Speakers will include regional experts on economic development, transportation, global competitiveness, intercultural endeavors, and globalization. Join the conversation on Twitter at #talkglobal

News story:

LCC lecture series to focus on Cowlitz County's growing international ties
The Daily News | March 28, 2013

April 11: Educating Our Future Workforce: Chinese Teacher Exchanges and Language Programs

Suzanne Cusick, Superintendent, Longview School District

April 18: Lower Columbia College's Role in the Region's Future

Chris Bailey, President, Lower Columbia College

April 25: Increasing Washington's International Competitiveness

Eric Shinfeld, President, World Trade Council, and Chief of Staff, Seattle Chamber of Commerce

May 2: A Look into the Future Economy of Cowlitz County

Ted Sprague, Director, Cowlitz Economic Development Council

May 9: Benefits and Opportunities in International Education

Margit Brumbaugh, Director, Lower Columbia College International Programs

May 17 (Friday): Space Policy and its Entrepreneurial Impact in the Pacific Northwest

Paul Laufman, retired CEO, United Paradyne (Administration Building, Heritage Room)

May 23: Connection of our Major Industries to World Markets and Producers

Peter Bennett, Vice President of Business Development, Millennium Bulk Terminals

May 30: Longview Sister City Commission: Expanding Our Intercultural Connections

Eileen Bergeson, Business Faculty, Lower Columbia College; Tom Hutchinson, Longview City Council

June 6: Our Regional and International Transportation Connections

Geir-Eilif Kalhagen, CEO, Port of Longview; and other port representatives

June 13: Preparing for the Future: Clean Up of Former Reynolds Aluminum Site

James DeMay, Department of Ecology; Josh Wilund, ALCOA, Teresa Purcell, Community Advisory Board Member

Winter Quarter 2013

Northwest Jobs of the Future

Local employers and community experts examine employment trends for emerging occupations of the Northwest including the knowledge, skill set, and strategies needed for success in the new economy.

News story:

LCC lecture series to focus on jobs
The Daily News | January 15, 2013

January 17: Economic Demand and Job Skills for the Economy of the Future

January 24: Employment Trends in K-12 Education

January 31: Small Business Development

February 7: Emerging Careers in Energy and Engineering

February 14: Why You Should Consider a Career in the Trades

February 21: Growing Demand for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)

February 28: High-Growth Careers in Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing

March 7: The Changing Field of Occupations in HealthCare

March 14: The Future of Social Work and Human Service Occupations

Fall Quarter 2012

Elections 2012: Local, State and National

Lower Columbia College faculty and community experts examine the impact of voter decisions on the economy, healthcare, taxes and a coal terminal in Longview and assess the impact of the media, candidate debates and the Electoral College on election results.

News stories:

LCC president wades through politics of education funding
The Daily News | November 16, 2012

LCC's fall lecture season to focus on election
The Daily News | September 24, 2012

September 27: The Economy, The Election, A Prediction

Jim Franz, LCC Economics Instructor

October 4: Low and in the Dirt, The Rhetorical Significance of Ceremonial First Pitches in Presidential Campaigns

Dan Schabot, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 11: How Your Vote Could Change Your Healthcare

Randy Querin, Public Affairs and Governance Specialist, PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center

October 18: Taxes and Spending: Top Issues in this Election

David Benson, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 25: The Perception of Media Bias in Election Coverage

John Markon, Editor, The Daily News

November 1: The Effect of National Decisions on Local Issues, The Proposed Coal Export Terminal in Longview

George Raiter, Commissioner, Cowlitz County

November 8: The Washington Legislature and Educational Reform

Roy Maier, Lower Columbia WEA Uniserv

November 15: Higher Education and Politics

Chris Bailey, President, Lower Columbia College

November 29: The Myth of the Electoral College

Cary Rhode, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

Spring Quarter 2012

Plugged In: The Future of Technology

News story:

LCC spring lecture series to explore technology's role in education
The Daily News | April 4, 2012

April 12: From Shared to Open, The Evolution of Open Resources

Connie Broughton, SBCTC Director of eLearning & Open Education

April 19: My Math Lab: A Student View

Brad Benjamin, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

April 26: Engaging with the Open Course Library & Other Educational Resources

Tom Caswell, Open Education, Policy Association

May 3: Free Media

Chris Bailey, President, Lower Columbia College

May 10: Full Access Feedback with Tegrity Lecture Capture

Nadine Lemmons, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

May 17: The Use of Technology for Student Success

Lisa Matye Edwards, Vice President of Student Success, Lower Columbia College

May 24: Technology and Changing the Way We Teach and Learn

Scott Dennis, MPA, eLearning Professional Development Manager, SBCTC

May 31: Clickers in the Classroom

Katrina Fuller, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

June 7: Tots, Teens, Twitter and Texting: The Psychological Effects of Living in a Constantly Connected World

Michael Strayer, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

Winter Quarter 2012

Guilty Pleasures: Books We Love to Read

News stories:

Science fiction themed lecture kicks off LCC series
The Daily News | January 13, 2012

'Guilty Pleasures' book lecture series jumps off the page in Jan
The Daily News | December 4, 2011

January 12: Stainless Steel Rats and Other Wonders of Science Fiction

Klint Hull, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

January 19: Alan Moore and the Deconstruction of Mythic Individualism

Dennis Shaw, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

January 26: Sylvia Plath: What’s in the Words?

Alexis Franz, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

February 2: Stephen King: Stories Not For the Timid

Adam Wolfer, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

February 9: Ken Follett: History and Imagination

JoAnne Booth, Staff, Lower Columbia College

February 16: Gothic Fiction

Joan Herman, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

February 23: Laura Ingalls Wilder: America’s Childhood

Courtney Shah, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

March 1: Denis Johnson: Literary Bad Boy Makes Good

Joe Green, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

March 8: How a College Instructor Justifies Reading Ann Rice

Hiedi Bauer, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

Fall Quarter 2011

Community Partnerships.

News stories:

LCC lecture on social services kicks off Thursday
The Daily News | September 28, 2011

LCC lecture series will focus on efforts to help the disadvantaged
The Daily News | September 18, 2011

Free Lectures Focus on Community Partnerships
College Relations | September 13, 2011

September 29: Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

Corie Dow, Executive Director, CASA

October 6: Lower Columbia Mental Health Center (LCMHC)

Eric Yakovich, Executive Director, LCMHC

October 13: Helping People Understand Each Other

Bill Reade, Executive Director, Ethnic Support Council

October 20: Lower Columbia Community Action Programs (CAP) and the War on Poverty, 1964-2011

Alan Rose, Community Relations Director

October 27: Lower Columbia Head Start

Suzanne Johnson, Assistant Director, Lower Columbia Head Start/ECEAP

November 3: The Homeless

Melissa Taylor, Senior Managing Planner, Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments (CWCOG)

November 10: Life Works: Developmentally Disabled Adults

Marti Johnson, Executive Director, Life Works

November 17: The Aging

Diane Craft, Marketing Director, Canterbury Inn, Koelsch Senior Communities

December 1: Victims of Crime

Sherrie Tinoco, Executive Director, Emergency Support Shelter

Spring Quarter 2011

Exceptional People

April 14: Edward O. Wilson: The World of Insects

Louis LaPierre, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

April 21: Truth is Powerful and It Prevails, Sojourner Truth

Courtney Shah, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

April 28: Shattered Illusions: Levi Strauss and the Search for the Primitive

Dennis Shaw, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

May 5: How Keynes Came to America

Jim Franz, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

June 9: W. Edwards Deming, Japan’s American Hero

Jeff Lucas, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

May 19: Karl Marx: The Man Behind the Ideas

David Benson, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

May 26: Quiet Genius Pushing Boundaries: Madame Curie

Adam Wolfer, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

June 2: Linus Pauling: Echoes of His Influence in Today’s World

Armando Herbelin, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

June 9: W. Edwards Deming: Japan’s American Hero

Jeff Lucas, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

Winter Quarter 2011

Law, Order and the Public Good

News story:

LCC lecture series to highlight law enforcement
The Daily News | January 10, 2011

January 13: Public Perception of Law Enforcement

Mark Nelson, Cowlitz County Sheriff

January 20: Technologies & New Changes in Law Enforcement

Andrew O. Hamilton, Kelso Chief of Police

January 27: The Role of the Public Defender

Terry L. Mulligan, Director, Cowlitz County Office of Public Defense

February 3: The Participants in the Criminal Justice System

Hon. James J. Stonier, Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge

February 10: Raising Ethical, Responsible Boys

Alex Perez, Police Chief, City of Longview

February 17: The State of Correction

Marin Fox Hight, Director, Cowlitz County Corrections

February 24: Overview of the Juvenile Justice System in Cowlitz County

Chad Connors, Administrator, Cowlitz County Juvenile Court

March 3: The Children's Justice & Advocacy Center

Susan I. Baur, Prosecuting Attorney, Cowlitz County

March 10: New Mental Health Court

Michael H. Evans, Judge, Cowlitz County District Court

March 17: An Overview of Emergency Management

Grover Laseke, Director, Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management

Fall Quarter 2010

The Green Earth: Our Playground & Responsibility

September 30: The Body Toxic

Nena Baker, Author

October 7: Climate Change

Louis LaPierre, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 14: Sustainability and the Built Environment

Andy Rovelstad, Leavengood Architects

October 21: Water Quality Issues

Josh Johnson, Stormwater Manager, City of Longview; Van McKay, Senior Engineer, City of Kelso

October 28: Insects and Human Food Security

Scott Black, Executive Directo,The Xerces Society

November 4: E-recycling: Waste Control and Recycling Issues

Gregg Hannon, Solid Waste/Recycling/Code Compliance Manager, City of Longview

November 18: Air Quality & You

Laurie Hulse-Moyer, Air Quality Specialist, Southwest Clean Air Agency

December 2: The Politics of Green

Axel Swanson, Commissioner, Cowlitz County

Spring Quarter 2010

Wings on the Human Spirit: The Visual and Performing Arts

News story:

LCC lecture series to highlight visual and performing arts
The Daily News | April 2, 2010

April 8: The Arts in a Community

Gian Paul Morelli, Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts

April 15: What Time Collects: Photography as Art

Bob Farr, photographer, Kelso

April 22: Politics, Propaganda and Music

Gary Nyberg, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

April 29: Music and Dance in the Balkans

Daniela Ivanova-Nyberg, dance researcher and anthropologist

May 6: The Play’s theThing

Don Correll, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

May 13: An Exploration in Dance

Megan Jasurda, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

May 27: Theatre as Consciousness

Kurt Beattie, A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle

June 3: Why Poetry?

Joseph Green, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

June 10: Blues With a Feeling

Dale Groff and Dennis Shaw, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

Winter Quarter 2010

Looking Back: Obama's First Year

News stories:

Stimulus package insufficient, LCC lecturer contents
The Daily News | January 7, 2010

Upcoming LCC lecture series to focus on Obama's first year
The Daily News | December 27, 2009

January 7: The Stimulus Package: Too Much or Not Enough?

Jim Franz, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

January 21: Stimulus Dollars and the Recovery

George Raiter, Commissioner, Cowlitz County; Alex Perez, Police Chief, City of Longview

January 28: Foreign Policy: And the Ship Sails On

David Benson, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

February 4: Race as Sub-Text in Obama's America

Dennis Shaw, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

February 11: Obama’s Rhetoric: Rousing the Masses

Mike Dugaw, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

February 18: Healthcare Legislation by PeaceHealth, Health Care Legislation by Kaiser Permanente

Representatives from PeaceHealth and Kaiser Permanente, moderated by healthcare consultant Jim Meskew

February 25: Financing Health Care Reform, Health Care Reform by Kaiser Permanente

Representatives from PeaceHealth and Kaiser Permanente, moderated by healthcare consultant Jim Meskew

March 4: Mud Slinging: Incivility in the Civil Arena

Michael Strayer and Jerry Zimmerman Faculty, Lower Columbia College

March 11: The First Lady’s First Year

Laura Brener, Vice President of Instruction, Lower Columbia College

March 18: Reflections on the Obama Courts

Barbara Vining, Attorney, Prosecutor’s Office Child Support Division

Fall Quarter 2009

The Examined Life: The World of Great Ideas

News stories:

Great Ideas: LCC Lecture Series continues Thursday
The Daily News | October 7, 2009

LCC set to launch 'Great Ideas' lecture series
The Daily News | September 22, 2009

September 24: The Mystery of Mysteries: Darwin's Search for the Origin of Species

Dennis Shaw, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 1: I Think, Therefore I Am Uncertain

Richard Kelley, S.T.L.

October 8: Economics Systems Isms vs. Isms

Jim Franz, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 15: Democracy: Power to the People

Courtney Shah, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 22: The American Criminal Justice System: Crime and Punishment

Judge Stephen M. Warning

October 29: Architecture and a Sense of Place

John Crook, Architect

November 5: The Evolution of Psychology

Carol Pahlke, Ph.D.

November 12: Einstein's Space and Time, Reexamining the Obvious

Peteris Livins, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

November 19: The World of Islam

Hazar Jaber

December 3: Math: Descartes' Other Contributions

Jeff Lucas, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

Spring Quarter 2009

The Good Life: Food, Nutrition & Environmental Wellness

News stories:

Community Conversations
The Daily News (Letter to the Editor) | June 19, 2009

LCC instructors examine media's role in self-image as part of health-issues series
The Daily News | June 5, 2009

LCC lecture series on health issues continues
The Daily News | May 28, 2009

LCC lecturer touts the benefits of exercise
The Daily News | May 15, 2009

LCC lecture series continues Thursday
The Daily News | May 14, 2009

'Community Conversations' series continues with discussion about environment and disease
The Daily News | April 15, 2009

LCC lecture series kicks off with five secrets to better nutrition and better health
The Daily News | April 10, 2009

LCC kicks off eight-part lecture series on health issues Thursday
The Daily News | April 8, 2009

April 9: Nutrition: Are We What We Eat?

Anik St. Martin, D.C.

April 16: The Water We Drink, The Air We Breathe: Environment and Disease

Dr. Sheila Lynam

April 30: Pesticides & Plastics: A Benefit or Detriment?

Louis LaPierre, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

May 14: Exercise as Medicine and How to Implement It

Marie Magnuson, MS, ARNP; Brian Mahon, PA; Deanne Ochitwa, Personal Trainer

May 21: What Time Collects, Ethics and Primary Care Geriatrics

Harry Krulewitch. M.D., Northwest Geriatrics

May 28: Obesity in Children, The Tender Years, Girls on the Run

Blaine Tolby, M.D.

June 4: Mirrior, Mirror on the Wall: Media & The Beauty Myth

Michael Strayer and Jerry Zimmerman, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

June 11: From Farm to Table

Joan LeMieux and Laura and Jim Works

Winter Quarter 2009

The New Frontier: Science, Medicine and the Future

News stories:

LCC instructor outlines history of eugenics in America
The Daily News | February 20, 2009

LCC lecturer discusses progress, future of genetic studies
The Daily News | February 13, 2009

Technology altering surgery at lighting pace, LCC guest lecturer explains
The Daily News | January 30, 2009

LCC lecture series continues Thursday with science/medicine presentation
The Daily News | January 28, 2009

Lecture examines fine line between fact, science fiction
The Daily News | January 23, 2009

LCC lecture series resumes today
The Daily News | January 22, 2009

Lectures to examine science's influence on future
The Daily News | January 4, 2009

January 8: Public Health and Vaccinations: A Shot in the Dark

Courtney Shah, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

January 22: Science Fiction Evolving into Science Fact

Klint Hull and Louis La Pierre, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

January 29: Advantages in Surgical Technology: The Cutting Edge

Dane Moseson, M.D.

February 12: Genetics: the Right (and Wrong) Stuff

Robert Sandstrom, M.D.

February 19: Eugenics and the Legal System: the Underbelly of a Good Birth

Jerry Zimmerman, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

February 26: Gerontology: Who Will Care For Me?

Richard Kirkpatrick, M.D.

March 5: Technology and Education: The Wired Future, or Brother Can you Spare a Mouse

Cable Green

March 12: Bioethics: Easy Answers, Tough Questions

Geary Greenleaf and Kyle Hammon, Deans, Lower Columbia College

March 19: Pharmacology: Brave New World Revisited

Adam Wolfer, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

Fall Quarter 2008

Elections 2008: Exploring the Critical Issues

September 25: Setting the Tone

Jerry Zimmerman, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 2: Smashing the Class Ceiling: Race and Gender

Courtney Shah, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 9: Food, Gas, Mortgages: The Role of the Economy in the 2008 Campaign

Jim Franz, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 16: How Big is Your Carbon Footprint? The Politics of the Environment

Dave Cordero and Louis La Pierre, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

October 23: Critical Paths: American Health Care

Jim Meskew, Independent Consultant; Alicia Thompson, Deputy Director, Community Health & Communicable Diseases

October 30: The Struggle for Conscience, Conviction and Kind: Religion & American Politics

Dennis Shaw, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

November 6: Framing the Issues: Media Coverage in Politics

Bob Gaston, Former Managing Editor, Longview Daily News; Bob Martinson, Former Local News Editor, Pittsburg Post-Gazette; Cal FitzSimmons, Editor, Longview Daily News

November 18: Law & Order: The Future of the Courts

Jerry Zimmerman, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

November 20: American Foreign Policy: What Does the Future Hold?

David Benson, Faculty, Lower Columbia College

Contact Community Conversations

Courtney Shah/Social Science Instructor

(360) 442-2678
cshah@lowercolumbia.edu

Need Disability Accommodation?

To arrange accommodation for a disablity call 360.442.2341.

Community Conversations Archive

Spring Quarter 2018

April 12: If Superman Ain't a Hero, Who Is?

April 19: The Extraordinary Life of Sojourner Truth

April 26: Marie Curie and Lise Meitner: Women of Physics

May 3: Gods of Our Time

May 10: A Debate on Superheroism

May 17: My Heroes are Volunteers

May 24: Defending our Freedoms, the Human Toll

May 31: People Who Live in Invisible Capes

June 7: The Hero: Psychology, Myth, and Media

Winter Quarter 2018

January 11: Beauty, Protest, Empowerment, Self: Let Poetry Make Your World a Better Place

January 18: Educate, Infiltrate, Advocate: Three Steps to Change the World!

January 25: The Psychology of Happiness: Laugh Often, Love Much, and get a Puppy

February 1: Start Where You Are

February 8: Compassion Isn't Always Nice

February 15: Building Bridges, Not Walls

March 1: Healthier People, Happier Planet

Fall Quarter 2017

September 28: Movies: See More

October 5: Badass Women in Film

October 12: Naughty or Nice? Nurses in Film and Television

October 19: Xavier vs. Magneto: Queerly There's an Issue with the X-Men

October 26: A Debate on Inclusiveness at the Oscars

November 2: Film as Reflection or Shaper of Society

November 9: Talking Movies: Cultural Literacy, Referential Khowledge and Social Discourse

November 16: Where Are All the Poor Kids?: Class Consciousness in Teen Movies

November 30: Silent but Sexy: How Early Movies Became Sex Education

Spring Quarter 2017

April 13: Webs of Significance: A Primer on Culture

April 20: Culture Shift: Growing up Poor in a Middle Class World

April 27: Thriving Across Cultures

May 4: Multiculturalism

May 11: Cajun 101

May 18: Clashing Home and Academic Cultures

May 25: Deaf Culture, Sensitivity and Awareness

June 1: Just Act Normal, That's Crazy Enough! A Firsthand Comparison of Dutch and American Cultures.

Winter Quarter 2017

January 19: Athletic Recruiting at American Colleges

January 26: Sports, an Inclusive Pedagogy

February 2: A Place for Politics in Sports? A Debate by the LCC Fighting Smelt

February 9: Youth Sports: Pros and Cons

February 16: Building Community and Lifelong Fitness

February 23: Brain vs. Brawn: Two for the price of one?

March 2: Statistics and the Numbers Game

March 9: Get their Heads out of the Game: The Risk of Sport Concussions

Fall Quarter 2016

September 29: Two World Views: Politics & Science

October 6: Observations From the Frontline of Politics

October 13: What Economic Models Predict for the 2016 Election

October 20: Civility in Politics

October 27: Is a Woman Fit to be President?

November 3: The Politics of Pissing: Transgender Bathroom Rights

November 10: A Better Way to Vote

November 17: Gender and Presidential Politics: A HIStory?

Spring Quarter 2016

April 14: Together, We Can End Sexual Violence

April 21: Beautiful and Bizarre: The Diversity of Sexual Practices in Nature

April 28: Robots: Race, Sex, & Gender

May 5: Conscious Open Relationships: Valid Models of Non-Monogamy

May 12: Anime: It's (Mostly) Not Pornography

May 19: The Needle Goes Where? New Contraception Options for Men

May 26: Transgressing Boy and Girl Boxes: Expectations and Violations

June 2: From Bonobos to Homo: Evolutionary Perspectives on Primate Sexual Behavior

Winter Quarter 2016

January 14: Music and Your Genes: Maybe Practice Doesn't Make Perfect?

January 21: Streaming Music and the Complexities of Profit: A Musician's Perspective

January 28: Can the Blues Cure What's Wrong with White People?

February 4: Song of Survival: Music in Concentration Camps

February 11: The Patriarchy of Punk and the Riot Grrl Revolution

February 18: The Ever-Changing Role of Music in Society

February 25: Music: The Soundtrack to our Lives

March 3: Composing Ugly: Stravinsky Climbs Out a Window

Fall Quarter 2015

October 1: Solar Power: Powerful. Loved. Full of Possibility.

October 8: Connecting with the Pacific Northwest

October 15: Renewable Energy for a Renewable Future

October 22: The Civilian Conservation Corps: A History of Jobs and the Environment

October 29: Walking Down Memory Lane