PBK of Kentuckiana presents two or three programs for members during the academic year.   At the spring meeting, typically held in early May, we honor our scholarship recipients for the year. 

Academic Year 2011 - 2012

September 20 - Dr. David Winship, Professor of Paleobotany at Indiana University Southeast, spoke on "First Flowers" at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center.

Previous Meetings:

Academic Year 2010 - 2011

May 2011 - Dr. Jasmine L. Farrier, Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisville, spoke on "Constitutional Thinking Three Ways:  Powers Rights, and Processes."

March 2011 - Professor Melvin Dickinson, founder and Director of the Louisville Bach Society and retired Professor of Organ Music at the University of Louisville, presented "Oboes d'Amore, Corni da Caccia, and Harpsicords:  the Instruments of Bach and Other Baroque Composers" at the Bach Haus.

October  2010 - Ms. Gretchen Morgenson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The New York Times, spoke at the annual PBK/U of L College of Arts and Sciences/Speed Museum program.  The title of her presentation was "After the Deluge:  How Washington, Wall Street, and Main Street Are Faring."

September  2010 - Dr. James M. Beeby, Chairman of the Department of History at Indiana University Southeast and a member of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, presented "‘Send a Boat’: The Great Flood of 1937 in Louisville: Some Initial Findings and Interpretations."

Academic Year 2009 - 2010

May 2010 - Professor James T. R. Jones of the Brandeis School of Law of the University of Louisville spoke on the topic of  "Intelligence and Insanity."  Professor Jones explained how hard work and excellent medical care can control or overcome even severe mental illness. (Note: Dr. Jones has recently written a book on this topic which is available here.)

March 2010 - Professor Edward C. Halperin, Dean of the University of Louisville Medical School presented "The Poor, the Black, and the Marginalized in USA Anatomical Education."

October 2009 - For the fifth annual University of Louisville Phi Beta Kappa Lectureship Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School of Communication and Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania spoke about "How Media, Money, and Messages Shaped the 2008 Presidential Election."

Academic Year 2008 - 2009

May 2009 - Professor Lee Shai Weissbach of the University of Louisville History Department gave a presentation titled "My Fulbright Year in Israel."  

February 2009 - Mr. Ron Crouch, Director of the Kentucky State Data Center at the University of Louisville spoke on “The New Future of Kentucky in the World.” 

October 2008 - For the fourth annual University of Louisville Phi Beta Kappa Lectureship Professor Harvey Cox, Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard University, spoke on "After Fundamentalism: the Future of Religion in America and the World."

Academic Year 2007- 2008

May 2008 - Dr. Karen Britt, assistant professor of Medieval and Byzantine art and architecture in the Art History Program at the University of Louisville, spoke of her recent research at the Albright Institute in Jerusalem where she worked on her forthcoming book on sacred space in Byzantine churches in the Middle East.  Plan to join us for her presentation, "For Heaven's Sake: The Lure of Jerusalem, Past and Present."

February 2008 - Dr. Judi Jennings, Director of the Kentucky Foundation for Women and author of Gender, Religion, and Radicalism in the Long Eighteenth Century, discussed Mary Morris Knowles and art, liberty, and women's rights in the 18th century. 

October 2007 - Dr. Ruth R. Faden, Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins University Berman Institute of Bioethics.  Dr. Faden’s presentation, “Ethical Challenges in Stem Cell Research,” delineated where possible the core of concern directed toward embryonic stem cell studies.  The greatest challenge is to answer the question: “Is it right and moral to destroy a life in order to achieve good?” 

Academic Year 2006 - 2007

May 2007 - Dr. Tony Arnold, professor in the Property and Land Use Center for Environmental Law at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law of the University of Louisville.  His talk "The Lake, the Trust, and the Map" weighed the concept of environmental law and its impact on conservation. 

September 2006 - Dr. John Churchill, Secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, presented the annual University of Louisville Phi Beta Kappa Lecture at the Speed Museum.  His topic was "Love of Learning Is the Guide of Life." 

Academic Year 2005 - 2006

May 2006 - Dr. Ricky Jones, Chairman of the Department of Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville.  Dr. Jones' topic was "Achieving Excellence in an Age of Mediocrity." 

February 2006 - we started the first of our annual meetings held in conjunction with the Speed Art Museum and the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences.  Dr. George Greenia of Alpha Chapter at the College of William and Mary, delivered a lecture entitled "Sacred Steps: Pilgrimage, Medieval and Modern" at the Speed Art Museum Auditorium.