known as Public Service Commissioners. These regulators are elected by voters. Who are they? How are they doing in this role? This class will explore the answers to these and other questions including: Why is Georgia expanding fossil fuels at a time of climate crisis? What drove the largest rate increase in state history last May 1?

Patty Durand was a candidate for Georgia Public Service Commission in 2022 and remains active in regulatory matters. Prior to her candidacy, she was Director of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative for 10 years and published consumer research and educational materials about the electricity grid. Durand was director of the Georgia Sierra Club and worked at Georgia Tech on smart grid projects. Durand has an MBA from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Older folks often wonder about what they have done to benefit the people and causes they love. In this illustrated talk, Abraham will describe some of the furniture he has built for people he holds dear and some of the pieces he has built to celebrate his Judaism.

Abraham Tesser spent 30 years at UGA as a psychologist and the Director of the Institute for Behavioral Research. He retired in 1999 as Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus. Tesser has devoted the last 25 years to designing and constructing one-of-a-kind furniture. Last year brought him back to UGA where he helped develop the Lamar Dodd School of Art’s new program in Furniture Design and Fabrication.

UGA is a national leader in university outreach with faculty, staff and students in all of UGA’s schools and colleges contributing to Georgia’s short- and long-term prosperity. Through the work of Public Service and Outreach, UGA serves every county in Georgia, developing leaders, creating jobs, and addressing critical challenges in order to position Georgia as a competitive force regionally, nationally and internationally. This course will provide an overview of the scope of UGA’s service, outreach, and engagement efforts.

Matt Bishop serves as the Associate Vice President for Public Service and Outreach at UGA, where he provides institutional leadership for UGA’s outreach, engagement, and economic-development mission. Previously, Bishop served 11 years as director of the J.W. Fanning Institute, and operations coordinator for the Archway Partnership. Bishop earned a B.A. in political science from Presbyterian College and an M.P.A. and Ph.D. in public administration from UGA.

This presentation, primarily a performance of songs from the 1950s, is designed to rekindle memories of this music, and to illustrate the change from big band singers of the early 50s to Rock and Rollers later in the decade. A brief discussion of the social factors that brought about changes in the music will also be included.

Roy graduated from the University of Texas with a Ph.D., and worked at Temple University in Philadelphia before joining the College of Education at the University of Georgia., where he worked from 1979 through 2007. He has played the violin in the Albuquerque Civic Symphony, and in the Athens Symphony, the latter for 40 years. He also has pursued a variety of musical activities including singing with a jazz combo including several times for OLLI.

The 250th anniversary of the United States is coming at a crucial and propitious time in America’s experiment in self-government. Currently, our nation is experiencing some of the most dramatic demographic, economic, political, and social changes we have seen in half a century, testing the strength of the world’s oldest democracy. Dr. Groce will explore how the upcoming Semiquincentennial presents a unique opportunity not only to restore trust in the institutions of self-government but also to help Americans remember who we are 250 years after the founding of our nation on the timeless and elastic principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence.

W. Todd Groce is President & CEO of the Georgia Historical Society, the independent educational and research institution responsible for collecting and teaching Georgia and American history. He holds three degrees in history, including a PhD from the University of Tennessee. For over 30 years he has been an educator, administrator, and author. For the past 14 years, he has been listed by Georgia Trend and James magazines as one of the “Most Influential Georgians.”

Dr. Shepherd will provide practical examples of how weather and climate research matters in our daily lives. He will use the lens of his scholarship, experience, and contemporary observations in this timely discussion.

J. Marshall Shepherd is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences, Director of the UGA Atmospheric Sciences Program, and Former Associate Head of the Geography Department. Shepherd served for 12 years as Deputy Project Scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. He regularly contributes to Forbes and frequently advises key leaders at NASA, in Congress, and the Department of Defense. He was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Former President, American Meteorological Society.