The mission of Collegiate Peaks Forum Series is to facilitate the
intellectual enrichment of Chaffee County residents and their
visitors by sponsoring events featuring nationally recognized
persons schooled in philosophy, religion or science and hosting
other community discussion activities.
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Distinguished Lectures - 2009 Overview
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Celinda Reynolds Kaelin
A poet, philosopher, historian and granddaughter of New Mexico pioneer and homesteader, John Allen Reynolds. She resides at her historic Twin Creek Ranch west of Florissant, Colorado. She is a member of the Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West, and has served as president of the Pikes Peak Historical Society for fifteen years.
Tuesday, March 17 at 7:00 pm
“H ealing Waters, Broken Trails: Indigenous Peoples of the
Upper Arkansas Valley.”
Held at the Buena Vista High School
Cafeteria in Buena Vista
Click here for more information
and directions
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Dr. Vince Mathews
Vince Matthews became State Geologist and Director of the Colorado Geological Survey in 2004. Dr. Matthews has held tenured positions at two universities and has taught geology at the University of California, University of Northern Colorado, Arizona State University, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
 Friday, April 24 - 7:00 pm “China and India’s Ravenous Appetite for Natural Resources - Their Impact on Colorado.”
Held at the SteamPlant Theater in Salida
Click here for more information
and directions
Co-sponsored with Collegiate Peaks Geotourism and GARNA
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Dr. Mal Wakin, Brigadier General (Ret.)
Malham M. Wakin is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has taught at the Air Force Academy since 1959 and served as Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy, Chairman of the Humanities Division, Assistant Dean, Associate Dean, chair and member of numerous committees.
Friday, July 10 - 7:00 pm
"Principles & Cases in Medical Ethics."
Saturday, July 11 - 10:00 am
"End-of-Life Issues Including Physician Assisted Death."
Held at the Buena Vista Community Center
Click here for more information
and directions
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Dr. Marcus Borg
Marcus J. Borg is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture. Known as one of the leading historical Jesus scholars of this generation, and author of sixteen books. He has lectured widely overseas (England, Scotland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Israel and South Africa) and in North America, including the Chautauqua and Smithsonian Institutions. His work has been translated into ten languages.
Friday, August 7 - 7:00 pm
"Thinking about Jesus Again."
Saturday, August 8 - 10:00 am
"Thinking about God Again."
Held at the John Held Auditorium in Salida
Click here for more information
and directions
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We're sorry, this speaking date has been cancelled.
Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd graduated summa cum laude from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, where he received a B.A. in biblical studies and philosophy. He also graduated with honors from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Seminary) in Philadelphia, PA (affiliated with the American Baptist Church), where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. Rev. Dowd served as a congregational minister for nine years.
 Friday, September 25 - 7:00 pm "Thank God forEvolution."
Held at the Congregational United Church of Christ, Crossman Avenue in Buena Vista
Click here for more information
and directions
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We're sorry, this speaking date has been cancelled.
Connie Barlow
Connie Barlow is the author of four popular science books that explore the intersection of evolution and ecology with philosophy and religion. Barlow is a correspondent for Wild Earth magazine and has also written for Natural History, The Humanist, Orion, and EarthLight, along with technical science journals.
Saturday, September 26 - 10:00 am
"Rewilding North America: A Deep-Time Perspective."
Held at the Congregational United Church of Christ, Crossman Avenue in Buena Vista
Click here for more information
and directions
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The Forum Series depends on community support to bring our program
to Chaffee County.
To become a contributor please
click here.
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Distinguished Lectures - 2009 Detail
Celinda Reynolds Kaelin (Tuesday, March 17 - 7:00 pm)
Celinda is the author of several books, hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and has lectured extensively throughout the Pikes Peak region. |
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Celinda Reynolds Kaelin, is a poet, philosopher, historian and granddaughter of New Mexico pioneer and homesteader, John Allen Reynolds. She resides at her historic Twin Creek Ranch west of Florissant, Colorado, with her husband Harold. They have three children, and eight grandchildren. Celinda is a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West, and has served as president of the Pikes Peak Historical Society for fifteen years. Celinda began writing full time in 1989, after she took an early retirement from the Central Intelligence Agency.
She received her B.A. in Business Administration from the College of Santa Fe, and also has the equivalent of a Masters Degree in Business Administration earned from over 400 hours of post-graduate studies. |
Tuesday’s lecture, “Healing Waters, Broken Trails: Indigenous Peoples of the
Upper Arkansas Valley” Celinda will explore the First Nations who inhabited the valleys and summits of the Collegiate Peaks before the coming of the white man. This region of North America was host to its earliest inhabitants, the Clovis People, who hunted the area until about 12,000 years ago. Later arrivals, the
Ute Indians, bathed their ponies in the healing mineral waters of the
Collegiates, and fought off constant incursions from Plains Indians envious of their “hunters’ paradise.” Celinda, named Sunif Mamuch by the Ute,
will share music, legends, and cultural insights on these fascinating people
of the Shining Mountains.
click here for directions to the lecture |
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Dr. Vince Matthews (Friday, April 24 - 7:00 pm)
Vince Matthews became State Geologist and Director of the Colorado Geological Survey in 2004. |
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He received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Geology from the University of Georgia and a Ph. D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Dr. Matthews held tenured positions at two universities and has taught geology at the University of California, University of Northern Colorado, Arizona State University, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. As an executive in the natural resources industry for Amoco, Lear, Union Pacific, and Penn Virginia; Matthews explored for oil & gas in virtually every basin in the U.S.
In Friday’s lecture “China and India’s Ravenous Appetite for Natural Resources - Their Impact on Colorado” will discuss during the 1990s, China and India were unleashed from Communist and Socialist regimes respectively. China’s GDP is now growing at more than 10 percent per |
year and India’s at 7-9 percent. Both are drastically increasing their use of all natural resources. Because the world’s mineral and energy resources are being strained to supply these exploding economies, the price of nearly every natural-resource commodity has escalated since 2003.
Colorado is already suffering from a shortage of several mineral commodities. Colorado is, and will be, significantly affected by this new world disorder. Its mineral and energy industry produced $11.7 billion in revenue in 2006 and $11.3 billion in 2007. Because Colorado is so rich in natural resources, the increased pressure to produce this natural wealth will probably result in increasing conflicts among various constituencies.
click here for directions to the lecture |
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Dr. Mal Wakin, Brigadier General (Ret.) (Friday, July 10 - 7:00 pm
and Saturday, July 11 - 10:00 am)
Malham M. Wakin is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has taught at the Air Force Academy since 1959 and served as Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy, Chairman of the Humanities Division, Assistant Dean, Associate Dean, chair and member of numerous committees. |
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He served on active duty with the Air Force from 1953 to 1995. He holds a number of military decorations including the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit (three). He has authored or edited five books. After retiring in the rank of Brigadier General in 1995, General Wakin served the Air Force Academy for another two years as the Lyon Chair Professor of Professional Ethics.
He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California, an M.A. in secondary education and school administration from the State University of New York at Albany, and a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame. General Wakin was national chairman of the Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics from 1979 to 1992 and was a member of the Ethics Oversight Committee for the U.S. Olympic Committee for 13 years. He continues to average approximately fifty lectures each year around the world. |
In Friday’s lecture, "Principles & Cases in Medical Ethics” Dr. Wakin will review various cases of medical ethics in cases that he has participated in over the last few years. A panel of local medical practitioners will add their thoughts and comments. Then a question and answer period will be opened up to the audience.
Saturday’s lecture, "End-of-Life Issues Including Physician Assisted Death"
will be devoted to end-of-life issues including recent moves to bring physician assisted suicide and physician assisted death to Colorado. Again, a panel of local medical practitioners will add their thoughts and comments. Then a question and answer period will be opened up to the audience.
click here for directions to the lecture |
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Dr. Marcus Borg (Friday, August 7 - 7:00 pm
and Saturday, August 8 - 10:00 am)
Dr. Borg has appeared on NBC's "Today Show" and “Dateline,” PBS's "Newshour," ABC’s “Evening News” and “Prime Time” with Peter Jennings, NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, and several National Geographic programs. |
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Marcus J. Borg is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture. Known as one of the leading historical Jesus scholars of this generation, he is the author of sixteen books, three of which have become best-sellers. His doctoral degree is from Oxford University, and he has lectured widely overseas (England, Scotland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Israel and South Africa) and in North America, including the Chautauqua and Smithsonian Institutions. His work has been translated into ten languages.
Dr. Borg sees philosophy as primarily concerned with the role of ideas in our lives. “Ideas matter," Borg says, "much more than we commonly think they do - especially our world-views and values, namely our ideas about what is real and how we are to live. We receive such ideas from our culture as we grow up, and unless we examine them, we will not be free persons, but will to a large extent live out the agenda of our socialization." |
Friday’s lecture compares and contrasts conventional Christian ways of seeing Jesus with how Jesus is seen by mainstream academic scholars.
Saturday’s lecture compares and contrasts conventional Christian ways of thinking about God with a more ancient way of thinking about God and with contemporary atheism.
click here for directions to the lecture
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| Please Note: The audio files can be large and may take a few minutes to download. |
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Listen to “Thinking about Jesus again” |
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Lecture notes-"Thinking about Jesus again" |
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Listen to “Thinking about God again” |
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Lecture notes-Thinking about God again |
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Read Dr. Marcus Borg's Bio. |
| You may also save the files to your computer by right-clicking the link and selecting "save target as". |
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We're sorry, this speaking date has been cancelled.
Michael Dowd (Friday, September 25 - 7:00 pm)
The Reverend Michael Dowd is one of the most inspiring speakers in America today. He is the author of Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World, which has been endorsed by 5 Nobel laureates and other leading scientists, as well as by religious leaders across the spectrum. |
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Michael Dowd graduated summa cum laude from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, where he received a B.A. in biblical studies
and philosophy. He also graduated with honors from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Seminary) in Philadelphia, PA (affiliated with the American Baptist Church), where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. Rev. Dowd served as a congregational minister for nine years. His 1991 book, EarthSpirit: A Handbook for Nurturing an Ecological Christianity was one of the first attempts to look appreciatively at biblical Christianity from the
perspective of a modern cosmology.
In 1995 Rev. Dowd began working with Jewish, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Unitarian Universalist, and New Thought leaders across America on social and environmental issues that were coming up. The result was the writing of his acclaimed 2008 book, “Thank God for Evolution” which will be discussed at the lecture. |
In Friday’s lecture Michael Dowd proposes two key distinctions that he maintains are crucial for resolving the wrenching struggle between science and religion. In this beautiful and informative digital slide talk, Dowd will demonstrate why these distinctions matter and why five Nobel Prize-winning scientists have joined dozens of religious leaders — from Catholics and Quakers to Baptists and Buddhists — in endorsing his book. This program also highlights inspiring long-term and short-term trends in biological and cultural evolution that can help us fulfill the Great Work of our time: co-creating a just and thriving future for our planet, ourselves, and for as many other species as possible.
click here for directions to the lecture |
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We're sorry, this speaking date has been cancelled.
Connie Barlow (Saturday, September 26 - 10:00 am)
Barlow is a correspondent for Wild Earth magazine and has also written for Natural History, The Humanist, Orion, and EarthLight, along with technical science journals. |
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Connie Barlow is the author of four popular science books that explore the intersection of evolution and ecology with philosophy and religion: The Ghosts of Evolution; Green Space, Green Time: The Way of Science; Evolution Extended: Biological Debates on the Meaning of Life; and From Gaia to Selfish Genes. She has a B.S. in zoology from Michigan State University and sees herself as a “citizen naturalist” specializing in evolutionary ecology.
Connie Barlow is founding member and webmaster of Torreya Guardians, an internet community of botanists, naturalists, and others dedicated to ensuring the continuing persistence in the wild of America's most endangered conifer tree: Torreya taxifolia. The June 2008 issue of Orion Magazine included an in-depth article on "assisted migration" for this highly endangered tree, featuring Connie's leadership in this effort. You can read it online: "Taking Wildness in Hand: Rescuing Species" at www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/2966/. |
For Saturday’s join conservationist and science-writer Connie Barlow for an astonishing look at a radical idea in conservation biology that is already beginning to influence action. In the fall of 2006, a top science journal published an article coauthored by 12 prominent conservation biologists proposing a shift in the "benchmark" commonly used for restoring lost wildlife to former habitats.
Most parklands and wilderness areas in North America will continue to be restored to conditions that prevailed just prior to the arrival of Columbus. But what about rewilding a small portion of America's natural heritage to conditions that prevailed just prior to the first human incursion on the landscape — some 13,000 years ago? If one adopts an "end-Pleistocene" benchmark, then it is time to "bring back" the American cheetah, the American camel, the American plains lion, and American mastodons and mammoths by using proxies from the Old World to re-start their evolution in the New.
click here for directions to the lecture |
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The Forum Series depends on community support to bring our program
to Chaffee County.
To become a contributor please click here. |
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