Alumni College 2015 Session Descriptions

Saturday, August 1

The Great Dayton Flood - Dawne Dewey

Leading Generationally: Bridging the Gaps of Understanding - Dan Noel

  • Are Millennials really 'lazy'? Do Baby-Boomers show selfish signs as the 'me' generation? Are Traditionalists challenged regarding changing technology? With an ever-changing workforce, our communities are faced with the challenge of understanding differences between common trends among generational groups (Traditionalists born between 1928-1945; Baby-Boomers born between 1946 – 1964; Generation X born between 1965 – 1980 and; Millennials born between 1981 – present). But organizational and community leaders must also be mindful of the similarities among these groups in order to lead most effectively.
  • This interactive and engaging session highlights both the similarities and differences of generational trends regarding attitudes toward work, loyalty to employers, respect and authority, work/life balance, and attitudes toward leadership. Using data from social trends and insights from experts, this session provides insight for interacting and responding to people of different generations for effective and positive community and work engagement.

Lunch & Keynote Speaker - Robert Sweeney - Executive Vice President for Planning

  • Followed by a tour of the Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building, the 1st of its kind in the country

AMERICA: Still the Indispensable State? Facing the Global Challenges Ahead - Donna Schlagheck

  • At the end of World War II, the United States entered a 50 year period of Cold War competition with the USSR in a new world political system that was designed to enhance globalization. The UN, the IMF, NATO and the Peace Corps (among many other examples) were created, and the US-USSR global rivalry unfolded. By century's end, the Cold War seemed over when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, while the rise of CHINA and the impact of globalization began to assume new significance in American foreign policy.
  • New challenges to peace and prosperity on a global scale began to emerge as the 21st century opened. Terrorism came to American symbols of economic and military power when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked on 9-11. American workers saw their incomes stall as jobs and investments moved to Asia. The price of petroleum topped $100 per barrel, and in 2007-08 the U.S. economy faced its greatest financial crisis since 1929. Are the American people and leaders prepared for the new challenges ahead? Are we equipped to direct the many forces of change in the developing world toward a path of democracy and economic growth? Will we lead in the development of solutions, or bounce from crisis to crisis without a larger guiding blueprint?

What can you learn from YOUR Facebook data - Derek Doran

  • The data we now share online about ourselves, both explicit and implicit in nature, is being collected, analyzed, and utilized by organizations to build new-generation services. Sometimes these services really do have our interests at heart — Yes: I do want to know that people with similar tastes as mine liked this book or movie, I want a private way to share photos to my friends, I want to know people's instantaneous opinions on the latest episode of The Bachelor (well maybe...). They can also have an immensely positive impact on the world: imagine if the Red Cross could identify a concentration of people in distress during a disaster, and pinpoint where aid resources should be sent, using real-time social media data. On the other hand, we may be unsettled by the fact that information about our off and online behaviors, who we are, and the content of what we are posting on the Internet is being gobbled up by anonymous machines, and shared or sold between organizations. This leads to the use of social data that is debatably ethical: insurance companies and creditors may want to use data from the maker of your smartphone health app to price your life insurance renewal rate, a department store may want to deliver a just-for-you ad to your phone as you walk by a display, and marketers may use "big data" about our interests to tailor their product designs toward a global zeitgeist that may be dampening originality.
  • This session takes a critical look at the implications of the social data revolution for individuals, businesses, and society. Results from my past research involving mobile phone data records and online social systems will be discussed. We will also see first hand how easy it is for computer scientists to discover something about you with seemingly innocent data, namely, your "friends" list on Facebook. If you aren't on Facebook you can use my data to learn something about me. :)

The Fels Longitudinal Study - Stefan Czerwinski

Dinner and Performance

Sunday, August 2

Statistical Pitfalls - Harry Khamis

  • When working with data, one discovers that not everything is intuitive. Sometimes extracting information from data can be confusing and can lead to baffling results. In this session, audience members will be exposed to several scenarios where the discovery of what's really going on is not easily determined from the data. Also illustrated will be instances where disregard of even the simplest and most fundamental statistical principles can lead to devastating results. In fact, in one of these situations the incorrect use of statistical principles, had it not been corrected, could have cost the speaker his life. Each of these situations involves real data and real-life situations. No special statistical knowledge or training is needed for this session.

Writing the Constitution - Jim Sayer

  • The reasons, the issues, and the compromises that made the United States of America.

The Science of Beer - Christopher Wyatt

  • Dr Wyatt will guide you through the production of beer. He'll explain aspects of malting and brewing as well as briefly touch on the science of fermentation.

Field Trip to Warped Wing Brewing Company - Joe Waizmann

  • History of the building, formation of the business, description and tour of the brewing process and operations, and a flight of beer to sample.

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