The First Friday Forum speaker series provides lectures of importance and interest to help inform the entire community about this ever-changing world.
The First Friday Forum speaker series provides lectures of importance and interest to help inform the entire community about this ever-changing world.
All programs are offered at 1:30 p.m. on the first Friday of the month and are sponsored by the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church (LOPC). Attend the programs that interest you with no subscription or entry fee. When available, recordings are posted below.
The February through May programs are available simultaneously in the Sanctuary on the Lafayette campus and via livestream. To livestream these programs click Watch in the upper right corner of this page The Watch link provides access to all LOPC live events. The option to select First Friday Forum will appear a few days before the program. Registration is not required.
The June program is only available on Zoom. Zoom registration will be available on this page in late May.
April 2024 Program:
On April 5, William Jagust, Professor of Public Health and Neuroscience at UCB, will deliver his presentation entitled “Untangling Alzheimer’s.” Dr. Jagust says, “I am going to talk about what we understand Alzheimer’s disease to be: how it is defined, and how it differs from the word “dementia”. I will explain many of the insights that researchers have obtained over the past 10 years that have led to the development of new treatments that may have a big impact on the disease.” Presently in his lab, they are working to understand how Alzheimer’s starts and spreads through the brain. They are also working to understand what may offer resilience to the disease.
Remaining 2024 Calendar:
May 3 – Laura Beth Nielsen, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Legal Studies at Northwestern University. “Northwestern University’s Prison Education Program.” Dr. Nielsen describes a path to a university education for maximum security prisoners. She says, “My students are amazing people living in squalid conditions and they still do all their homework.”
June 7 – Gordon Chang, Oliver H. Palmer Professor in Humanities at Stanford, “Forgotten, Even Ignored, the Chinese Who Built the Western Portion of the Transcontinental Railroad.” Dr. Chang says, “They should be remembered and honored for their contributions, and my talk will restore their lives, work, and sacrifices to our history.” His published research has focused on the relationship between race and ethnicity in America and its impact on U.S. and Asian diplomatic and cultural relations. This program is only available on Zoom.
Contact Us:
To communicate questions or suggestions to the First Friday Forum team, send an email to fff@lopc.org. If you attend a webinar, your email address is added to the email list. If you want to receive First Friday Forum emails, please click here to subscribe or resubscribe. To unsubscribe, click here
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