Legacy of Learning series brings experts, topical discussions online for virtual lessons
The coronavirus pandemic upended routines and sent Norwich University’s community inside and online. But the learning, as ever, continues. The Norwich University Alumni Association’s Legacy of Learning Series followed spring semester classes into virtual spaces.
The association created the continuing series, which resumed Wednesday, to foster lifelong learning, professional development and networking opportunities through webinars and presentations.
Norwich alumni, faculty and students are among the subject experts sharing new developments in specific fields and offering insights and perspectives on topics of interest to Norwich alumni, students and friends. Past sessions have covered big data, the opioid epidemic and architectural trends.
Alumni and Family Relations Director Eddie Habeck ’99 M ’10, staff liaison to the Norwich University Alumni Association’s board of directors, said the annual series, started in 2014, has traditionally involved in-person sessions at sites around the United States; several were in Boston and Washington, D.C. But, he said, the pandemic forced an adjustment.
“I want the people listening to these seminars to come away feeling like they’re still involved in the university.” Brian Gibbons ’99, Events Committee chairman, Norwich University Alumni Association
“When COVID-19 arrived, we decided to quickly shift these events to a virtual format, something we have never done in the past,” Habeck said. “This created an opportunity where we were no longer restricted to subject-matter experts in a given region to speak at these functions, but could open them up to alumni around the world. It also allows us to showcase our talented faculty in ways we could not easily accomplish in the past.”
Brian Gibbons ’99, chairman of the association’s Events Committee said quarterly meetings help identify topics and potential speakers. Beyond continued edification, Gibbons said, a series goal is showing Norwich links stay strong and fruitful long after graduation.
“I want the people listening to these seminars to come away feeling like they’re still involved in the university,” Gibbons said. “I want them to feel like the university is still providing for them.
“I want them to feel back together again, not just to have drinks or be asked for donations, but to feel connected,” Gibbons added. “That’s why they went to Norwich in the first place.”
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Here are the next four Legacy of Learning offerings, with brief descriptions. Registration is free for all.
- “Ordinary Soldiers”
2 to 3 p.m. EDT April 29.
U.S. Army Col. Jody Prescott and U.S. Army Col. Brian Ketz, a 1998 Norwich graduate, will discuss the Ordinary Soldiers lesson plan, which will mark its seventh year of use for MS-IV cadets in Norwich’s Army ROTC battalion in Fall 2020. The lesson plan, developed by a multidisciplinary team at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the U.S. Military Academy’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, has been used to discuss the interplay of ethics, law and leadership. It uses a case study of a reserve Wehrmacht infantry battalion in German-occupied Belarus in early October 1941. Register here.
- “Pandemic and Learning”
2 to 3 p.m. EDT April 30.
Morgan Chapman, who graduated from Norwich University’s Education Program in 2018, leads this session. The second-year teacher at a Colorado elementary school will describe the dash online — teachers received just 24 hours to prepare for remote learning for potentially the rest of the year. She’ll go behind digital teaching’s scenes to discuss how remote learning happens. Register here.
- “Best Practices for Securely Working in a Working-from-Home World”
6 to 7 p.m. EDT May 6.
Norwich alumnus Stephan Rockwell, who graduated from Norwich in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and served for four years in the U.S. Army, will discuss best practices for working securely from home. He is now systems engineering director in the east region for Palo Alto Networks, a multinational cybersecurity company based in Santa Clara, California. Rockwell works from New York City. Click here for information.
- “COVID-19 Information Wars”
noon to 1 p.m. EDT May 13.
Dr. Travis Morris will join Norwich faculty and students and alumni panelists in this session. Morris, who teaches criminal justice in the School of Justice Studies and Sociology and becomes its director May 1, recently wrote about the coronavirus misinformation infodemic for the faculty Perspectives Project and the university’s Voices on the Hill webpage. Morris also directs Norwich's Peace and War Center and spoke at last fall’s Association of Military Colleges & Schools of the U.S. Senior Military Colleges Conference.
Click here to register.
- “Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): A Focus on the Quds Force and the Ballistic Missile Force”
noon to 1 p.m. EDT June 6.
Dr. Travis Morris, a Norwich criminal justice professor and director of Norwich’s Peace and War Center, will lead the discussion with U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. and intelligence officer Gregory Sandefur NU’18.
Click here to register or get more information.
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Have a suggestion for a Legacy of Learning topic or speaker? Call (802) 485-2100 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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