University Club programs are open to the public and are held Tuesdays in the Padua Room of the Hughes Community Center, 1700 Danbury Road, Claremont, California. Meetings start at 11:30 AM. The $20 meeting fee includes a buffet lunch. Membership applications are available at each meeting. Map to Hughes Community Center
March Program Chair: Bill Waggener
March 5 – “Organizing for the Common Good”
Speaker – Karl Hilgert
This program will be an interactive discussion about organizing on issues from the local community level to our national government.
Karl Hilgert attended The College of Wooster in Ohio and continued his education at the Eden Seminary and the St. Louis School of Social Work. He has taught at Yale Divinity School and Southern Connecticut State University and has supervised student interns in community colleges and in undergraduate and graduate schools in St Louis, New Haven, Sacramento, Santa Rosa and Claremont. He has been director of a homeless shelter, a disability advocacy agency, a town welfare department, a seven-college community service consortium and has served as a community organizer in St. Louis, Cleveland, New Haven and Sacramento. He has served as a baseball umpire for 42 years, a basketball referee for 25 years and Santa Claus for 21 years (and counting). He is the founder of the Claremont Homeless Advocacy Program (CHAP).
Introduction: Bill Waggener
Fellowship: Tom McGrath
Greeters: Lori McGrath, Tom Helliwell
March 12 – “Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra’s Centennial”
Speaker – Gail Samuel, Executive Director, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
The New York Times calls the LA Phil “America’s Most Important Orchestra. Period”. It presents music from all genres – orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music, and pop – in 250 concerts per year at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Gail Samuel’s presentation on the LA Phil includes its history, iconic venues, and centennial celebrations.
Ms. Samuel, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, oversees the Hollywood Bowl, non-classical programming by the Association at both the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall, and management of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, human resources, and special projects. She has worked for LA Phil for over 25 years, in many positions. A Claremont native, Ms. Samuel studied violin and earned undergraduate degrees in music and psychology and an MBA from USC. She has served on the Board of Councilors for the USC Thornton School of Music since 2009 and is on the Board of Directors of A Noise Within Theatre.
Introduction: Bill Waggener
Fellowship: Lori McGrath
Greeters: Pat Kelly, Art Parker
March 19 – “Impact Cratering”
Speaker – Dr. Eric B. Grosfils, professor of geology, Pomona College
While earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other events persistently remind us that we live on the surface of a geologically hazardous planet, it is easy to forget that one of the most potentially severe threats we face originates beyond our Earth. In this talk Dr. Grosfils will provide a brief overview of impact cratering as it affected Earth in the geologic past, we will discuss what is happening in the present, and then explore what will almost certainly happen in the future.
Professor Grosfils, the Minnie B. Cairns Memorial Professor of Geology at Pomona College, majored in physics and geology as an undergraduate at the College of William and Mary before going on to receive his M.S. and Ph.D. from Brown University. As a planetary volcanologist, his goal is to improve our understanding of the mechanics of shallow magma storage and migration in order to better understand the conditions associated with some of the largest eruptions (and intrusive events) that occur on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system.
Introduction: TomHelliwell
Fellowship: Art Parker
Greeters: Peter Boniface and Milt Wilson
March 26 – “History of Modern Handbells”
Speaker – Bill Waggener; Soloist – Susan Hitch
Although handbells first appeared many centuries ago in England, their current use as a musical instrument is a relatively recent phenomenon. Learn about the history of handbells and hear their wonderful music!
Bill Waggener earned his BA in Music from Pomona College and MA in Music from the Claremont Graduate University. For 47 years until they retired last June, he and his wife Lee were on the music staff of the Claremont United Church of Christ, where, among other groups, they directed the handbell program from its inception in 1974.
Susan Hitch has been a ringer with the CUCC handbell program for many years. She is unique in that she owns her own set of Malmark handbells and is a highly experienced solo ringer who has performed at International Handbell Symposia throughout the world. She holds a baccalaureate degree in home economics from Montana State University and recently retired from driving double-trailer semis for UPS up and down the freeways of California.
Introduction: Mel Boynton
Fellowship: Marty Hartford
Greeters: Bob Knell and Julia Arias
Birthdays: Gail Sparks