NEWSLETTER “A Place And A Purpose”

Emeritus College NewsletterWinter 2017Bob Barnhill’sEmeritusBookshelfAn antidote to our massively misogynistic election is to read aboutJustice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I recommend the biography, NotoriousRBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, by Irin Carmon & ShanaKnizhnik (Dey Street Books, 2015).The authors show how Ginsbergbuilt up case law for women’s rights,one trial at a time. They quote keypassages from her comments andinsert word-references to how thisbuilt on prior cases. RBG has had anamazing life, always wanting to improve the world via the law. A fewlandmarks: she graduates from Columbia Law at the top of her classin 1959, “but can barely get a job”(page 17); she becomes the secondwoman to teach full-time at RutgersSchool of Law, 1963; she writes herfirst brief for the Supreme Court in1972; she is nominated by PresidentCarter to the DC Court of Appeals,1980; she is nominated to the USSupreme Court by President Clinton, 1994. As President Bush appoints conservatives to the Court,she “launches her era of furiousdissent” with an abortion case (page21), where she says “The Court.pretends that its decision protectswomen.” RBG had an excellent relationship with Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman Supreme CourtJustice, even though they disagreedon many cases. (This is my review#32; see #30 for more about theGinsberg/O’Connor relationship.)RBG was joined during PresidentObama’s terms by Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. She had a verysupportive, and useful, (tax) lawyerhusband, Marty Ginsberg who lobbied for some of her appointments.Especially in view of our recentdreadful election, this quote fromthe book is apropos (page 72): RBGfirmly believed that more women inpublic life would benefit everyone,including men. ‘Men need to learn,and they do when women show upin their midst in numbers, not asone-at-a-time curiosities.’To continue the theme of law andjustices, I read John Grisham’s latestnovel, The Whistler (Doubleday, 2016).Set in Florida, the story involves Native American gaming, a crookedjudge, some bad villains and a heroine. The outrageous behavior of bad‘developers’ and the judge reachesthe level of Carl Hiaasen novels andreminds us all of current corruptioninvolving politics and money.Lastly, Grisham also writes abouta 12 year old ‘kid lawyer’, TheodoreBoone. Theodore Boone: The Scandal(Dutton Children’s Books, 2016)takes on the topic of schools judgedas underachieving by statewide tests.Several teachers at a school withchildren from impoverished backgrounds, both financially and culturally, change the answers of theirstudents enough to keep the schoolfrom being closed. Theodore--andothers--face the conundrum of howto deal with this situation.Kerr Center and EmeritusCollege Present “TheLoveliness of Air”Page 3ko created this music composition toserve as an aural memorial to childrenwho were imprisoned and murdered inthe Terezín Nazi Concentration Campbetween the years 1942 – 44. Dr. AnnaMarie Wytko, Associate Professor ofMusic at Kansas State University, willserve as acoustic solo artist. Narrations, which are included in a dozendifferent languages, are based on poems and prose written by imprisonedchildren. These writings, as well as numerous drawings, are currently housedin the archives of the State JewishMuseum in Prague. Approximately15,000 children were imprisoned inwhat was really a ghetto prison; 100of them survived. Wytko created thiswork with support from an EmeritusCollege Research Grant; he has noted“that without this support this project would not have been possible.” Itis Professor Wytko’s desire to offer aperformance of his composition ingratitude to the Emeritus College. TheKerr Cultural Center and the EmeritusCollege have collaborated to make thisperformance possible. Tickets for theconcert will be available at a discountto Emeritus College members. TheKerr Cultural Center is located at 6110N. Scottsdale Rd. in Scottsdale (BoxOffice 480-596-2660). Tickets are alsoavailable through Ticketmaster.Future ColloquiaMark your calendars and save thesedates: Mar 15 - Alejandro Lugo, Professorand Director, School of TransborderStudies, ASU Apr 19 - Sabina Low, Assistant Professor, Sanford School of Social andFamily DynamicsFuture Short TalksOn March 19, 2017, at 4 PM “TheLoveliness of Air,” Emeritus College member Joseph Wytko’s originalelectroacoustic work, will celebrate itsworld premiere performance at theASU Louise Lincoln Kerr CulturalCenter in Scottsdale. Professor Wyt-Mark your calendars and save thesedates:March 14, April 11, May 9 (tentative)Watch for E-Cards with further information about presenters, topics andlocations as details are confirmed.

Page 4Lectures and Courses:Spring 2017The Emeritus College provideslectures and courses through itsAcademy for Continued Learningduring the spring 2017 semester.These include fee-based coursesco-sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and pro bonolectures listed annually in the College’s Guide to Lectures and ntinued-learning).Presently scheduled course presentations by College members atthe Osher venues are:At ASU West:Ahren Sadoff, 3 sessions, March 14,21, 28, Understanding Relativity: Einstein’s Theories made Relatively SimpleDirk Raat, 4 sessions, February 6,13, 20, 27, Lost Worlds of 1863: Relocation and Removal of the AmericanIndian in the Greater South WestLou-ellen Finter, 1 session, April19, History Through the Music of Aaron CopelandAt Tempe Connections:Jay Braun, 1 session, February 27,Neuroscience and Artistic Expression:Paintings Through the Eyes and Brainof the ArtistRichard Jacob, 4 sessions, February 6, 13, 27, March 6, PracticalIntroduction to General Relativity andGravitational WavesJeanne Ojala, 4 sessions, March 7,14, 21, 28, The French under GermanOccupationAt Friendship Village:Charles Tichy, 4 sessions, March14, 21, 28, April 4, Crimea: Its Crisisand IdentityRichard Haefer, 1 session, March6, Arizona’s Indian MusicAhren Sadoff, 1 session, March 7,Should Creationism Be Taught in theClassroom?At Maravilla, Scottsdale:Per Aannestad, 1 session, April4, The Accelerating Universe: Inflation,Dark Matter and Dark EnergyEmeritus College NewsletterAhren Sadoff, 4 sessions: February7, 14, 21, 28, From Quarks to CosmosVolume XII Number 1Save the Date – March 31–Roatch/Haskell CombinedLecturesAt ASU Downtown Campus:Jay Braun, 2 sessions, February 10,The School of Social Work is17, Your Brain on Artpleased to announce an excitingcombined Roatch/Haskell event forAt New Adventures in Learning, March 31, 2017 starting at 9:30 a.m.Sun Lakes, the Spring 2017 Sched- at the University Club of Phoenix, 39ule lists the following courses and E. Monte Vista, Phoenix, AZ 85004.lectures by our members:Alleen Nilsen and Don Nilsen,The Roatch Lecturer4 sessions, February 14, 16, 21, 23,John WardNovel Word Play in the Works of Lemony Snicket, J. R. Rowling, Roald Dahl Senior Lecturer in Field Education,and Lewis CarrollFoundation for social work and soPer Aannestad, 1 session, April 3, cial research (ITSRS), Montrouge Target Earth: Asteroids, Comets, and Neuilly-sur-Marne, Paris RegionNear-Earth ObjectsAssociate Researcher, University ParLou-ellen Finter, 1 session, Febru- is 13 Sorbonne Paris Cité, Pléiadeary 22, The Music of Ferde GrofeLaboratoryRichard Jacob, 1 session, February1, An Intimate Evening at StonehengeDefining social work within the history ofFrance: Well-known and hidden origins ofAt New Frontiers for Lifelong a complex professional identityLearning, hosted by Mesa Community College, the Spring 2017The Haskell LecturerSchedule has the following lecturesAnna Rurkalisted as given by our members:Jay Braun, 1 session, March 1, Brain Senior Lecturer, University of ParisDevelopment and AgingNanterrePaul Burgess, 1 session, February President, Conference of INGOs6, Income: Wealth Gap Between the Rich (NGOs) of the Council of Europeand the RestGary Kleemann, 1 session, Febru- Human rights, social work and the Euroary 2, Our Trip to Cuba in 2016pean and French contexts: Comments on theGary Kleemann, 1 session, April 6, role of the NGOsOur trip to Tuscany and Umbria in 2015Gary Kleemann, 1 session, March Please save the date. Registration in7, The National Debtformation will be forthcoming in anEmeritus College E-Card. Or contactIn addition,Emilia E. Martinez-Brawley, John F.Per Aannestad is giving the lecture Roatch Distinguished Professor andTarget Earth: Asteroids, Comets and Professor of Social Work, School ofNear-Earth Objects to the Learning Social Work (eemb@asu.edu).Tree community at Royal Oaks inSun City on January 24th, 2017; thelecture Northern Lights: Myths and SciNew Membersence to the Sun City Lifelong Learning Club on March 13th, 2017; andThe Emeritus College welcomesthe lecture Black Holes: The Mosttwo new regular members.Mysterious Objects at Encore University on March 28, 2017.John Venables(Physics)Norman Levine is giving two lectures on Contemporary China, FreedomAjay Vinzeof Speech at Encore University on(Information Systems)February 7 and 14, 2017.

Winter 2017Emeritus Profile : WilliamGlaunsingerWhen asked to compose this profile, I must admit some hesitation because it seemed a little early to startmy obituary! However, upon reflection I found several reasons why thisexercise can benefit both the authorand the reader. I have separated myprofile below into four “seasons”:pre-college, college, career and retirement—the all-important final season.Pre-college Season (1945-1963):I was born in a small city in centralOhio (Newark) at the beginning ofthe baby-boomer generation andwas fortunate because my fatherhad a stable job as a foreman at theOwens-Corning fiberglass factory.I grew up in a rural neighborhoodabout 4 miles from town. The streetwhere my family lived was the onlyresidential development in a sea offarmland. To me this environmentwas heaven because I could play andexplore outside to my heart’s content.I also loved to run, climb, bike, playsports, camp, and build forts and treehouses. My formative years laid thefoundation for many rewarding activities, including baseball, track andfield events, marathons, team sports,cycling trips, backpacking, and evenrenovating and building houses.However, academics was anotherstory. I did not begin to do well inschool until the fourth grade, primarily because of poor vision. At the endof the third grade I learned I neededglasses, and by the 7th grade I wasdoing pretty well in school. I had ageneral science teacher in the 8thgrade who loved to mix chemicals tocreate colorful solutions. I thoughtthis was really cool, so I decided tobe a chemist, a decision from which Inever wavered. Two influential teachers in high school also cemented myinterest in chemistry and mathematics. I really wanted to be the first inmy family to attend college, but thiswould not be possible unless I couldpay for it. Although I worked onfarms for 4 summers, and in a servicestation for 2 summers, my earningscould not even pay for one semesterof college. Fortunately, at 18 I landedEmeritus College Newslettera job at the Owens Corning factory, which paid the highest salaries intown. The environmental conditionsat the factory were awful, and mostemployees did not live long enoughto retire, including my father, whodied at 57. Working 80-hour weeksfor 4 summers provided the fundingto pay for all my college expenses.College Season (1963-1972): Iwent to undergraduate school at Miami University, a beautiful rural campus in Oxford, OH. It was the firsttime I had been away from home foran extended period of time, but soonI was making friends and becomingimmersed in campus life. I was exposed to a world of ideas, ambitiousstudents, and excellent teachers inchemistry, mathematics, physics andRussian. Taking over 20 credit hourseach semester, I had my nose to thegrindstone until the summer betweenmy junior and senior years, when Itook a 3-month tour of Europe withmy best friend. This trip changed myperspective of the world and madetravel to interesting destinations andlearning about other cultures a priority in my life. After returning fromEurope, I was selected to representMiami University for the fall semester of my senior year in a new educational outreach program at ArgonneNational Laboratory. Thirteen otherMidwestern universities also participated in this program in 1966. Inthe mornings we were taught graduate-level classes by top ArgonnePage 5scientists, and in the afternoons andevenings we worked on individualresearch projects. This was my firstreal research experience and convinced me to go to graduate school.It is also where I met my future wife,Lorna, who represented WesternMichigan University.After graduating from Miami University, I married Lorna and went tograduate school at Cornell University,where I received my Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1972. My Cornell experiencewas exceptional in many ways, ranging from classes taught by Nobel Laureates, to frontier research, to makinglifelong friends. Although I couldhave graduated in 3 years, I stayedover 5 years because I was havingtoo much fun doing both individualand collaborative research. My thesisadvisor was Mike Sienko, a famousphysical inorganic chemist and co-author of a freshman chemistry textwhich changed the way chemistrywas taught worldwide. His solid statechemistry lab was abuzz with ideasfor new research projects as well as amelting pot of international studentsand visitors. It was there that I madethe “French connection,” which laterled to two sabbatical leaves and overa year living abroad.I applied for several academic positions, but the U.S. was still heavilyinvolved in the Vietnam War and veryfew positions were available. Fortunately, I was invited to give a seminarat ASU, which was trying to build itssolid state science program under theleadership of Leroy Eyring, and I wasoffered an assistant professorshipthat same day! I accepted, we shookhands on my commitment, and I wason my way to ASU.Career Season (1972-2001): Icame to the ASU Chemistry Department during the summer of 1972 afternegotiating with Columbia Universityto buy a major research instrument toget me started. The only problem wasI did not have a laboratory until oneof my colleagues, Ted Brown, kindly offered me one of his labs. Thenext hurdle was to bring more powerinto the lab to run a big electromagnet, but I could not get the lab wired(continued on page 8)

Page 6Individual SymposiumPresentationsJoseph Wytko, “The Lovelinessof Air” detailed his preparation of anoriginal electroacoustic compositionthat will serve as background music fora recitation of some of the poems inthe well-known book, I Never Saw Another Butterfly. Details about this composition and its world premiere performance appear in an article on page 3 ofthis newsletter.Charles Tichy’s presentation on“The Crimean Crisis of 2006” provided detailed information about the Soviet Union and its relationships (past,present, and future) to the country ofCrimea. Professor Tichy’s power pointmaps and clear explanations gave theaudience a new appreciation of thecountry of Crimea and how it hangsout almost like a pendant into the BlackSea from Ukraine and Russia.Andrea Hardy, supported by anEC grant as an undergraduate under thementorship of the late Wolfgang Preiser, presented “Stepping Stones to anAdaptive Architecture: The Habitability Paradigm” as a tribute to Preiser andhis analyses of how buildings supportindividual and communal activities. Shedetailed Presier’s progression from PostOccupancy Evaluation(POE) to eval-Emeritus College Newsletteruations before, during and after construction (BPE –Building PerformanceEvaluation) to a consideration of Universal Design and regional design, focusing on buildings for all people in allplaces, but considering adaptability tovarious populations.“Employment and Earnings Patterns: Past, Present and Future” waspresented by Paul Burgess. Burgessshared multiple tables that dealt withchanging realities such as wage and salary distribution in the US, lessening gender inequality in salaries, and stagnantearnings growth in the last fifty yearsfor those in production and non-supervisory positions. He detailed changesin earnings and unemployment ratesas related to educational attainment, inthe educational needs of the workforce,and in lifelong earning estimates relatedto educational attainment and to profession. He also related the figures tocurrent political positions.Santos Vega, “In what health conditions have we been and what will itbe like in the future for our grandchildren?” Recently Vega received an Emeritus College Research grant, which heused to study the history of St. Luke’sHospital. Vega shared the findings ofhis study, giving special considerationto improvements in diagnoses due tochanges in technology, and the chal-Volume XII Number 1lenges that new technologies and newtreatments and treatment medicationsprovide for the hospital staff.Eric vanSonnenberg, “Primary and metastatic liver cancer: will theoutlook be better for our children?” Tobegin, vanSonnenberg distinguishedbetween benign and malignant liver tumors. He discussed primary malignanttumors and their multiple causes. Heexplained that metastatic liver cancerscould be found as colon, rectal, pancreatic, breast and lung cancers. He sharedthe multiple ways that these tumorscould be diagnosed and treated, focusing on his own work using a relativelynew technique called radiologic tumorablation. He noted that the wave of thefuture is combined therapies, but hewarned that there is no silver bullet inthe immediate future.In her presentation “Taboos, Stigmas, and Other Historical No-no’s andAnathemas Revisited.,” Linda Strykerdiscussed taboos related to factors suchas disabilities, gender issues, left-handedpeople and ethnicities (especially blacksand immigrants). Using multiple historical examples, she argued that taboosare social phenomena that change withtime and circumstance. She closed withsome success stories, one of the mostnotable of which is disability, once thebutt of jokes. Now disability is a pro-

Winter 2017tected category in law, and many Americans have become more inclusive aboutthis and other differentiators in society.Alleen Nilsen’s presentation was“A Counter-Argument to a StatementMade in Time Magazine’s ‘Dispatchesfrom the Frontiers of Longevity.’” Sheopened by expressing irritation at a recent article claiming that education issimply “entertainment” for older people. As our life spans get longer, sheargued that we need to remain intellectually active longer, engaging in enriching activities that make a contributionto society. But we also need to enjoyourselves as we teach and learn fromeach other.Don Nilsen, “Star Wars as a comedy of humours.” Don and AlleenNilsen detailed the origins of characters’ names and how these names areoften related to bodily liquids (humours)once identified as causes of eccentricityor weirdness in people. Many of theseexaggerations turned into Grotesques,as in Jabba the Hutt. They also examined the confusing relationships of thecharacters, such as Anakin Skywalkerbecoming Darth Vader (Dark father),who becomes the father of Luke andLeia. The robots, C-3PO, R2-D2, andBB-8, add humor and assistance. Theycharacterized Star Wars as an over-thetop melodrama.Emeritus College NewsletterIn “E.T. – Where art thou?” PerAannestad shared methods that institutions that hunt for extraterrestrial life(SETI) use in their searches. The Drakeequation gives us a handle on howmany civilizations might exist in ourgalaxy depending on the parameters weinclude for the numbers of stars withplanets, planets within the life-zone,the number of intelligent beings, thelength of life of the civilizations, etc.The equation could point to only onesuch planet--Earth--on up to millionsof life-bearing planets, depending onwhat number we plug into it.In “Millennials and the speed ofscience” Dick Jacob pointed out thatmillennials have witnessed more scientific and technological breakthroughsthan any other generation. He showedtimelines illustrating significant advances in areas of gravitation, other physicsareas, and biology. But he warned thatthe basic research that brought us thesediscoveries and advancements is beingshunted aside in favor of the quick,money-making results of today’s market-driven labs.Lou-ellen Finter discussed “TheFuture,” noting the positives and negatives of all technological advancements.She included precise histories of computers, cell phones, media and socialnetworks, along with their current andPage 7projected future usages. By blendingimages of America’s national parks, including Mount Denali, Finter remindedeveryone that technology alone cannotsave our health or environment.Ann Hardt,“Envisioning the Future.” Hardt engaged participants in aninteractive session generated from herEducation class “School and Society.”Session participants offered ideas abouttheir visions of the future in variousfuture time periods. Professor Hardtshared aspects of society’s future thatcan be readily summarized, such as theoccurrence of changing borders, warsand peace. Participants also offeredtheir hopes for the future, with bettersocial justice and equal access to education as high priorities.Terence Ball “More pages from analphabetical autobiography.” ProfessorBall read some narratives from his workin progress, an “alphabetical autobiography” in which each letter represents aperson, place, or event of importancein his life. His narrative includes threegenerations, covering his family’s origins in Tennessee to their moving toNorth Texas. Writing techniques included dialogue, snippets from radiobroadcasts, and descriptions of familyevents. The participants encouragedand supported his first letter ‘a’ to represent “African American.”

Page 8because all available personnel wererewiring the football stadium for thenext several months. So I wired thelab myself and got started doing research before the summer was over.Although I loved doing research, Iwas not sure I would have the samepassion for teaching, but I did.I have en

a 12 year old ‘kid lawyer’, Theodore Boone. Theodore Boone: The Scandal (Dutton Children’s Books, 2016) takes on the topic of schools judged as underachieving by statewide tests. Several teachers at a sc