SPRINGFIELD, Ohio —The Wittenberg Series could become known as the gift that keeps on giving. The Springfield community has benefited for the past 23 years from the free public events of the Series, which has presented more than 200 culturally diverse programs featuring distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence.

“Illuminations,” the theme of the 2004-05 Series, continues the tradition of offering value-centered, intellectual and entertaining programming, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 1, with the opening convocation of the 160th academic year with author, lawyer and lecturer Gus Lee. Lee’s 11 a.m. lecture titled “Honor and Duty: The Importance of Ethical Responsibility and High Expectations” will be held in Weaver Chapel.

“Season after season, the Wittenberg Series Committee on Programming and the university have addressed ethnic, gender, religious and international concerns, as well as specific disciplines in the sciences, humanities and arts,” said Gwendolyn Scheffel, Series coordinator and adjunct assistant professor of music. “This year’s offerings rank among the best.”

Highlighted topics of the 2004-05 Series include: academic integrity and moral courage, the 350th anniversary of American Jewish history, key issues and positions in national politics, and the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott.

“Through the years, Series planners have been proud of the variety of guest lecturers and the compelling subject matter they each have covered, as well as the performing artists who have accepted their invitations to come to Springfield and to Wittenberg,” Scheffel said.

The committee on programming is a joint committee of faculty and students appointed by the provost’s office.

Scheffel said a conservative estimate of overall Series attendance, just in the past decade, would exceed 100,000 people, with an approximate cost of nearly $1 million.

All Wittenberg Series events are free admission because of generous contributions to the general fund, income from endowed lecture funds, student fees, cosponsors and foundations. A substantial grant from the Freeman Foundation continues to support the efforts to include an Asian component in the programming. “This inclusion also inspires us to appreciate the many valuable bequests to Wittenberg’s East Asian Studies collection of art and artifacts,” Scheffel explained.

The Chinese shadow puppets, made of exquisitely worked and decorated translucent leather, shown on this year’s Series poster provide a glimpse of Eastern treasures close to home. The puppets represent a type of drama that probably originated during the Song Dynasty (156-87 B.C.)

To make special arrangements, receive a Series poster, or become a Friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Scheffel at (937) 327-7918 or send an e-mail to gscheffel@wittenberg.edu.

The complete calendar of events of the 2004-05 Wittenberg Series includes:

Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004, 11 a.m., Weaver Chapel
Opening Convocation of the 160th Academic Year
Gus Lee, author, lawyer and lecturer
“Honor and Duty: The Importance of Ethical Responsibility and High Expectations.”

Monday, Sept. 27, 2004, 7:30 p.m., Weaver Chapel
William A. Kinnison Endowed Lecture in History
Jonathan D. Sarna, Joseph H. and Belle Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University

Monday, Oct. 4, 2004, 7:30 p.m., Kuss Auditorium
Clark State Performing Arts Center
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2004, 7:30 p.m., Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Center
The Fred R. Leventhal Family Endowed Lecture
“Decision 2004: The New Republic vs. The National Review”
A debate between Peter Beinart, managing editor of The New Republic, and Jonah Goldberg, editor of the award-winning Web magazine National Review Online.


Monday, Oct. 25, 2004, 7:30 p.m., Bayley Auditorium
Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center
Kenneth H. Sauer Luther Symposium
Mark U. Edwards, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Special Programs,
Harvard Divinity School
“Lutherans and Jews: Then and Now”

Sunday, Oct. 31, 2004, 8 p.m., Weaver Chapel
Festival Choral Eucharist for Reformation
The Rev. Marcus Lohrmann, Bishop of the Northwestern Ohio Synod
Special music by university music ensembles at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004, 7:30 p.m., HPER Center
IBM Endowed Lecture in the Sciences
Dudley Herschbach, 1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
In addition to his public lecture, Herschbach will present a technical lecture for science students and researchers at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 10 in the Bayley Auditorium, Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center.

Friday, Dec. 3, 2004, 8 p.m., Weaver Chapel
Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas
Special music by university music ensembles at 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 17, 2005, 11 a.m., Weaver Chapel
Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation
Pastor Robert Graetz, Civil Rights Activist

Monday, Feb. 7, 2005, 7:30 p.m., Kuss Auditorium
Clark State Performing Arts Center
The Acting Company performing Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona

Monday, Feb. 28, 2005, 7:30 p.m., Kissell Auditorium, Koch Hall
Gallery Talk and Exhibit Opening
Douglas Calisch, sculptor

Monday, March 21, 2005, 7:30 p.m., Bayley Auditorium
Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center
“An Evening of Readings by Author Gus Lee”

Wednesday, March 30, 2005, 7:30 p.m., Weaver Chapel
Tomoe Kaneko in Concert

TBA: Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Residency