2026 Spring Semester Schedule
Since 1989, CWRU faculty, emeriti, students, staff and friends have gathered on Fridays for a brown-bag lunch and to discuss topics in public affairs. During the 2020—2021 academic year, we moved our discussions on line via Zoom. During this semester we will attempt “Dual Delivery.” Those who wish can attend in the Dampeer Room of the Kelvin Smith Library, but others may choose to participate by Zoom link.
Weekly e-mail newsletters will confirm plans and provide instructions for signing in to Zoom. To be added to the e-mail list, please let us know by e-mailing to padg@case.edu. The discussions will begin at 12:30 p.m., though both the Dampeer Room and the Zoom site will be open from Noon on. Please click here for more details about this week’s program.
January
January 16: Changing the Narrative: Using Fiction to Advance Dr. King’s Anti-Racist Agenda. With Mark Joseph, Ph.D, Leona Joseph/Marguerite Haynam Professor in Community Development.
January 23: Changes in the U.S. Foreign Policy Community. A discussion with James M. Lindsay, Ph.D., Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations.
January 30: Social Media and Politics. With Allison Girvin, MS, Adjunct Professor of English and former executive with ABC News, NBC News, Bloomberg, and Huffington Post.
February
February 6: Autism: Why Does the Rate of Its Diagnosis Keep Increasing? With Max Wiznitzer, MD, Professor of Pediatric Neurology and Director, Rainbow Autism Center.
February 13: Allocating Organs for Transplant: How Data Science and Simulation are Used to Inform Transplant Policy. With Johnie Rose, MD, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Population Cancer Analytics Shared Resource.
February 20: Trump Unbound? President Trump and His Team in the First Year of His Second Administration. With David B. Cohen, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science and Director, Applied Politics Program, University of Akron.
February 27: Activism Over the Life Course: Polish Solidarity Refugees, 1980 – 2025. With Mary Patrice Erdmans, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology.
March
March 6: TBA
March 13: Spring Break
March 20: TBA
March 27: TBA
April
April 3: Youth Justice in Ohio: An Untold Story of Success and Possibility. With Gabriella Celeste, J.D., Policy Director for the Schubert Center for Childhood Studies, and Co-Director of the Child Studies Program.
April 10: TBA
April 17: Iran’s Water Crisis. With Neda A. Zawahri, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Cleveland State University.
April 24: TBA