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W&L Presents Faculty Lectures in Weeklong Series W&L’s Office of Lifelong Learning presents an inside view of ongoing research from university faculty July 19-23 titled “Beyond the Classroom: Frontiers of Faculty Research.”

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Washington and Lee University’s Office of Lifelong Learning presents a weeklong lecture series that will give an inside view of ongoing research from W&L faculty. The series will take place July 19-23 at 4 p.m. each day.

Many W&L faculty pursue tough questions in hopes of saving the planet, promoting world peace, improving health and enhancing the public’s understanding of history. The five sessions in this program will feature professors from various academic departments sharing how they spend their summers and sabbaticals tackling those questions.

The lecture series, which is free and open to the public to view online, is titled “Beyond the Classroom: Frontiers of Faculty Research.” Registration is required and can be accessed here.

“Lifelong Learning developed several types of virtual programming last academic year because of the pandemic,” said Rob Fure, director of Lifelong Learning. “Among the more popular has been a seasonal webinar with W&L faculty and alumni discussing ideas of current interest. Our summer webinar will focus on some of the fascinating and timely research conducted by W&L faculty during the summer months. Although the academic year is only nine months long, nearly all W&L faculty devote their summers to research and publication. That research often involves some of the most pressing issues of our time.”

Lectures will include: 

  • July 19: “The Environment” – Julie Youngman, assistant professor of business administration and professor of practice, and Lisa Greer, professor of geology, will discuss their work assessing the health of oceans and legal measures to protect the natural environment.
  • July 20:“International Law” – Law professors Mark Drumbl and David Baluarte will focus on the ongoing challenge of immigration laws and refugee populations and the challenge of applying Western principles of justice to international crime.
  • July 21:“Diet and Sleep” – Sarah Blythe, associate professor of biology, and Ryan Brindle, assistant professor of cognitive and behavioral science, will discuss what they are learning about how diet and sleep deprivation affect human health and cognitive functions.
  • July 22:“War and Peace” – Seth Cantey, associate professor of politics, will explore the evolving political realities of the Middle East, while Shika Silwal, associate professor of economics, will discuss the economic implications of international conflict and peace.
  • July 23:“New Insights into History” – Chelsea Fisher, assistant professor of environmental studies, will explain her research into the relationship between agriculture and civilization, and Melissa Vise, assistant professor of history and head of the Italian studies faculty cohort, will reveal new understandings of the impact of plague on the Middle Ages.

“Our webinar will offer alumni and other interested parties a rare opportunity to visit with faculty in the middle of their projects, to learn firsthand what they are discovering at the frontiers of knowledge,” said Fure.

Learn more about opportunities from W&L’s Office of Lifelong Learning here.

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