University Club series to showcase leadership in public policy, arts and scholarship

With subjects ranging from divorce reform to Rwandan genocide to the Wisconsin Film Festival, and speakers including Wisconsin’s secretary of workforce development, the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster and others, the University Club‘s 2005 Luncheon Series is nothing if not diverse.

That’s so for an important reason, says series organizer John Tortorice, administrative program specialist in the Department of History.

“We view the luncheon series as part of the University Club’s – and the university’s – mission to support and enrich communication and contact between various parts of the campus community, acting as a vital link between current and retired UW–Madison faculty and staff, and the larger Madison community,” he says. “The program for the new semester achieves an excellent balance of those objectives.”

The program includes:

• “The Role of Higher Education in the Economic Future of Wisconsin” by Roberta Gassmann, state secretary of workforce development, Thursday, Feb. 17.
• “Women and Divorce Reform in Wisconsin” by Mary Lou Munts, Tuesday, March 1. As a member of the state assembly, Munts was instrumental in the passage of Wisconsin’s Divorce Reform Act passed in 1984. Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to enact such a law.
• “A Preview of the Wisconsin Film Festival” by Mary Carbine, festival director, Thursday, March 17.
• “Meet the Concertmaster: A Performance by Tyrone Greive,” Madison Symphony Orchestra concertmaster and UW–Madison professor of music, Thursday, April 21.
• “The Deep Historical Roots of the Rwandan Genocide” by Jan Vansina, J.D. MacArthur

Professor Emeritus of History and Anthropology and author of the new book “Antecedents to Modern Rwanda: The Nyiginya Kingdom” (University of Wisconsin Press, 2004), Thursday, May 5.

In addition to connecting various segments of the university and broader communities, the series is a superb vehicle for showcasing the quality of UW–Madison research and programs, according to lecture organizer Tortorice.

“We like to achieve a balance of subjects that illustrate the richness of UW–Madison scholarship and achievement with the excellence of our performing arts programs and forums with community leaders in politics, business and the arts,” he says.

All events begin at 11:45 a.m. in the main dining hall at the University Club, 803 State St. Reservations, $12 per person, can be made by calling (608) 262-5023 or sending e-mail to uclub@bascom.wisc.edu.