Spring 2025 Events

Tuesday, February 4
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
The Lighthouse, Clarke Hall

The 25th annual statewide collegiate Applied Ethics Bowl, sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC), takes place Friday, February 7,  at the University of Richmond. Student teams from 17 VFIC member institutions come together for lively debates on real-world dilemmas that increasingly impact people's lives. The 2025 topic, “Ethics and Artificial Intelligence,” challenges teams to explore various ethical issues arising from the use and application of AI. These include the responsible use of algorithms and tools that influence health, safety, privacy, education, and entertainment.

In preparation for Virginia Wesleyan's 2025 Ethics Bowl Team's participation in the VFIC competition, the Nusbaum Center hosts a debate demonstration, offering members of the audience a chance to interact, critique, and discuss. Judges for the practice debate include VWU professors Steven Emmanuel, Ph.D., and Kellie Holzer, Ph.D., along with local attorney Hank Howell, Esq.

VWU Ethics Bowl Team members competing in the 2025 VFIC Ethics Bowl are Casey Bennett '25, Christian Palmisano '25, Andrew Steiner '26, Abigail Villacrusis '25, and Avery Belisle '27 (alternate). Additional team members include Anna Greenleaf '26, Kaylee Grimstead '26, Elena Lichtenwalner '26, and Lily Reslink '26, with VWU Professor of Media and Communication Kathy Merlock Jackson, Ph.D., serving as faculty coordinator for the team.

Join us for this engaging event and help support our students as they prepare for the statewide competition.

Thursday, February 13
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Brock Commons
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove explores the neglected issue of white poverty in America, challenging the perception that poverty is primarily a Black problem. Drawing on history, politics, and personal stories, he examines how poor white families have been left with little more than their racial identity to cope in an economy of rising costs and stagnant wages. In his work with the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, he calls for a "moral fusion movement" to unite impoverished Americans across racial lines, countering divisive political narratives. This program offers a visionary approach to addressing poverty and racism in the U.S.

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, MDiv, serves as Assistant Director for Partnerships and Fellowships at Yale University's Center for Public Theology and Public Policy. The Center prepares moral leaders to be active participants in creating a just society using the academic, practical, and research tools of past and present social-justice movements. Wilson-Hartgrove is a leader in the Red Letter Christian movement and the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. He is an author, preacher, and community builder who speaks often about spirituality, community, and faith in public life.

**CANCELLED**
Thursday, February 20
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Brock Commons
Tyler Lehrer

Buddhism is often celebrated as a tradition rooted in compassion and tolerance. This perception is reinforced by modern examples from Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Taiwan, where Buddhist communities have embraced visible practices of inclusivity for lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals. But has this always been the case? Have Buddhist communities historically embraced gender and sexual diversity?

To explore these questions, Lehrer examines third-century CE Sanskrit and Pāli monastic texts attributed to the historical Buddha, alongside later medical and legal commentaries outlining the criteria for ordination as a Buddhist nun or monk. He highlights how ancient Buddhist texts distinguished biological sex from gender as a social and psychological identity. These distinctions, however, also served religious and cultural purposes by defining the boundaries of normative gender and sexual experiences—boundaries that have evolved significantly over time.

Tyler Lehrer, Ph.D., serves as assistant professor of history at Virginia Wesleyan University. His primary research, publication, and teaching areas encompass the history of South and Southeast Asian Buddhist lineages, European seaborne empires, transregional and transnational religious and political movements in the global south, and gender and sexual diversity in the early modern Indian Ocean.

Thursday, February 27
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Blocker Hall Auditorium
An Interview and Reading with Author Shana

During WWI, peach pits were used in gas masks. After the Civil War, classified ads were placed in newspapers by Black people searching for separated family members. In the early 1800s, a young Frederick Douglass gave pieces of bread to nine-year-old white boys. These three moments in history serve as cornerstones for Shana Keller's books.

How should Black history be taught in 2025? How can children's books both share history and bridge cultural divides? These are vital questions, but Shana Keller is most passionate about inspiring children. By focusing on pivotal incidents, historical role models, and relatable themes, her work encourages young readers to envision leadership rooted in curiosity, perseverance, and responsibility.

How can stories do more than inform—how can they build bridges and inspire? That is the heart of this reading and interview.

Shana Keller began her studies of African American history at the University of Miami in Florida. She is the author of several children's books, including “Ticktock Banneker's Clock” (2017 Best STEM Book, Children's Book Council) and “Bread for Words: A Frederick Douglass Story” (2021 Irma S. Black Honor Award). On her path to preserve and promote history, Keller continues to write for children from her home in North Carolina.

Registration Required. Register with Kelly Jackson (kjackson@vwu.edu or 757.455.3129)

Thursday, March 6
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk (Meet in Chrysler Lobby)
Craig Wansink
Repeated on Saturday, March 8, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

How can we create a starting place for thoughtful public discussions on race and identity? This tour explores the evolving representation of Black individuals in art, from marginalized depictions of enslaved people to inspiring portrayals of freedom and resistance. We look at works that confront historical atrocities like lynching and others that reimagine traditional spaces by centering Black subjects. Through art such as Kehinde Wiley's St. Andrew, Pietro Calvi's Othello, Whitfield Lovell's Freedom, and Bob Thompson's The Hanging, we consider how art prompts us to ask increasingly thoughtful questions about our values and identity as Americans.

Craig Wansink, Ph.D., serves as Virginia Wesleyan's Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center, Batten Professor of Religious Studies and Leadership, and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

Tuesday, March 11
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Brock Commons
David Elcott

In his prescient “Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy” (2021), David Elcott highlights how religious identity has been used and weaponized to fuel the rise of illiberal, nationalist, and populist democracy. How do political movements weaponize religious identity and how can religion constructively shape positive religious involvement in civic affairs? That is the focus of our time together.

David Elcott, Ph.D., served as the Taub Professor of Practice in Public Service and Leadership at the Wagner School of Public Service at NYU and director of the Advocacy and Political Action specialization. He works at the intersection of community building, cross-boundary engagement, and interfaith and ethnic organizing/activism.

Sponsored in partnership with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater

Thursday, March 13
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Brock Commons
Steven Green
Introduced by J. Andrew Edwards ‘98 VWU, Project Editor, UVA Press

Thomas Jefferson, “Father of the Declaration of Independence,” and James Madison, “Father of the Constitution,” shared a 50-year partnership rooted in mutual respect, deep intellectual affection, and a shared commitment to shaping American identity. Amid their demanding political careers, both prioritized religious freedom, linking it to the broader ideal of free inquiry.

In an era when many Americans no longer identify as religious, why was religious freedom so vital to the nation's founding, and how does it influence us today?

Steven Green's” The Grand Collaboration: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Invention of Religious Freedom” (2024) is the first in-depth exploration of the mutual endeavor of Jefferson and Madison to secure freedom of conscience and the separation of church and state. It also inaugurates the Robert Nusbaum Center's new book series – Religious Freedom and Public Dialogue: A Robert Nusbaum Series - with the University of Virginia Press. Co-edited by Eric Michael Mazur (Virginia Wesleyan University) and Kathleen M. Moore (University of California, Santa Barbara), the series brings together diverse scholarship that examines how religious freedom in the United States has been conceptualized and represented.

Join us as Steven Green launches the series with a lecture based on his groundbreaking book.

Steven Green, Ph.D., is the Fred H. Paulus Professor of Law and an Affiliated Professor of History and Religious Studies at Willamette University. He is also the author of “Separating Church and State: A History”(2022) and a prolific scholar whose work has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts.

This annual endowed lectureship honors the life of Justine L. Nusbaum, a local humanitarian born in 1900, whose compassion and generosity transcended religious, racial, and national boundaries.

12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Blocker Hall Auditorium
Leslie Caughell, Taryn Myers, Jennifer Slivka, Kathy Stolley

This panel celebrates the 75th anniversary of Simone de Beauvoir's groundbreaking work, “The Second Sex,” examining its influence across disciplines. Virginia Wesleyan scholars from political science, psychology, sociology, English, and gender studies reflect on how the book first shaped them and its continuing relevance in understanding identity, power, and gender dynamics. By reflecting on themes such as “the Other,” existential freedom, and societal constructions of femininity, the panel highlights how “The Second Sex” challenges contemporary norms and illuminates paths toward equality.

VWU Panelists:

Leslie Caughell, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science, Department Chair
Taryn Myers, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Department Chair
Jennifer Slivka, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, Coordinator of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies
Kathy Stolley, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology

Thursday, April 3
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Brock Commons
Steven Emmanuel, Terry Lindvall, Gabriela Martorell

Sadness' confession "I am too sad to walk" provokes a question about the role of melancholy and other emotions in ordinary human living. Rather than scripting talking animals, pots, and candlesticks, Pete Docter and his Pixar team bring authentic human emotions of early adolescence to the screen.  Visualizing characters of Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust; and then Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui, we realize how well we know them. Pixar's “Inside Out” (2015) and its 2024 sequel bring these emotions to life, showing how they shape our decisions and inner lives. In an age where emotions play a larger role than ever, three professors—drawing from philosophy, cinema studies, and psychology—explore the films' insights on moral decision-making, emotional identity, and life transitions.
 
Come for a fun conversation and leave with a deeper understanding of the interplay between emotions, ethics, and development, along with practical insights on managing emotions in your own life.

VWU Panelists:

Steven Emmanuel, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Department Chair
Terry Lindvall, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies, C.S. Lewis Endowed Chair in Communication and Christian Thought
Gabriela Martorell, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology

Thursday, April 10
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Blocker Hall Auditorium
Derek Eley, John Rudel
Introduced by Craig Wansink

Absurd and inappropriate images can be generated through Artificial Intelligence. The statement, “I don't believe it until I see it,” is starting to feel antiquated as confidence in visual evidence continues to erode. So, how can we respond?

During this hour, VWU professors explore some of the challenges posed by visual AI and highlight its substantive and creative applications through tools like Co-Pilot, Sketchbook, Midjourney, and Clips. The program also demonstrates how using more descriptive prompts in Adobe applications leads to better visual results. Join us as we think critically about this rapidly evolving tool and reflect on ways to navigate the ever-changing challenges of visual AI in practical and meaningful ways.

Derek Eley, MFA, Assistant Professor of Art at VWU, is a digital artist, who also works in photography, graphic design, and video. He earned an MFA degree in photography from Savannah College of Art and Design. His work is currently featured in a solo exhibition at the VWU Barclay Sheaks Gallery and in an exhibition at the Perry Glass Studio at the Chrysler Museum of Art.

In his 18th year at VWU, John Rudel, MFA, is Professor of Art, Director of Undergraduate Research, and Curator of Exhibitions for the Neil Britton Art Gallery. He earned an MFA degree in Drawing and Painting from the University of Georgia. Rudel has been commissioned numerous times by the Norfolk Public Art Commission for outdoor work and has exhibited his art in venues and numerous solo exhibitions.

Thursday, April 17
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Pearce Suite, Batten Student Center
Meagan Starks

Effective teams value and include diverse perspectives and backgrounds while also acknowledging perspectives that are missing. This workshop offers opportunities for participants to consider their decision-making process and explore best practices for building stronger teams.

Meagan Starks, MA, MEd, is the Director of Hampton Roads Programs at the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC), an organization that works with schools, businesses, and communities to achieve success through inclusion. The VCIC works to address prejudices, in all forms, to improve academic achievement, increase workplace productivity, and enhance local trust. In 2018, the VCIC established an office in Hampton Roads on the VWU campus.

Sponsored in partnership with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities

Registration Required. Register with Kelly Jackson (kjackson@vwu.edu or 757.455.3129)

Friday (Good Friday), April 18
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk (Meet in Chrysler Lobby)
Craig Wansink
Repeated on Saturday (Holy Saturday), April 19, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Living in a cave. Marrying the baby Jesus. Dying in graphically violent ways.

Throughout the Chrysler Museum of Art, you'll find paintings of Anthony, Nicholas, Jerome, Margaret, Andrew, Francis, Justina, and Catherine—figures we more readily recognize when their names are preceded by “Saint.” Some of these works were originally created for religious devotion or as acts of gratitude. Others were commissioned because of a saint's connection to a specific community or to showcase a patron's piety or wealth.

Beyond their religious significance, these individuals embodied ideals and values that people of character aspired to emulate. Join us for a tour that explores—in a deeply human way—the lives of individuals so transformative that they were revered as saints and whose stories still resonate with us, especially in 2025.

Craig Wansink, Ph.D., serves as Virginia Wesleyan's Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center, Batten Professor of Religious Studies and Leadership, and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

Thursday, April 24
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Brock Commons
Aaron Hultgren

Unpredictable hurricanes and tornadoes, unprecedented levels of rain and flooding, rising water levels along the coast, and “once-in-a-lifetime” record-setting temperatures (occurring repeatedly) seem like the new normal. Climate changes result in disease-carrying pests, disrupted crop cycles, and more death from malaria, heat stress, and other diseases. Increasingly medical professionals need to be experts on climate and health.

As an emergency-medicine physician, Aaron Hultgren has been at the front line in many situations involving health care. At Bellevue Hospital in NYC, he was on the front line of the fight against COVID. In this talk, he shares the importance of physicians being climate informed as the changing world shapes how we need to address new medical issues.

Aaron Hultgren, MD, MAT, MPH, DCM, FAWM, as the son of VWU Philosophy Professor Emeritus Larry Hultgren, grew up on the Virginia Wesleyan campus and completed a degree in Philosophy at Swarthmore College. He earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University and taught elementary school before attending Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed his emergency medicine residency training at NYU and Bellevue Hospital and went on to complete an International Emergency Medicine fellowship at Columbia University.  During this time he earned a Masters in Public Health at the Mailman School of Public Health and worked on strengthening emergency medicine systems in Ghana. He is an assistant professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, serves as a faculty advisor in the Violet Society Program and works clinically in the emergency department at Bellevue Hospital Center.  He is a core faculty member for the NYUGSOM/Bellevue emergency medicine residency program leading the Climate Medicine and Global Health Scholarly Academy. He is a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and most recently earned a Diploma in Climate Medicine with the Climate and Health Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.  His interests include global health, climate medicine, strokes and wildfires, and rock-climbing injuries.

Sponsored in partnership with the VWU Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Marlins Go Green Student Organization.

Friday, May 2
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Brock Commons

The 20th century witnessed profound intellectual, theological, and social transformations in religious communities worldwide. Amidst global wars, political revolutions, environmental and economic crises, ideological clashes between communism and capitalism, and the emergence of human rights discourse, religion has served as both a means for navigating uncertainty and trauma and as a potent force for social justice activism.

This panel features four case studies by VWU students in a 300-level course, Religion and Social Justice, and highlights the interplay between faith and activism. Each presentation showcases students' primary historical research, examining how religious ideas, practices, and commitments influenced—and were influenced by—social justice activism and advocacy. The projects explore diverse topics from various global contexts, demonstrating how religious communities have engaged with issues such as racial and gender equality, economic and environmental justice, and the pursuit of human dignity, in the pursuit of a more just world.