1:00
Smart Home Technology
John Preston, Professor Emeritus of Eastern Michigan University, will describe how home WiFi systems can be combined with sensors, locks and cameras to monitor energy use, control lights and appliances as well as access to the home. He will describe how this technology can be used to monitor aging seniors who wish to live alone. The presentation will include a demonstration of the system installed in the Prestons home in Michigan.

2:30
Know Your Snakes
Ann Clamp, live snake demonstrator of the Edisto Island Serpentarium, will display and handle non-poisonous snakes for us and help us recognize them in the wild. She will also help us identify poisonous ones that she will display in clear enclosed cases.

1:00
Who Was Richard T. Greener?
Katherine Chaddock, retired chair of USC’s Education, Leadership and Policies Department, will discuss the truly amazing story of Richard Greener, USC’s first African-American faculty member, first Black graduate of Phillips Academy and Harvard and first Black diplomat to Russia. Katherine will be accompanied by Carolyn Matalene with whom she has collaborated in writing a biography of Richard Greener which is due to be published in the spring.

2:30
Saving the Oceans
Gorka Sancho is a Professor of Biology at the Grice Marine Laboratory of the College of Charleston. His research on fish behavioral ecology has taken him to remote and pristine waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. He is keenly aware of the conflict between the need to feed a growing human population and the need to preserve the pristine viability of great portions of our oceans for future generations.

1:00
Poverty in South Carolina: Meet the S.C. Lowcountry Promise Zone
Andy Brack, columnist and publisher, returns to CCR to explore poverty statewide, but his focus will be on what’s being done at the southern tip of the state.

2:30
Antarctic Adventure
Paul Nolan, Professor of Biology at The Citadel, will focus on his research dealing with the impact of climate change on penguins in Antarctica. His presentation will include spectacular photographs of the majestic northern coast of Antarctica.

Note new time and place for this week only.

January 19^th at 1:30

With this concert CCR resumes its tradition of including live musical performance in its schedule.

Paul Thomas, Organist and Choir Director of the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, will present a recital of organ music for us on site at the historic Cathedral Church, 126 Coming Street on the Peninsula.   Paul earned degrees in organ performance from Furman and Yale University as well as the Certificate in Church Music Studies from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He received the Cathedral’s call to serve as organist in 2014. He says, “I look forward to engaging midtown Charleston with this living tradition as we seek glimpses of God’s beauty in our offerings of praise.”

Although we have been unable to make arrangements for such a large group to eat at a single nearby restaurant, we suggest that members carpool and arrive at a restaurant of their choice about noon.

The parking garage on St. Philip Street between Calhoun and Vanderhorst Streets is two blocks from the church.

1:00
Vision for the College of Charleston’s School of Languages, Cultures & World Affairs (LCWA)
Dean Antonio Tillis will give an overview of LCWA and its role at the College of Charleston. He will address how the mission of the school meets the needs of an increasingly interconnected world. He will specifically address globalization as it relates to world affairs and a shrinking economy.

2:30
Fort Sumter 1829-1947
Rick Hatcher, Fort Sumter Historian Emeritus, will discuss the famous fort in Charleston’s harbor. The April 12-13, 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter marked a defining moment in American History – the beginning of the Civil War. Sumter was one of the coastal fortifications built after the War of 1812. During the 1863 to 1865 Siege of Charleston (the longest military operation of the war) the fort was the focal point; more than 7 million pounds of artillery rounds were fired at the installation. After the war, Fort Sumter continued to operate as one of the nation’s coastal defenses through the end of the Second World War.

We have a new website!  We are now hosted on the college’s website and are working on getting it to be in conformance with the college’s and the School of Professional Studies style guidelines.  We are also working on getting its URL to be more user friendly.

The calendar for the Spring of 2016 has been posted.  This already contains changes from the calendar distributed just a few weeks ago.  Mayor Summey, who was going to be our keynote speaker for the spring, has his swearing in ceremony scheduled at the same time as he was going to speak to us.  Hopefully we will be able to reschedule Mayor Summey in the future.  Instead, Jennifer Scott, Marketing and Public Relations Director of Spoleto USA, will be speaking on Spoleto Festival USA, while our second speaker discussing Piccolo: Spoleto’s Sister Festival is still to be determined.

1:00
Growth in the Tri-County Region

Frank Hefner, Professor of Economics at the College of Charleston will lead a discussion about the recent history and trends in economic development locally (the Trident Region), South Carolina, and US.

2:30
Two Fascinating Cities: Suzhou China and Lhasa Tibet

CCR member Maxwell Mowry will present slides of two fascinating Chinese cities, Suzhou (which Marco Polo called the Venice of the East) and Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

1:00
There’s Something About Mary:  Evolution of the Representation of the Mother of Jesus Through the Ages
Robert Westerfelhaus, Professor in the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston, will trace the evolution of Mary from a poor Jewish woman living among a conquered people on the fringes of the Roman Empire to her current place at the center of religious devotion on the part of millions.  This talk will point out the economic, cultural, religious and social implications of this devotion in the past and its continued influence today.

2:30
Charleston’s Mayoral Race
Our presenter will be Kendra Stewart, Professor of Political Science at the College of Charleston and Director of the Joseph P. Riley Center for Livable Communities.  Dr. Stewart will discuss the issues facing Charleston with which the next mayor will have to contend after more than 40 years of leadership by Mayor Riley.  Charleston will be facing a new era with many new challenges that will require our new mayor to hit the ground running.

Sydney Frasier, Master of Horticulture at Middleton Place, will discuss with us one of the great stars of Charleston horticulture, the camellia.  In particular he will discuss how one goes about grafting these beauties.