2019

Breakthrough

Wednesday, Sept. 18 and Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019

The 2019 Hancock Symposium explored the theme of BREAKTHROUGH in all dimensions of human experience. At its broadest, Breakthrough conjures a moment of remarkable discovery, epic accomplishment, or long-fought victory. Breakthrough transcends boundaries between disciplines, realms of activity, and fields of endeavor. Through the theme of Breakthrough, our campus community celebrated the heritage, mission, and the enduring power of Westminster College. Westminster honored two watershed events of deep significance to the College's historical identity and international reputation. We celebrated and commemorated the 50th anniversary of the relocation and rebuilding of Sir Christopher Wren's 1677 Church of St. Mary Aldermanbury on Westminster's campus, which has housed the National Churchill Museum since May 1969. We also witnessed the 30th year since the Peaceful Revolution in Central Europe that toppled the Berlin Wall in 1989, helping bring an end to an area of nuclear stand-off and geopolitical division. Comprising the longest contiguous section of the original Wall in North America, the Breakthrough sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Edwina Sandys symbolizes the global celebration of freedom, even as it invites visitors to Westminster's campus to ponder their own personal breakthroughs to come. 

The 14th Hancock Symposium honored the phenomenon of "breakthrough" across the spectrum of experience, while also celebrating its specific meaning to our campus. In doing so, the Westminster community issued a clarion call and message of goodwill: Let us break down the walls that divide us and join together, in a spirit of hope, to confront the challenges that lie ahead. 

Hosted by the Churchill Institute for Global Engagement.

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, September 18

9:00 AM: Opening of 2019 HSWC and Plenary Session #1 (Champ Auditorium)

Opening: Dr. Carolyn Perry, Chair of 2019 Hancock Symposium Committee

Plenary Session #1: Gretchen Kinder '94 KAΘ, Reality Television Executive - "From Westminster to Reality"

10:30-11:30 AM: Executive Session #1 

• The Actors' Gang Prison Project: Jeremie Loncka, Richard Loya, Major Bunton - "Breaking Barriers Behind Prision Walls" (Church of St. Mary)
• Jim Bowen, CEO, First Trust Portfolios L.P. - "First Trust Outlook" (CSC Lecture Hall)

11:45 AM: Lunch (Lunch Available at Backer Dining Hall) 

1:15-2:15 PM: Executive Session #2 

• Dr. James R. Hansen, Author, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong "Dear Neil Armstrong: Letters to the First Man on the Moon From All 'Mankind'' (Church of St. Mary)
• John Rollins '87, Award-Winning Travel, Nature, and Wildlife Photographer, John Rollins Photography - "The Artist Within" (CSC Lecture Hall)

2:30-3:30 PM: Breakout Session #1 (Coulter Science Center)

• Karen Oyerly '99, CODIS Administrator, Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation - "How DNA is Revolutionizing Law Enforcement" (CSC 126)
• Robert Canine, US Army Veteran - "Unleash the Beast" (CSC 305)
• Bill Young, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Westminster College - "Trailblazers: How Native American and African American Players Broke Through the Color Barriers in Major League Baseball" (CSC 204)
• Representative Ian Mackey '09, Missouri State Representative, District 87 - "Where Are You From, and Why Does It Matter?" (CSC 239)
• Bailey Mitchell '17, Data Science Consultant, CapTech - "Break Through the Glass Cloud: What It Means to Be a Woman in Tech" (CSC 304)
• Jessica Sanders '06, Teacher, Gibbs International Magnet School - "Teaching from Your Core: Reaching Inward for Deep Learning" (CSC 306)

3:45-4:45 PM: Executive Session #3

• Mia Eastman, Co-Founder and Creative Unification Director, Operation Earth Guardians - "Turning Your Passion Into Action" (CSC Lecture Hall)
• Beth Houf, Principal, Fulton Middle School - "Breaking Through Without Burning Out: Seeking Greatness in a Digital World" (Church of St. Mary) 

7:00 PM: Theater Workshop (Advanced Reservations Required)
The Actors' Gang Prison Project (Champ Auditorium)

Science: It Takes a Village
A Conversation with Dr. George Smith and Dr. Ellen Jorgensen (CSC Lecture Hall)

Thursday, September 19

9:00 - 10:00 AM: Plenary Session #2 (Champ Auditorium)

• Dr. George Smith, Curators' Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri; 2018 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
  
  "Tear Down This Wall: Freedom and Equality for All Who Share the Palestinian Homeland"

10:15-11:15 AM: Executive Session #4

• Derick Dailey '11, Assistant United States Attorney, Civil Division, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware - "Theo-legal Imagination: Doing the Right Thing, In the Right Way, For the Right Reasons" (Church of St. Mary)
• Dr. Ellen Jorgensen, Co-Founder and Former Director, Genspace - "Life in the Age of CRISPR: How Genome Editing Will Change the World" (CSC Lecture Hall) 

1:30 PM: 59th Annual John Findley Green Foundation Lecture (Champ Auditorium)

• Dr. Madeleine Albright, Former United States Secretary of State, Professor of Practice of Diplomacy, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Chair, Albright Stonebridge Group