2021 Distinguished Visiting professor

 David W. Blight, Ph.D, is the Sterling Professor of History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University.

In October of 2018, Simon and Schuster published his new biography of Frederick Douglass, entitled, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, which has won over seven book awards including the Pulitzer Prize in History, the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, the Bancroft Prize for History, and the Francis Parkman Prize.

David Blight is no stranger to the Eastern Shore where he has conducted research on Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), Talbot County’s most famous native son. In June of 2011 Blight was invited by the Frederick Douglass Honor Society to be the keynote speaker at the dedication of the statue of Douglass on the lawn of the Talbot County Courthouse.

Professor Blight has always been a teacher first. At the beginning of his career, he spent seven years as a high school history teacher in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, before entering graduate school. There he studied the history of the Civil War and the role of slavery and its abolition, with particular focus on Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery near the banks of Tuckahoe Creek, Douglass escaped what could have been a lifetime of bondage to become nationally and internationally renowned as the 19th century’s most famous orator and writer on the abolition of slavery and for the equality of all peoples.

David Blight speaks and writes with deep understanding and appreciation of Douglass’s legacy in his own times, and in ours.

Professor Blight will  launch our semester with a Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture in memory of  John Ford, Founding President of Chesapeake Forum

Miranda Donnelly is a registered occupational therapist (OTR) who finds meaning in helping people participate in life after neurologic injury. 

Donnelly works in the USC Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, where she is involved in applying virtual reality-based human computer interfaces to stroke rehabilitation and studying factors that influence stroke recovery.

She is also the host of the “OT Uncorked” podcast, in which she covers hot topics in occupational therapy with a glass of wine and guests from the profession. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles and is newly married to her husband Sean.

Donnelly graduated from Towson University with a Masters in OT and, after working clinically with adults who experienced life interruptions due to neurologic conditions, is pursuing a PhD in occupational science at the University of Southern California..

Miranda will lead a discussion on "Normal Aging and Life Interruptions" (Tuesdays, April 13, 20, from 1-2:30 pm)

   Sam Hilgartner worked for the National Park Services as a traditional ship rigger in California previous to employment at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in 2018. He holds a USCG captain’s license and completed a boat building apprenticeship in Sausalito CA. Hilgartner has worked in maritime industries for eight years and has spent extensive time studying philosophy, theology, and literary fiction. Sam has organized humanities oriented study groups. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland.  

Sam will teach the 1st of a 2-part course this semester: "Great Maritime Literature, Part 1" (Tuesdays, March 16, 23, 30, from 6:30-8 pm)

   Doug Levin, Ph.D, has over 40 years of experience mapping globally dispersed seafloors with a myriad of technologies. His project experience spans oil seep detection off of Cartagena, SA, Lease Block Hazard Surveys, pipeline and fiber optic cable route selections in the Gulf of Mexico, the Aleutian Islands and the Mediterranean, shipwreck imaging in Thunder Bay, Cortez’s treasure in Veracruz, and searching for evidence of Noah’s deluge in the Black Sea.

He was the first to use sonar to find and ghost crab pots in the Chesapeake Bay and to use sonar to evaluate Bay bottom for suitable oyster habitat and map natural oyster reefs in order to emulate them in restored habitat. He directs the Watershed Innovation Lab at Washington College where he creates affordable water quality observation systems for freshwater,  estuarine, nearshore, coastal marine systems that transmit data for open source educational and private use.

Doug lives on the Choptank River in Preston, Maryland where he enjoys kayaking, fishing, woodworking, and a good glass of scotch., nearshore, coastal marine systems that transmit data for open source educational and private use.

Doug lives on the Choptank River in Preston, Maryland where he enjoys kayaking, fishing, woodworking, and a good glass of scotch.

Doug will teach the course: "20,000 Years of History from ONE Oyster Reef in the Chesapeake River" (Wednesday, Feb 3, from 10-11:30 am)

   Sammi Ocher works as a Teacher Naturalist and EcoCamp Director at Pickering Creek Audubon Center in Easton. She studied Animal Behavior at Franklin and Marshall College and earned her Master's degree in Marine Biology from Northeastern University. Ocher is passionate about seabirds and bird behavior, and enjoys sharing her passion for nature and science through art and writing.

Sammi will teach the course: "Keystone Species in Maryland" (Thursday, March 11, from 7-8 pm)

Working in academia, government and industry over his career, Larry received several lifetime achievement awards. His work in AI includes the design/development of the first engines for Automated Essay Scoring and Computer Adaptive Testing. He also developed an AI approach for documenting copyright infringements for which he received a US Patent.

He was Executive Director of ERIC Clearinghouses and co-editor of the most popular online measurement journal. The principal investigator on more than 40 grants and contracts and the author of more than 150 articles for both technical and lay audiences, Larry recently retired as the Vice President for Research and Development at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC®), sponsor of the GMAT® exam.

Larry holds an MBA from the Smith School at Univ of Maryland and a Ph.D in Psychology from The Catholic University of America.

Larry will teach the course: "Let's Look at Artificial Intelligence" (Tuesdays, March 9, 16, 23  from 10-11:30 am)

  Glory Aiken discovered her love and enthusiasm for memoir writing in retirement.  She has independently published the histories of her Italian, German and Irish extended family, spanning a period of 145 years. In 2015, Glory's short story, I Do, was published by the Cat and Mouse Press. In 2016, I Do, was read aloud at a Delmarva Public Radio fundraiser in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Glory will lead the workshop "True Stories, Well Told" (Wednesdays, May 5, 12,19 from 9:30 to 11 am)

Since entering his retirement years, Bob DeGour has become a fixture at Eastern Shore schools as the local Blue and Gold Officer for the US Naval Academy. 

His never-tiring efforts to give back find him in and out of the schools mentoring young people and teaching capstone courses in Biomed as well as Geopolitics to AP students. Since moving to the Eastern Shore, Bob has been invited annually to moderate the annual Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference roundtable on current strategic issues impacting the United States. 

Bob is a 1973 U.S. Naval Academy graduate and was the first midshipman to study concurrently in a civilian university post graduate program. His classified thesis focused on socio-political systems in Pre-WW II Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Peoples Republic of China. He served in the Navy Intel Community before transitioning to the private sector.

Bob will co-moderate Great Decisions 2021 (Thursdays, April 1, 8, 15, 22 from 10-11:30 am)

   Hunter is a native Eastern Sho' farm boy (several generations Chesapeake Bay front farm) who loves anything mechanical or flyable.  Holds FAA Commercial Pilots license for all 'categories' and most 'classes' of aircraft, also FAA licensed Aircraft Mechanic and FAA Certified Flight Instructor. Hunter is an elected member of The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, as well as a former FAA Aviation Rulemaking Committee Member. International award winning Aerial Photographer, unemployed blimp pilot and a bunch of other stuff.

Hunter will narrate his video "Fun Flight in a p-51 Mustang" (Tuesday, April 6 from 1:30-3 pm)

Phil Hesser, Ph.D, has taught in the US and Africa and served as protection and education officer with UNHCR and program director with the Academy for Educational Development. 

Having received his B.A. degree at the University of California - Santa Barbara and M.A. and PhD. degrees at Binghamton University, he has continued his work in education as an Adjunct Professor of History at Salisbury University and is a part-time faculty member in History and Political Science at Wor-Wic Community College. 

Pursuing his interest at the intersection of landscape, life and livelihood in Delmarva and on the Bay, he wrote What a River Says: Exploring the Blackwater River and Refuge (Cambridge: Friends of Blackwater, 2014)) and is completing The Old Home Is Not There: The Native Land of Harriet Tubman with co-author Charlie Ewers. 

Phil will teach "A Woman's Province?  Pensioning Two Eastern Shore Heroines" (Thursdays, April 1, 8  from 1-2:30 pm) 

Ron Lesher is a retired educator with experience as the administrator of the Eisenhower Math Science Grants for the State of New Jersey aimed at upgrading the skills of K-12 teachers to mathematics and science. Has taught physics at the high school level in Maryland; taught physics for non-science majors at Washington College.

Ron will teach "Doc I Need a Drink" (Tuesdays, Feb 2, 9, 16 from 1:30-2:30 pm) 

Lynn Randle has spent her career researching behavior as a marketing and communications consultant. With a long list of clients across numerous industries, Lynn has helped many companies become more customer-focused in finding unique needs to fill. She served as Vice President of the Wirthlin Group, a firm known for providing the communications strategy of the Reagan White House, before founding a successful strategic marketing and communications venture in California. 

Augmenting a double major of Marketing and Journalism from Cal State, Lynn also earned a graduate degree in International Relations, as well as a graduate degree in Communications Research from Stanford University. 

Lynn will lead the Conversation: "The Impact of Social Media on Society" (Tuesday, May 4 from 10-11:30 am) 

Rich Wagner is a physicist who has worked in the fields of elementary particles, astrophysics, high-energy-density physics, and prediction of complex physical phenomena using very large computers. 

He was an Assistant Secretary of Defense in the 1980s, with responsibility for oversight of the US nuclear weapon program and of all Department of Defense matters related to chemical and biological weapons.

 Rich has studied topics at the interface between science and philosophy for many years.  He holds a BA in physics from Williams College, and a PhD in physics from the University of Utah. He and his wife, Ginny, live in Oxford.

Rich will teach "Prehistoric Human Migration" (Tuesdays, March 17, 24 from 1-2:30 pm)

Charles Edward Yonkers is a former Peace Corps Country Director, lawyer (Harvard, J.D., Yale, B.A.), and adjunct professor in Georgetown’s Graduate Liberal Studies Program (M.A.L.S.). His thesis was “The Creation of a Sense of Place: History, Culture, and Henderson, KY.” He has taught courses on A Sense of Place since 2011. His current place is Pot Pie Farm, Wittman, MD. 

Charlie will teach "Sense of Place"  (Tuesdays, April 13, 20, 27 from 10:30 - noon)