Upper Hudson

  

 

Upper Hudson Programs 2011-2012

2011-2012 Speakers and Schedule of Dinner Meetings

 

  

 

 LUNCHEON MEETING with TALK

 

Saturday, January 21, 2012

 

What Archaeology Can Tell Us About

The Religion of Ancient Israel

 

Presented by

 

Steven Stark-Riemer

Community Adult Educator in Biblical Archaeology and Studies

 

          The primary purpose of the writers and editors of the Hebrew Bible was not to tell history in the modern sense but to narrate what they thought should be the orthodox or right relationship with their national god. This brief look at the religion of Ancient Israel will provide a glimpse not at what these priests and scribes thought their people should have been doing, but what archaeology tells us they actually did. This will be achieved by focusing upon the excavations — mostly recent—of Israelite sacred spaces.

The discussion will be very much about ordinary people in Ancient Israel, and their everyday religious lives, and not as much about the extraordinary few who wrote and edited the Hebrew Bible. Mostly, we will look at the practice of religion in Ancient Israel, and not at belief, much less theology. Though beliefs matter, archaeology is more at home with the things that past peoples made, used, and discarded or reused, and what these artifacts reveal about their behavior. Although archaeology is less at home speculating about what these people thought than what they were doing, by taking a modest, optimistic, functionalist approach, we may be able to venture a tentative conclusion or two about the ways Israelites worshipped their national god, and whether the Hebrew Bible presents a picture of Ancient Israel's religious reality or the advocacy for a theological ideal.

Presenter.

An attorney by profession, Steven Stark-Riemer studied anthropology and archaeology at the City College of New York. As an undergraduate, he conducted fieldwork in Israel at the Tell Gezer excavations under the direction of William G, Dever, today's preeminent American biblical archaeologist. Mr., Stark-Riemer graduated magna cum laude in 1972, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa and accepted into the Doctoral Program in Anthropology at the University of California at Los Angeles on the strength of his senior thesis on the comparative origins of agriculture in the Nile, Indus, and Mekong River Valleys. Although he did not formally pursue this line of study, his interest in the archaeology, history, and religion of the Ancient Near East continues, and he is well read in these fields, and in biblical studies generally.

Mr. Stark-Riemer has acquired a devoted following in his community adult education endeavors in the Capital District. He has taught courses on the archaeology, history and religion of Ancient Israel, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical authorship, and the anti-Semitism in the ancient world.  Mr. Stark-Riemer and his wife live in Delmar, and are the parents of three grown children.

 

 

 

 

12:30 to 3:30 pm

 Century House

997 New Loudon Road, Latham NY

 

 

 

   Upper Hudson Phi Beta Kappa

Spring 

DINNER MEETING 

 

 

 

 Dr. John W. Delano

 

will speak on "NASA's search for life beyond the Earth." 

 

       

 

 

 

Best Western Sovereign Hotel

1228 Western Avenue, Albany

                                                     

 

5 pm bar / 5:30 pm dinner / 6:30 pm speaker

 

               

 

 

 

 DINNER MEETING with TALK

 

Saturday, October 29, 2011

 

 

Understanding Pakistan

          Pakistan appears to pursue policies, be they regarding Kashmir or Afghanistan, blasphemy or education, which are to most Americans irrational and contrary to the country's national interests. Professor Wright will attempt to explain how these came about, why Americans find Pakistan so unsympathetic compared to India and what the prospects are for bridging the gap between the two.     

 

Presented by

 

Dr. Theodore P. Wright, Jr.

 

Professor Emeritus
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy

 

        Theodore P. Wright taught graduate and undergraduate comparative politics, political development, politics of South Asia and comparative ethnicity for 30 years. He has published more than 80 journal articles on various aspects of Indian and Pakistani politics. He is active in the Association for Asian Studies and its regional affiliate, the New York conference on Asia; the annual Wisconsin conference on South Asia; The European conference on Modern South Asia; the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies; the South Asian Muslim studies Association; and the Columbia University Faculty seminar on South Asia. He is an officer of the Dutch settlers Society of Albany and the New Netherlands Institute in Albany.

 

 

 

 

Dinner at 5:30pm       Program at 6:30pm 

 

Hilton Garden Inn - Albany Airport

800 Albany Shaker Road
Albany, NY  12211

 

Register by October 15, 2011


Registration             Directions

 

 

 

 

 

How to Join the Upper Hudson ΦBK Association

Once you are initiated into Phi Beta Kappa—usually in your senior year of college—you become a lifetime member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Society sends out annual solicitations for donations to provide advocacy for liberal education and to provide services to its Chapters and Associations. Their website www.pbk.org is an excellent source of information about the National Office’s services and activities. They publish The Key Reporter and The American Scholar for members.

Membership in the national Phi Beta Kappa does not automatically enroll a person in a local Association.

About 60 local Associations across the nation offer friendship and programs to members of Phi Beta Kappa and work to support the aims of the society. Membership in the Upper Hudson Association of Phi Beta Kappa is open to any person who was ever initiated into PBK. Susan Plank (518-439-4028, plankdse@earthlink.net), Secretary of the Upper Hudson Association would be pleased to welcome your membership. Annual dues of $35 support costs at our 3 dinner meetings, provide a modest stipend for our speakers and cover office and mailing expenses.

 

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

UPPER HUDSON ASSOCIATION OF PHI BETA KAPPA, 2010-2011

OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

President: Bob Schalit email

Vice President: Gloria Karin email  

Secretary:   Barbara Dennison email

Treasurer: Loretta Parsons email

Past President:  DeWitt Ellinwood email

 

AT-LARGE DIRECTORS

 

 

Susan Plank email

Carolyn Darkangelo email

 Malcolm Sherman email

 

Advisor to the Board

 

Frances Allee email

 

 

 

The Upper Hudson ΦBK Scholarship Program: Process and Guidelines

In January of 2012, local high school guidance counselors will receive a letter similar to the following:

 

 

For over two hundred years, Phi Beta Kappa has championed outstanding academic achievement and a liberal education.  The Upper Hudson Association of Phi Beta Kappa will be awarding our twenty-first annual Scholarship.   $750-stipends will be presented to each of two 2012 high school graduates from the region planning to enter college in the fall of 2012.  We will be grateful for your assistance in helping us do so.

 

             I am enclosing a copy of our Scholarship Application Guidelines, which should be given to high achieving students from your school.  Application guidelines can also be found on our web site at http://uhpbk.org.

 

            We know that a $750 award will not go far in meeting current tuition and living expenses at college.  However, it is our hope that this stipend will help defray some college costs, recognize outstanding academic achievement in high school, and encourage future scholars of great promise from the greater Capital District region.

 

             We would appreciate it if you and the members of your faculty would encourage worthy seniors to apply for this award.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at reschalit@mindspring.com or via phone at (518) 346-7234.

 

            Phi Beta Kappa has been dedicated to nurturing scholarship and encouraging and recognizing high academic achievement since its inception in 1776.  Thank you for your continued support of this important endeavor.

 

 

Scholarship Guidelines

Completed applications must be postmarked no later than March 5 2012.

 

 

Upper Hudson ΦBK Scholarship Winners for 2011

 

       

     The Upper Hudson Association of Phi Beta Kappa is pleased to announce the 2011 winners of its annual scholarships for senior high school students.  They are Kelsey Roberts and Jason Wan

 

Kelsey Roberts, a senior at Colonie Central High School, considers her three-dimensional protein modeling project for Science Olympiad one of the most significant intellectual adventures that have inspired her. Through this experience, she developed a deep love for science which she hopes to impart to others throughout her life. First in her class of nearly 500 students and a National Merit finalist, Kelsey has taken several AP courses plus courses at the college level at the University at Albany, Hudson Valley Community College and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Outside of class, she is active with her school’s theater program and Family Players of NENY, president of the Art Club, and national and world news editor of The Sandscript student newspaper. Kelsey has tutored students in math and science, and has participated in Moody’s Mega Math Challenge. She has also volunteered for Proctor’s Theater, Colonie Central’s Physical Education and Special Education departments, and the Albany County Nursing Home.

 

 

Jason Wan is a senior at Bethlehem Central whose enthusiasm for learning has driven him to accomplish many academic feats including completing seven AP courses. His love of academics is rivaled only by his love of filmmaking. Jason has studied filmmaking at SUNY Oswego’s NYS Summer School of the Arts and filmmaking and graphic arts at Sage College. He also studied Chinese language and culture at the Chinese Community Center School in Albany for nine years. Jason has received numerous academic awards including National Merit semi-finalist, AP Scholar with Honor, and the Mayflower Compact Society Award for outstanding performance in AP American History. He is president of the Student Senate, captain of the Speech and Debate Club, president of Key Club, and editor of the Thinking Reed literary magazine. A gifted musician, Jason is lead tenor sax of the Jazztic Measures band. He has also volunteered for many community organizations including the Regional Food Bank and American Cancer Society.

 

Phi Beta Kappa is considered the oldest honorary academic society in the United States.  It was founded at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1776.  Its purpose is to promote excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.  Its distinctive emblem, a gold key, is recognized as a symbol of academic achievement as no more than ten percent of a college’s graduating class can be elected to a chapter.  Union College’s chapter, founded in 1817, is the fourth oldest in the country.  Regional associations, such as the Upper Hudson Association, are composed of Phi Beta Kappa members who have graduated and who meet socially to encourage scholarship and a lifelong love of learning in their local communities, while providing support for the goals of the national organization.

 

 

Scholarship Winners 2011

 

 

                   

President Robert Schalit and Kelsey Roberts

 

 

 

                                                       President  Schalit with Jason Wan

Contributing to the Upper Hudson ΦBK Scholarship Fund

Donations to the Upper Hudson Phi Beta Kappa Scholarship are most welcome from any source and are fully tax deductible. Looking for unique birthday, or holiday gift? Looking for a donation to honor the memory of a special educator? Donations may be sent to the Upper Hudson PBK Treasurer (Loretta Parsons, 18 Majorca Lane, Clifton Park, NY 12065). A letter will be sent to acknowledge the gift and your support for a liberal education and outstanding scholarship.

History of the Upper Hudson Association of ΦBK

Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest Greek letter organization in the United States was founded at William and Mary College in 1776. After the War of Independence, chapters were started at other institutions, and in 1817 the Alpha of New York Chapter was chartered at Union College. As time passed, many Phi Beta Kappa alumni (and soon alumnae) sought ways of maintaining in their post-collegiate lives the personal connections and intellectual stimulus that their membership in the society had given them. Such was the impetus for the forming of regional non-campus-based Associations.

At the initiative of the Alpha of New York Chapter at Union College, the founding meeting of the Upper Hudson Association of Phi Beta Kappa was held at the Ten Eyck Hotel on February 28, 1914. Sixty-five Phi Beta Kappa men were in attendance, and another twenty-five expressed interest but were unable to attend the founding meeting. These ninety were declared the founding members. The pattern of three dinner meetings per year was adopted from the start and was interrupted only in November 1918 owing to the influenza epidemic that year.

As early as 1920 the Upper Hudson Association had undertaken a scholarship program aimed at encouraging high academic achievement in local schools, and by 1922 had spearheaded a New York State Association of Phi Beta Kappa that tried to reach all the secondary schools of the state. Indeed, the success of this activity provided incentive and model for the National Phi Beta Kappa Society to promote similar programs nationwide. The original scholarship program was an unfortunate casualty of the Great Depression. Our present scholarship program was undertaken in the 1991-1992 academic year by a new generation of members. Although modeled on the successful strategies of other Associations, the scholarship program represents a full-circle return to a commitment whose original inspiration came from the Upper Hudson Association.

By 1934, when Upper Hudson celebrated its 20th anniversary, membership numbered about 150, including Phi Beta Kappa women, who had been declared eligible to join. Meetings at that time were festive black-tie, long-dress occasions that offered intellectual stimulation and defied depression gloom.

The social and economic changes that followed World War II led to the more casual atmosphere common at our dinner-program meetings today. Nevertheless the impetus for and the character of our meetings have remained unchanged since the Association’s inception in 1914.

 

Web Page Updated 01/26/12

Questions? Contact Webmaster

Carolyn Darkangelo, email