One Day University: A Full Day of Learning

Benjamin Franklin was truly a genius, recognized as such at home and abroad, in his own time and still today. George Washington referred to him as “that great philosopher.” Thomas Jefferson called him “the greatest man of the age and country in which he lived.” John Adams said of him, “Franklin had a great genius, original, and inventive, capable of discoveries in science no less than of improvements in the fine arts and the mechanical arts”. The lightning rod was the most spectacular. After that invention, the world began to look upon natural phenomena in a different light, recognizing man’s ability to understand and control them through science and invention. But for Franklin it was only one of many. Another of his original creations, bifocal eyeglasses, was very simple and came to him without any previous experimentation. One contemporary claimed Franklin invented them so he could watch the girls across the room while still keeping his eyes on the one next to him. A third original invention of Franklin’s is daylight saving time, which gives extra hours of daylight to enjoy in the evening.

A stickler for economy, Franklin’s dictum “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” urged his fellow countrymen to work during daylight and sleep after dark, saving money on candles. He calculated that if all the families of Paris who caroused until late at night and then slept until noon would arise with the sun six hours earlier, 64 million pounds of candle wax would be saved in six months’ time. In fact, both Mozart and Beethoven wrote music for an instrument invented by Franklin, the glass armonica. In Europe, Franklin’s fame for the armonica rivaled the reputation he had achieved for his electrical experiments and lightning rod. Franklin never patented any of his inventions, saying, “I never made, nor proposed to make, the least profit by any of them.” It was a matter of principle with him that, as he had benefited from past inventions and discoveries, present and future generations should be able to benefit freely from his inventions. Among his other inventions were an improved printing press, a flexible catheter, an extension arm for grasping items beyond one’s reach, his famous stove and room heater, a modified odometer, a three-wheel clock that displayed seconds, minutes and hours, an improved oil lamp, flippers to aid swimming, and even a sea anchor.

Caroline Winterer / Stanford University
Caroline Winterer is Anthony P. Meier Family Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Humanities Center. Her latest book is, “American Enlightenments: Pursuing Happiness in the Age of Reason.” She is a recipient of an American Ingenuity Award from the Smithsonian Institution for mapping the social network of Benjamin Franklin, and is also a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians.

The question stalks our politics. The Cold War’s end was supposed to bring about a new era of East-West cooperation, integrating Russia for perhaps the first time as an equal player in European and Atlantic affairs. Democracy appeared ascendant, along with free markets. The end of old history appeared in sight,replaced by the new, at least according to Washington’s chattering class. We were poised to share “one common European home,” the Soviet Union’s Mikhail Gorbachev pledged. And we shall all have peace. A democratic revolution within Russia’s borders, leading even a soft-spoken American president to gloat. “Eastern Europe is free,” George H.W. Bush proclaimed as 1991 came to an end. “This is a victory for democracy and freedom. It’s a victory for the moral force of our values. Every American can take pride in this victory.”

Well, the promised post-Cold War peace did not endure. Russia’s free market collapsed. The West’s triumph brought the average citizen in the former Soviet Union a shorter life-span, a lower standard of living, and a long list of new grudges. As Boris Yeltsin gave way to Vladimir Putin by the 20th century’s end, newfound civil liberties soon eroded as well. Oligarchs rose and democracy fled, setting the stage for what some are now terming a new Cold War, replete with hacking, election influence, annexations, and new East-West tensions.

Jeffrey Engel / Southern Methodist University
Jeffrey Engel is founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. He has taught at Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Haverford College, and taught history and public policy at Texas A&M University. He has authored or edited eight books on American foreign policy, most recently, “When the World Seemed New: George H.Bush and the Surprisingly Peaceful End of the Cold War.”

Students will have a 1 hour and 15 minute lunch break.

The nation’s health care system is in the midst of an extraordinary transformation. Hospitals and insurance companies are merging (and the lines between the two are blurring). There are fewer and fewer solo practice physicians. Large retail chains (from CVS to Walmart) are entering the health care business. Government’s role as a payer and regulator is growing, prompted by legislation such as the Affordable Care Act. There are fewer and fewer uninsured, but those who are insured are paying more and more of their health care bill (through higher premiums and deductibles).

In this lecture, Professor Michael Sparer reviews these trends, as well as several others that are sure to have a profound impact on where we get our medical care, what the quality of that care will be, and how we pay for it. The lecture also considers the politics of health care, both in the 2016 Presidential campaign and beyond. What are the key health care issues facing a new President, what are the key differences between the two political parties on these issues, and how will the resolution of these issues affect every one of us?

Michael Sparer / Columbia University
Michael Sparer is a professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. Professor Sparer is also the Chair of Health Policy & Management. He is a two-time winner of the Mailman School’s Student Government Association Teacher of the Year Award, as well as the recipient of a 2010 Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. He spent seven years as a litigator for the New York City Law Department.

The sixties were a turbulent decade, politically and socially, but the hits on Broadway barely reflected the times. Or did they? Learn how hit shows like How to Succeed in Business, Hello, Dolly, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Company, and Hair reflected the times as clearly as bell bottoms, “Easy Rider,” and The Beatles.

Sean Hartley / Kaufman Music Center
Sean Hartley is the director at the Kaufman Music Center’s Theater Wing, the chair of the SMS Admissions Assessment Committee, and on the faculty of the SMS Chorus and LMS Dalcroze. He is the Producer/Host of Broadway Close Up as well as Broadway Playhouse. Sean is also a playwright, composer, an lyricist: Cupid And Psyche (Drama Desk nomination,) Little Women; Snow (ASCAP Harold Arlen Award.); Leaving Home.