BRATTLEBORO — Do you ever wish you could go back to college for an evening and find out what the students are learning there without having to pay any tuition or take any tests?
Marlboro College is partnering with the Windham World Affairs Council to offer the community a speaker series based on a Marlboro College seminar course designed by Marlboro College President Kevin F.F. Quigley.
According to a news release, Quigley designed a seminar course for the college entitled “Engaging the World.” The course draws on the skills of leading experts and explores various strategies that individuals and organizations public and private, as well as governments, can use to engage the world in response to a particular issue or to promote a specific interest.
As part of that seminar, the college is also coordinating a matching speaker series for the community, giving local residents the opportunity to hear the same expert speakers as the students. Windham World Affairs Council will host the five informal Wednesday evening lectures.
These lectures will explore issues at the crossroads of international affairs and religion, transparency and corruption, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, ethics, and the U.S. Congress. They are free and open to the public. Each evening starts at 7 p.m., with light snacks and coffee/tea, followed by the talk at 7:30 p.m.
The series launches Wednesday, Feb. 13. Michael Gilligan, president of the Henry Luce Foundation will speak on “Understanding Religion(s) in International Affairs: One Foundation's Experience.”
Before serving as president, Gilligan directed the Luce Foundation's Theology Program, and also served in accrediting and leadership education for the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.
The second talk in the series, titled “Transparency and Corruption,” will take place the following week, on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
The speaker will be Kirk Talbott, senior adviser on governance for The World Bank's PASET (Partnership for Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology) initiative in Africa. He is also a past president and CEO of World Affairs Councils of America, supports the Omidyar Network on property rights, and is a scholar in residence at the Environmental Law Institute.
Talbott has worked on governance for over 30 years, with a focus on the nexus of international development, human rights, and environment, holding leadership positions in organizations from First Voice International to World Resources Institute.
The Feb. 13 and 20 lectures will be held at Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St.
Three additional lectures will take place in April. The topics will be “Changing Course in the U.S. Response to the HIV/AIDS Pandemic” on April 3, “Ethics and International Affairs,” on April 10, and “Congress and Engaging the World” on April 17. Locations for the April events will be announced at www.windhamworldaffairscouncil.org.