Leah Hopkins, Community Engagement Specialist

Our endowed public lecture series continued in 2019 with a Nov. 7 talk by Lisa Young (University of Michigan and University of Arizona), which was supported by generous donors to the Shepard Krech III Lecture Fund. Dr. Young’s talk, “Investigating the Life History of Ethnobotanical Specimens: Creating Community Connections through Collections Research,” reflected upon the regenerative potential of botanical museum collections in fostering collaborations between university museums and communities of origin. 

The Museum regrettably suspended our in-person plans for the 2020 Barbara Greenwald Memorial Arts Program, Jane Powell Dwyer Memorial Lecture, Barbara A. and Edward G. Hail Lecture, and other programming due to the University-wide closure in response to COVID-19. We had hoped to continue exploring cultural similarities and differences, and to reschedule these planned programs for the 2021 Academic Year, but made the decision to move forward with virtual programming.

Cancelling our in-person programming was difficult to reckon with at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.  But the academic and museum world were transitioning to working from home and to life on Zoom.  The Haffenreffer Programs followed suit, and though it came with a learning curve, we came to love the opportunities that virtual programming had to offer!  We were able to reach audiences that we never reached before when we were in-person and we are moving towards a completely hybrid model of virtual programming to support on-campus activities and off-campus accessibility.

We transitioned to virtual programming and invited Anishinaabe artist Neebinnaukzhik Southall from the Chippewa Rama First Nation for the Barbara A. and Edward G. Hail Lecture in Fall 2021.  Neebinnaukzhik spoke about their graphic design career and drawing inspiration from historical Anishinaabe motifs.

One of the highlights of the spring of 2022 was a virtual presentation by  James Quinn (Tribal Historic Preservation Officer) and Jay Levy (Archaeology Field Supervisor for the Mohegan Tribe) on the Mohegan Tribe Field School as an example of decolonizing archaeology. The Tribe introduces cultural practices and traditional knowledge to students during their first years of archaeological studies hoping to develop a sensitive and respectful way for them to engage Indigenous people. This was sponsored by the Shepard Krech III Lecture Fund. 

Looking forward, we plan on employing the hybrid model of programming where some of our programming will be in-person with an online component, and some will be fully virtual based.  We hope you can join us for future programs!

Cover photography by Juan Arce