ISSUED: 9 January 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — A new group at Shepherd University, the L&L Committee, is hosting the first of three events planned this semester designed to build a dynamic, engaging platform for Shepherd professors to share their passion for learning outside the walls of academia.
The first Lectures & Libations event kicks off on Sunday, January 27, at 5 p.m. at the Town Run Tap House and Community Pub, 202 E. Washington St. The event, which is free and open to the public, will finish by 7 p.m. and those wanting to order food will need to arrive early and place orders by 4:30 p.m. Speakers will be Dr. Ralph L. Wojtowicz, associate professor of mathematics; Dr. James Pate, assistant professor of English; and Dr. Matthew J. Kushin, associate professor of mass communications. A question-and-answer session will follow the speakers, inviting the community to engage in the conversation.
Each speaker will give a 15-minute talk on one big idea. The title of Wojtowicz’s talk will be “Data Analytics: A 21st Century Industrial Revolution Opportunity for West Virginia.” Pate will talk about “The Call of the Outside: Mark Fisher’s ‘The Weird and the Eerie.’” Kushin will discuss “How much do voters really know about politics? (And does it matter?)”
“We want the speakers to have fun, do something innovative or different in their presentation approach, and get off campus and into the community,” said Kushin, who chairs the committee. “The faculty at Shepherd are doing exciting, fascinating things. This event helps them get to know their neighbors and helps their neighbors get to know them. After all, Shepherdstown is a unique college town, and Lectures & Libations is about bringing the college and the town together in a unique way.”
Two more events are scheduled at Town Run Tap House and Community Pub on March 3 and April 14. Speakers for those events will be announced at a later date.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/lecturesandlibations.
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