Reed Remote Talks
Past recordings
March 8, 2024
December 7, 2023
The Foster-Scholz Club of Reed College alumni hosted a panel, open to all alumni and members of the Reed community, on the pilot of a new model of collaborative teaching and learning within the Environmental Humanities at Reed College. This endeavor is supported by a 3-year Mellon Foundation grant.
Join Professor Sarah Wagner-McCoy, captain of this program, and one of her co-collaborators, sustainability coordinator Rachel Willis, as they discuss how this project has come to be and what it has done for Reed in the last semester, as well as where it might go in the future. This project has included public events with leading speakers in environmental humanities, new courses and programs open to students, and an Environmental Humanities Thesis Collective--everything from lectures on theatre and Standing Rock, to sea-kayaking with an English class, to cross-generational conversations about what the environment means to each of us.
November 14, 2023
What do we do if the unthinkable happens? How do we cope with disaster? On Tuesday, November 15, Jim Quinn '83 joined the Foster-Scholz Club to give a virtual talk titled "Not the Zombie Apocalypse: Tips for Home Disaster Preparedness" to answer these questions.
Jim Quinn ’83 is a Resilience Planner for Metro, the regional government in the Portland area. His work focuses on enhancing the resilience of the region’s solid waste system. In the presentation, Jim talked about preparing for disasters at home, including:
- the variety of hazards that can impact us, “natural” disasters as well as man-made, and how to find out about those that are most likely where you live
- information on emergency supplies you may want to have on hand with tips on how to do this on a budget
- ideas for making a preparedness plan with members of your household
- time for Q & A and sharing of experiences with disasters we have gone through.
November 8, 2023
Reed Career Alliance (RCA) hosted a virtual career pathways panel, Reedies in Sustainability–Watersheds, on Wednesday, November 8. Alumni panelists included Jenny Balmagia ’14 (watershed coordinator, Lower Salinas Valley SGMA), Nina Bell ’77 (executive director, Northwest Environmental Advocates), Zac Perry (facilities operations manager and manager of the Reed Canyon restoration), and Paula vanHaagen ’79 (unit manager, Seattle EPA Office, retired). They discussed their professional journeys and the skills, challenges, and opportunities one may anticipate in the field.
August 26, 2023
On August 26, the Reed Career Alliance hosted a Career Pathways panel, Reedies in PreK–12 Education. Panelists include early childhood educator Tiffany Pearsall ’09, elementary school teacher Alyssa Reed-Stuewe ’01, grade 6 teacher Lucia Zaczkowski ’89, educational equity leader Don Berg ’12, and community builder Mike Teskey. The panel will be moderated by English teacher Dean Schmeltz ’14 and researcher/central office administrator Liz Gilkey ’01.
April 20, 2023
When we read, what do we hear and why? On Thursday, April 20, Professor Lucía Martínez Valdivia gave a virtual Foster-Scholz Club talk titled “Audiation: Listening to Writing” to answer these questions.At this talk, Associate Professor of English & Humanities Lucía Martínez Valdivia discussed her current research into the different ways that texts can prompt the audiation—or mind’s ear—of their readers, in some cases exceeding the possibilities of heard sound. From seemingly straightforward features of language like onomatopoeia to less obvious phenomena like subvocalization, the use of white space, and the description of impossible-to-realize sound, this talk will model how we might become aware of and learn to produce new experiences of sound in the mind.
About Lucía Martínez Valdivia, associate professor of English & humanities: Lucía Martínez Valdivia is associate professor of English & humanities at Reed College. She teaches classes on poetry, poetics, aesthetics, and the phenomenology of reading. Her research specializes in histories of poetic forms, and she has written a number of articles on early modern English poetry and prosody, with a particular focus on short-form lines and the interplay of poetic meter, music, and religion. Her current project explores the relationship between the reading of poetry and sound.
December 14, 2022
Our featured speaker was Lena M. Lenček, emerita professor of Russian and humanities, who gave a lecture on Pavel Muratov’s EVOCATIONS OF ITALY.
This presentation and discussion are focused on the journey of Pavel Pavlovich Muratov (1881–1950), a Russian art historian, novelist, essayist, and all around Renaissance man on the eve of World War I and the Russian Revolution—just before the world changed irrevocably.
March 25, 2022
The Myth of "The" Mutation Rate: How Recent Discoveries in Genetics Illuminate the Most Important Parameter in Biology. A lecture by Sarah Schaack, Professor of Biology.
Where does all genetic variation come from? Mutation. In this talk, Sarah will share the basics of what we know and what has been long assumed about the nature of spontaneous mutations in biology and evolution. In addition, she will share how recent discoveries in her lab (and others) have challenged long, widely-held assumptions about what mutations are and how often they occur. One might think these basic questions are well understood in biology, but the number of empirical studies is actually very low-- posing a real barrier to our understanding of how quickly rates of adaptation, diversification, and extinction will impact the natural world.
March 22, 2022
Reed on the Road is a series of regional events designed for Reed alumni and parents, offering rich institutional and academic knowledge delivered by campus leadership and faculty.
The 2022 event series was focused on significant changes over the past couple of years, most notably: health of the college since the start of the pandemic, installing Reed's 16th president, Audrey Bilger, and the adoption of the newest Humanities 110 curriculum. This year, Pancho Savery, professor of English and humanities, gave a lecture entitled "Perfect as Dusk" and discussed the first section of Jean Toomer's Cane, which features stories and poems depicting women in the rural black South.
March 10, 2022
Lecture by Ellen Millender, Reed College Omar & Althea Hoskins Professor of Greek, Latin, and Ancient Mediterranean Studies & Humanities. Professor Millender presents an overview of her work, "The Spectacular Nature of Spartan Austerity: An Oxymoron?"
February 10, 2022
Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Inflation with Professor Jeff Parker, hosted by the Foster-Scholz Club
Virtual event with Jeff Parker, George Hay Professor of Economics, Emeritus who discusses how to understand pandemic and post-pandemic inflation. What are the underlying factors that have caused inflation to be high right now? Are the factors likely to be relatively temporary or are we in for a sustained, long-term inflation? How does this inflationary episode compare to the 1970s and other past U.S. inflations? What are the implications of inflation for workers and retirees
December 9, 2021
Foster-Scholz Talk with Dr. McConnell-Black
Dr. McConnell-Black discusses the past, present, and future of the Reed College Office of Student Life, the experiences of students during the pandemic, student support and retention efforts, and his vision for future student success initiatives.
October 12, 2021
Reedie Physicians Panel #2 - Beyond Your First Job, hosted by the Reed Career Alliance
Moderator/panelist Jon Bates ’67 and panelists Catherine Dalton ’98, Brian Martin ’81, Steppe Mette ’78, and Jane van Dis ’92 discuss opportunities and professional paths as physicians since leaving Reed. Their careers span the areas of clinical practice, software development, biotech research, hospital administration, and their trajectories are anything but traditional.
September 30, 2021
Reedie Physicians Panel #1 - From Reed Through Fellowship, hosted by the Reed Career Alliance
The road to becoming a practicing physician is long and complicated. In this virtual panel, moderator Jon Bates ’67 and panelists Olivier Ezell ’12, Thomas Hoang ’18, Friederike Keating ’85, and Duncan Ramsey ’04 demystify the process.
September 28, 2021
Science and Law - Reed Alumni in Patent Law hosted by the Reed Legal Network
Three Reed alumni talk about their careers in the field of patent law and give an overview of the roles of registered patent attorneys, patent agents, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
April 8, 2021
Careers in Publishing hosted by the Reed Career Alliance
Moderator Govind Nair ’83 and five alumni panelists to learn more about what Reedies are doing in publishing and how they got there, current challenges facing the industry, and what they wish they had known at the beginning of their careers.
April 7, 2021
Financial Literacy Workshop for New Alumni
Alumni Programs hosted new alumni to take this informative financial literacy workshop with Samantha Silberstein, CFP. Topics included personal cash flow management, developing sustainable and value-aligned saving habits, debt repayment, tax filing, and Q and A.
April 6, 2021
Foster-Scholz Club Talk with Prof. Derek Applewhite on Cell Imaging and Microscopy
Associate Professor of Biology Derek Applewhite illuminates the revolutionary advances in the field of biology made possible by cell imaging and microscopy. He discusses the way he incorporates these technologies in his lessons with students and his research.
November 19, 2020
Careers in the Creative Arts hosted by the Reed Career Alliance
Reedie artists share what they are doing in the creative arts, how they got there, and what they wish they had known at the beginning of their careers.
November 17, 2020
Understanding What Just Happened – Post-Elections Analysis
Flavia Bortoleto ’17, digital marketer, Grace Haley ’17, gender and race researcher, and Kasra Shokat ’14, political media strategist, shared a dynamic conversation about the factors that defined the 2020 election. They talked about trends they witnessed in campaign spending over the past four years, how race and gender affected election outcomes, and what happened with state legislatures and ballot measures in Oregon. Interviewer: Paul Gronke, professor of political science and director of the Early Voting Information Center (EVIC).
October 18, 2020
Reed in the World: Discussion about Working Internationally hosted by the Reed Career Alliance
Reed alumni have pursued personal and career journeys that impact institutions and organizations around the world through research, education, activism, business, and other endeavors. The Reed Career Alliance (RCA) committee of the Alumni Board presented this moderated session featuring alumni working all over the world and discussed how the Reed liberal arts education remains relevant as globalization faces new economic and geopolitical challenges.
October 16, 2020
We kicked off the Forum for Advancing Reed with with a conversation with Audrey Bilger, president of Reed College and Hugh Porter, vice president for college relations & planning. They shared reflections from the past 12 months on campus including an overview of President Bilger's first year and updates about the college's ongoing response to COVID-19.
October 17, 2020
Paul Gronke, professor of political science and director of the Early Voting Information Center (EVIC), delivered the talk titled "Making a Difference and Getting Published While You Do It: How Academic Research Helps To Assure A Safe, Secure, and Accessible American Elections System" at the Forum for Advancing Reed 2020. Moderated by Christine Lewis ’07.
October 18, 2020
Reed in the World: A Panel Discussion about Working Internationally
Reed alumni have pursued personal and career journeys that impact institutions and organizations around the world through research, education, activism, business, and other endeavors. The Reed Career Alliance (RCA) committee of the Alumni Board presented this moderated session featuring alumni working all over the world and discussed how the Reed liberal arts education remains relevant as globalization faces new economic and geopolitical challenges.
September 30, 2020
Improving Food Security for the World’s Poorest Farmers: Plant Genetics and the Future of Food with Pamela Ronald ’82
Professor Pamela Ronald ’82 is known for her leading role in the development of climate-resilient rice varieties grown by more than six million subsistence farmers in India and Bangladesh. In this virtual presentation, Professor Ronald shared her research and discussed the role of biotechnology in sustainable agriculture.
September 17, 2020
Gamifying Mental Health: Leveraging Technology to Deliver Therapy At Scale with Acacia Parks ’03
August 27, 2020
Watchdog Reporting on the Pandemic’s Effect on the US Food System with Sam Fromartz ’80
Conversation with Sam Fromartz ’80, editor in chief of the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN) about his award-winning, high-impact investigative and explanatory reporting on food, agriculture, and environmental health during the pandemic. Interviewer: Reed Trustee John Sheehy ’82.
June 20, 2020
Reedpreneurs in the Pandemic Era hosted by the Reed Career Alliance