Social Security Expert Eric Kingson to Speak at Cazenovia Forum

CAZENOVIA, NY – Eric Kingson, professor, presidential policy advisor and author, will discuss the politics, economics and ethics of Social Security reform at the next Cazenovia Forum lecture, to be held Tuesday, November 8th at 7pm at Cazenovia College’s McDonald Lecture Hall.

The event is free of charge and no reservations are required. A reception will follow the talk.

Kingson, professor of social work at Syracuse University, served as policy advisor to two presidential commissions – the 1982-83 National Commission on Social Security Reform and the 1994 Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform. He was an advisor on the Obama Campaign’s Retirement Security Policy Advisory Committee and the Social Security Administration’s transition team. Kingson also co-directs Social Security Works, an organization which built and launched the Strengthen Social Security Campaign.

Kingson is a 2007 recipient of the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction and Syracuse University’s 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr. Unsung Hero Award.  His scholarship examines the politics and economics of population aging, Social Security policy, baby boomers, cross-generational obligations and  the distributional effects of changes in retirement age.

The Cazenovia Forum is a 501 (c) 3, not-for-profit organization established in 2006 by community members focused on promoting the understanding and discussion of national and international issues. By organizing and underwriting lecture events featuring nationally-known experts, the group intends to further Cazenovia’s commitment to knowledge-seeking and community involvement.

Betty Rollins Poster

911 Event

September 11th, the 10 year anniversary of the day that shocked our nation, saw the first Cazenovia Forum event of the Fall season. The meeting followed the 7 p.m. candlelight vigil, organized by members of Project Café at Memorial Park, and provided a speaker who had been witness to the events in New York City. Thomas Flynn, a journalist and the author of the epic poem Bikeman, spoke at Cazenovia’s Presbyterian Church meeting house about his experiences.
Flynn was in New York City the fateful day that the twin towers collapsed. He recalled for the audience the reaction, first as the city was alive with confusion and people, and later when it all went quiet.
A former writer and producer at CBS, a producer for Dan Rather, a founding member of 48 Hours, and a producer for Steve Kroft at 60 Minutes, Flynn could not fight his urge to pursue the story unfolding. Little did he know what he was in for at the time.
After an introduction by Cindy Sutton, the President of the Cazenovia Forum, Thomas Flynn read excerpts from the beginning and the end of his book length poem. He accompanied the poetry with commentary that provided additional context and recollections.
As he read, Flynn’s charismatic manner at the podium drew every eye and ear of the full house that attended the Cazenovia Forum meeting. He made jokes to lighten the mood, but the words from his book were sobering.
Thomas Flynn was an observer, and with little idea of what to expect, a participant as well. He provided listeners with a fantastic glance into a time that those of our nation saw and felt but few experienced first hand. His first person present tense writing in Bikeman brings the reader to New York City and the pain that we collectively felt into perspective. “I wanted you to be with me,” Flynn explained to Sunday’s audience after he was asked why chose to write the poem the way he did. “Right there, as we went through that hell. I wanted to make it our story.”
After he concluded the narration of his chosen pieces audience members were given the chance to ask questions and make comments. Audience questions varied from, whether his lungs were damaged from the smoke and dust, to how it feels to have witnessed hundreds of peoples’ last moments. Flynn was inevitably asked if in hindsight he would still take that fateful bike ride towards the chaos. His wife, Nancy, he responded, was not happy with him for deciding to do it in the first place but it was the “biggest story I have covered in 30 years and I got out.” With a hand hiding his mouth from Nancy he “secretively” told the audience that he would do it all over again.
To conclude the evening Mr. Flynn signed copies of his book that were available for purchase and spoke to audience members individually. Students from Cazenovia High School set up the audio equipment and refreshments were donated by Dunkin’ Donuts and Beak and Skiff of LaFayette.

The next Cazenovia Forum event is on October 14th, when Betty Rollin will speak on end of life issues. Details of upcoming Forum events are available online at cazenoviaforum.com.

Betty Rollin – October 14th at 7:00pm at the Catherine Cummings Theatre in Cazenovia

Author and TV Correspondent Betty Rollin to Speak at Cazenovia Forum

Please mark your calendar for the next Cazenovia Forum lecture. We’re delighted that Betty Rollin will join us for an important talk about end of life choices. The lecture will be held on Friday, October 14th at 7:00pm at the Catherine Cummings Theatre in Cazenovia. As usual, we’ll have a reception with Ms. Rollin after her talk.

Rollin is a former correspondent for NBC News and currently a contributor to the PBS program Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. She brings a unique and personal insight to the difficult decisions faced by families as loved ones struggle with serious illness; her best seller Last Wish chronicles the suicide of her terminally ill mother, and details her own role in planning the act. Critics called it a “document of personal compassion and public importance” and a “story told with compassion, anger, humor and profound love.”

Rollin has written five other books including First You Cry, a moving, first of its kind story about her own breast cancer and mastectomy. Both Last Wish and First You Cry were made into television movies, with Patty Duke and Mary Tyler Moore each playing the role of Rollin.

While at NBC, Rollin was the recipient of both the prestigious DuPont Award and an Emmy for her work. She has written for many national magazines including The New York Times Magazine, where she also wrote the Hers column. Earlier in her journalism career she was a senior editor at Look magazine.

Rollin has been a member of the board of directors of Death with Dignity National Center.

The Cazenovia Forum is a 501 (c) 3, not-for-profit organization established in 2006 by community members focused on promoting the understanding and discussion of national and international issues. By organizing and underwriting lecture events featuring nationally-known experts, the group intends to further Cazenovia’s commitment to knowledge-seeking and community involvement.

For more information contact Cindy Sutton,
Sutton@hws.edu
315-655-9374

Author of Epic 9/11 Poem to Speak at Cazenovia Forum Remembrance Event

CAZENOVIA, NY – Thomas Flynn, former CBS Evening News producer, will read from his acclaimed book-length poem “Bikeman,” an account of his experiences at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, at a special Cazenovia Forum event marking the 10th anniversary of the tragedy.

The event will take place on Sunday, September 11 at 7:30pm at the Presbyterian Church Meeting House on Albany Street in Cazenovia, immediately following the annual Community 9/11 Ceremony that will begin at 7:00pm across the street in Memorial Park.  This Caz Forum event is free of charge and light refreshments will be served after the reading.

In 2001 Flynn was a producer for CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, living in lower Manhattan near the corner of 10th Street and Sixth Avenue.  When the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center, he grabbed a pen and notebook and rode his bike to the scene, arriving at about the time the second plane hit the South tower.

“Bikeman,” published in 2008, is Flynn’s account of his experiences in the midst of the disaster, including his struggle to both cover the story and survive it.

 In his foreword to the book, Dan Rather wrote “what Tom has set down here are the reports of the journalist as poet, or poet as journalist. The two are not so far apart as some may think, nor are the experiences limned in our cultural touchstones so far removed from our contemporary headlines. These dispatches in verse tell the story of a journey into a modern underworld, and of the escape that made it possible to tell the tale. Here is a survivor’s lament, related by one who ‘did not live through it’ but ‘just did not die.’”

In addition to working for the CBS Evening News, Flynn was a founding member of 48 HOURS and a producer at 60 Minutes for Steve Kroft.  He currently writes and produces for Dan Rather Reports on cable broadcaster HDNet.

He’s been honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with 15 Emmy Award nominations, winning six.  And he was honored with the prestigious Peabody Award for his work on 48 HOURS.

The Ivory Tower Half Hour in Caz

On Sunday evening, June 5^th, the Cazenovia Forum hosted a lively presentation of  “The Ivory Tower Half Hour”, a weekly Friday night public affairs television program broadcast in Central New York on PBS affiliate WCNY.  The event was held at Johnny Appleseed Farm, a lovely and comfortable setting for the Forum’s fundraiser.

The Ivory Tower panel addressed three critical current issues with their usual smart, thoughtful analysis and commentary.  They debated the pros and cons of the NYS Legislature passing a law that would allow the public the power to recall elected officials from office.  They also examined the question of fairness when in many states, college or university admissions committees can deny a potential student admission to the college or university because he or she has a felony record.   Finally, the panel tackled the enormously complicated problem of the U.S. Government’s budget deficit..  The panel ended their presentation by giving their personal F’s and A’s to deserving newsmakers of the week.  The audience responded with instantaneous applause to many of the choices, especially the F’s.

The distinguished Ivory Tower panelists, Kristi Andersen from S.U.’s Maxwell School, Tim Byrnes of Colgate University, Lisa Dolac from S.U.’s College of Law, Bob Greene of Cazenovia College, Tara Ross, from OCC, Bob Spitzer from SUNY Cortland, and moderator David Rubin, former Dean of the Newhouse School at S. U., also readily answered many questions from the audience about how the program works, how they prepare for the show each week, and how they arrived at the name of the program.  The panel was altogether engaging, articulate, and delightful which made the entire evening a huge success.  Comments by several people attending the event were, “This was the best fund raiser we’ve ever been to!” and “The evening was interesting AND fun!”

Cindy Sutton, for the Cazenovia Forum

Meet the Panelists on the Ivory Tower Half Hour

Ivory Tower Half Hour Panelists

 Kristi Andersen is the Chapple Family Professor of Citizenship & Democracy at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.  Her special interests include American politics, political parties, public opinion, women and politics, and immigration.  She has won several awards for excellence in teaching and has been an Ivory Tower panelist since the program started in 2002.

 Tim Byrnes is Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of Benton Scholars at Colgate University.  His special interests are comparative politics, American Politics, and religion and politics.  He was a Fulbright Scholar and also won a Distinguished Teaching Award at Colgate.  He has been a panelist on the Ivory Tower Half Hour program since 2006.

Lisa Dolak is the Angela S. Cooney Professor of Law at the College of Law, Syracuse University.  She is the Associate Director of the Center on Property, Citizenship, and Social Entrepreneurism and Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media.  Her research focuses on topics in patent law and patent litigation.  She has been a panelist on the Ivory Tower program since 2006.

John Robert Greene is the Paul J. Schupf Professor of History and Humanities at Cazenovia College.  He is also the Director of the Social Sciences Program, the College Archivist, and Director of the Washburn Teaching and Research Fellowships.  His interests are in American political history, particularly the American Presidency.  He has been a panelist on the Ivory Tower program from its inception in 2002.

Tara Ross is Professor of History at Onondaga Community College where she is Chair of the Social Sciences Department. She has a J.D. degree from Valparaiso University and a MA in History from Indiana State University.  One of her special interests is African American history.  She is recipient of a number of awards including the OCC Trustees Award, the Syracuse University Woman of Distinction Award, and the YWCA’s Diversity Achievers Award.  She has been an Ivory Tower Half Hour panelist from the start of the program.

David Rubin is Professor and Dean Emeritus at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.  When Dean, he raised 20 million dollars to create and support a dozen institutes, programs, and buildings as part of the Newhouse School.  His research interests are in ethics, journalism, law (communications, First Amendment), media ownership patterns, and writing for media.  He is the creator and moderator of “The Ivory Tower Half Hour.”

 Robert Spitzer is the Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at SUNY Cortland.  He received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2003 and Cortland’s Outstanding Achievement in Research Award in 2005 and 2010.  His research interests are in the American Presidency, the American Constitution, and the politics of gun control, and he has been a regular

Network Television Producer to Reveal His “Family of Ideas” Behind Hit Series

Danny Zuker

The producer of the current hit ABC-TV show Modern Family will provide a look at television, comedy and culture in the next Cazenovia Forum lecture, to be held on Friday, April 15 at 7pm in the Morgan Room of Hubbard Hall at Cazenovia College.  The event is free and no reservations are required.
Danny Zuker, who has also been associated with successful television comedies such as Roseanne,  Just Shoot Me, Grace Under Fire, and Evening Shade, will discuss the cultural aspects of the shows he has worked on over the course of his career, which began with The Arsenio Hall Show.
Please note that this event will be held in a different venue from where Cazenovia Forum events are normally held.  Hubbard Hall is located on Seminary Street in the Village of Cazenovia, across from the college’s Health Center.
Zuker serves as executive producer of Modern Family, which in its debut season last year won six Emmy Awards, including the one for Outstanding Comedy Series. It also brought home a Peabody Award, Writers Guild Award, Directors Guilds Award and Television Critics Award.  The show received 14 Emmy nominations, the most for a comedy series after Glee and 30 Rock.
An accomplished producer, actor, writer, consultant and advisor, Zuker is widely acknowledged for his uncanny, hilarious and sometimes off-beat ability to reflect modern American culture on the small screen.  A graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, he is actively engaged with aspiring screenwriters at S.U. attending the University’s Los Angeles Semester Program.
This Cazenovia Forum program is presented in association with the Television-Radio-Film program at the Newhouse School.

For More Information:
Cindy Sutton, sutton@hws.edu
315.655.9374