Celebrating 30 Years of Cultural Programming

2012-13 Wittenberg Series Poster Painting titled "Kilclooney More Dolmen" by Associate Professor of Art Ed Charney

Welcome to the Wittenberg Series, a selection of cultural activities annually presented by Wittenberg University. All Wittenberg Series events are free admission. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the beginning of each lecture or performance.

Tickets for the Doug Varone and Dancers' performance are required and may be obtained at Wittenberg's Benham-Pence Student Center service desk or at Clark State's Performing Arts Center box office. Call the student center at 937-327-7443 or the box office at 937-328-3874 for more information.

All facilities are accessible without climbing stairs. Audio-description services and interpreters for the visually- or hearing-impaired will be provided with 72-hour notice prior to each event. To make special arrangements, receive a calendar of events or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Jeannine Fox at 937-206-3539 or via e-mail at jfox@wittenberg.edu.

Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D., President

Opening Convocation of the 168th Academic Year
Inauguration of Wittenberg's 14th President
3 p.m. Pam Evans Smith Arena, HPERC

Throughout her career, President Joyner has consistently worked to link the academy to diverse communities in ways that deepen student, faculty and staff learning while addressing social issues. She officially began her tenure as Wittenberg’s 14th president on July 1, 2012.

Click Here to event coverage (includes links to video and photos).

Nick Flynn, Writer, Playwright and Poet

Dr. Allen J. Koppenhaver Literary Lecture
7:30 p.m. Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center
4 p.m. English Department Colloquium, Kissell Auditorium, Koch Hall

A poet and author of several volumes of memoirs, Nick Flynn has seen his work appear in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, NPR’s This American Life and The New York Times Book Review.

Presentation made possible through the generous support of the Ellen, Lloyd Margaret and Lanty Smith Endowed Fund for Wittenberg and WYSO 91.3 FM.

Click Here to read complete news release.
Click Here to watch video.

Lee Hirsch, Filmmaker

Visual Artist Residency
7:30 p.m. Oct. 10, Weaver Chapel
7:30 p.m. Oct. 9, Interdepartmental Program, Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center

A documentary filmmaker, Lee Hirsch was recently featured in the New York Times for his latest work, Bully, which “arrives at a moment when bullying, long tolerated as a fact of life, is being redefined as a social problem.”

Presentation made possible through the generous support of K. David Weidner ’83, Ph.D., and William E. Gannon Jr., M.D., Community Alliance for Youth, Faculty Endowment Fund Board and WYSO 91.3 FM.

Click Here to read complete news release.
Click Here to watch video.

David Levering-Lewis, Ph.D., Historian

The William A. Kinnison Endowed Lecture
7:30 p.m. Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his magisterial two-volume biography of W.E.B. DuBois, a 15-year project, David Levering-Lewis has had his work best characterized as comparative history.

Presented with support from WYSO 91.3 FM. and Faculty Endowment Fund Board

Click Here to read complete news release.
Click Here to watch video.

The Rev. Dr. Donald P. Kreiss, Synod Bishop

Festival Choral Eucharist for Reformation
7:30 p.m. Weaver Chapel

The Festival Choral Eucharist for Reformation gives thanks in worship, song and the preached word for the influences of the Reformation in the Church universal. University music ensembles will perform. The Rev. Dr. Donald P. Kreiss is the bishop of EL CA Southeast Michigan Synod.

Click Here to read complete news release.

Mark R. Schwehn, Ph.D., Valparaiso University

Kenneth H. Sauer Luther Symposium
7:30 p.m. Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center

Provost, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Humanities at Valparaiso University, Mark R. Schwehn has published widely on religion and higher learning. He serves on the boards of several major institutions addressing religion, education and American public life.

Click Here to read complete news release.
Click Here to watch video.

Gwen Ifill, Journalist

Fred R. Leventhal Family Endowed Lecture
7:30 p.m. Pam Evans Smith Arena, HPERC

Senior Correspondent for PBS’ NEWSHOUR, Gwen Ifill also moderates and serves as managing editor of Washington Week, the longest-running prime-time news and public affairs program on television.

Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas

7:30 p.m. Weaver Chapel (Pre-service music at 7 p.m.)

Beginning with the Service of Light for Evening Prayer, in which the chapel is gradually illuminated by candles, and concluding with a candlelit singing of “Silent Night,” this service offers a time of reflection as the Advent season unfolds. Wittenberg’s music ensembles will perform.

Monday, Jan. 21

Peniel Joseph, Ph.D., Activist

Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation
11 a.m. Weaver Chapel
2 p.m. Q&A, 105 Shouvlin Center

Professor of History at Tufts University and the author of the award-winning Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama, Peniel E. Joseph is the founder of a growing subfield in American history and Africana studies that he has characterized as “Black Power Studies."

Doug Varone and Dancers

7:30 p.m. Kuss Auditorium, Clark State Performing Arts Center
4 p.m. Feb. 5, Master Class, Chakeres Memorial Theatre

Since its founding, Doug Varone and Dancers has commanded attention for its expansive vision, versatility and technical prowess. Varone, his dancers and designers have been honored with 11 New York Dance and Performance Awards.

Admission is free, but tickets are required and may be picked up at the Clark State Performing Arts Center.

Presentation of Doug Varone and Dancers was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

American Brass Quintet

7:30 p.m. Weaver Chapel
4 p.m. Master Class, Room 100, Krieg Hall

Internationally recognized as one of the premier chamber music ensembles of our time, the American Brass Quintet is considered an icon in the brass world. Since 2001, the ensemble has offered its expertise in chamber music performance and training as part of its regular touring season.

Presentation made possible through the generous support of Gil Belles, Wittenberg class of 1962.

Thursday, April 4

Richard Alley, Geoscientist

The IBM Endowed Lecture in the Sciences
7:30 p.m. Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center
3:50 p.m. Student-Faculty Lecture, Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center

Author of Earth: The Operators’ Manual and host of the 2012 PBS documentary of the same name, Richard Alley is one of several Penn State University Earth scientists who contributed to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Prize with Al Gore.

Take a look back — 2011-12 Wittenberg Series