Great Decisions 2011
Eight speakers will participate in this year’s Great Decisions program. Top row: Richelle Schrock, Paul Craft, Barbara MacLeod, and Douglas Dittrick. Bottom row: James Franklin, Michael Flamm, Alper Yalçinkaya, and Corinne Lyman. (Photo montage by Doug Thompson)
Delaware residents are invited to learn more about the many “Great Decisions” facing the nation and to share their opinions with U.S. policymakers on issues ranging from Somali refugees to international finances.
Great Decisions 2011 will kick off February 25 and continue for eight weeks. All presentations begin at noon in the parlor of William Street United Methodist Church, 28 W. William St. Attendees are welcome to bring a brown-bag lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided.
This year’s topics and speakers are as follows:
February 25 – “Somali Refugees from the Horn of Africa,” presented by Richelle Schrock, Ph.D., director of Ohio Wesleyan University’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program. March 4 – “U.S. National Security Since 9/11,” presented by Col. Paul Craft, superintendent of Delaware City Schools and deputy commander, 174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Ohio Army National Guard. March 11 – “Banks, Governments and Debt Crises,” presented by Barbara MacLeod, C.F.A., OWU professor of economics. March 18 – “Rebuilding Haiti,” presented by Douglas Dittrick, president and CEO of Douglas Communications Corp. II and an OWU Life Trustee. Dittrick, a 1955 OWU graduate, is board chair of Theo’s Work, Inc., a Haitian orphanage. March 25 – “Germany’s Ascendancy,” presented by James Franklin, Ph.D., chair of Ohio Wesleyan’s Politics and Government Department. April 1 – “Sanctions and Proliferation: Pearl Harbor in Historical Review,” presented by Michael Flamm, Ph.D., OWU professor of history. April 8 – “Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan: Continuity and Change,” presented by Alper Yalçinkaya, Ph.D. candidate, OWU assistant professor of sociology. April 15 – “Making Sense of Multilateralism,” presented by Corinne Lyman, Ph.D., retired OWU professor of politics and government.Following each presentation, audience members will be invited to complete short surveys to help share their views with U.S. lawmakers and the media.
“Listening to and discussing front-burner issues of U.S. foreign policy right here in Delaware with knowledgeable speakers is valuable in itself, but being able to join others across the country in advising our government is an added plus,” says Lyman, who helps to organize each year’s Delaware-area Great Decisions discussion.
Developed by the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) in 1954, Great Decisions is the longest-standing and largest grassroots world affairs educational program of its kind. Locally, it is sponsored by the American Association of University Women, Kiwanis, League of Women Voters, OWU’s International Studies Program, Rotary Foundation, William Street United Methodist Church, Willow Brook Christian Communities, and private donors.
Read more about the series and this year’s speaker. (PDF)