September 2002
EARLY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS TOPIC OF HISTORY
SCHOLAR AT UPG
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER EXHIBITS SCENES OF WESTMORELAND
PANEL ON MEDIA COVERAGE
OF 9/11 AT UPG
SMART GROWTH CONFERENCE
AT UPG
"Thomas Jefferson's Economic Revolution from Below," the third in an
annual series of lectures on Westmoreland County history, will be given
Thursday,
October 17 at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Ferguson Theater
at 7:30 p.m. by Dr. John Majewski, associate professor of history at the
University of California Santa Barbara. The program is free to the
public and will be followed by a reception and book signing. For information,
call
724-836-7497.
Known in pre-colonial times as the "Star of the West," Westmoreland
County served as a major "funnel" in the movement west because of its roads,
canals
and waterways leading to the Ohio River. Dr. Majewski will discuss
how Jefferson's economic policies on the federal level unleashed the economic
potential of ordinary families and helped to finance turnpikes, bridges,
canals, banks and other improvements in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the
aftermath of Jefferson's election in 1800. These actions served as
a prelude to such federal and state internal transportation improvement
projects as
the National Road, canal networks and early railroads. The National
Road parallels modern Route 40.
Dr. Majewski wrote A House Dividing: Economic Development in Pennsylvania
and Virginia before the Civil War (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2000). The dissertation on which his book was based won the Allen Nevins
Prize of the Economic History Association. He has authored numerous
books,
journal articles, reviews, conference proceedings, and other works.
Dr. Majewski earned his Ph.D. and Master's degrees in American history
at
UCLA, his Master of Science in Economic History with distinction at
the London School of Economics, and his Bachelor's degree with honors in
history
and economics at the University of Texas.
He is the third history scholar to appear at UPG under the St. Clair
Lectureship established jointly by UPG President Dr. Frank A. Cassell and
James V. Steeley, President of the Westmoreland County Historical Society.
The St. Clair Lectureship is a signature event in a broader effort known
as
Westmoreland Heritage, an economic and community development partnership
co-founded by Cassell and Steeley to promote the rich history of the County
to students, residents and visitors.
Speaking last year on The Role of the Native Americans at the Time
of the Revolution in the West was Dr. Colin Calloway, Chair, Department
of Native
American Studies, Dartmouth College. In 2000, the St. Clair lecturer
was Dr. Eric A. Hinderaker, associate professor of history at the University
of Utah
who spoke on the French and Indian War.
Prior to his lecture on October 17, Dr. Majewski will direct seminars
at UPG for area high school and college students. He will be a featured
speaker
at the Westmoreland County Historical Society's annual Historic Preservation
Awards dinner on Wednesday, October 16 at the Greensburg Country Club.
The lecture series is named for General Arthur St. Clair who was Pennsylvania's
highest-ranking officer in the Revolution and later rose to
head the Articles of Confederation Congress. From 1788 until 1802,
St. Clair was the first governor of the Northwest Territory that embraced
five future
states. He is buried in St. Clair Park in Greensburg where a statue
marks his monument.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER EXHIBITS SCENES OF WESTMORELAND
The Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County, headquartered at
the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg , will celebrate
The Green Edge of Westmoreland, a photographic exhibition by
nationally known photographer Lynn Johnson. The exhibition will formally
open on Thursday, October 3 at the Center for Conservation Education in
Westmoreland County at Donohoe Center just off Route 30 across from Westmoreland
Mall on Donohoe Road. It will remain there for the month of October. Johnson's
30 black and white photographs document in portraits and
landscapes many of the conservationists, farmers, stewards, and visionaries
of Westmoreland County. The exhibition features both Westmoreland's
rich
natural beauty and vulnerable resources. Portraits of waterways,
towns, fields, families, and pockets of wilderness are included in the
exhibition
which is accompanied by text written by poet and UPG English Professor
Judith Vollmer.
Johnson's work is widely known in the pages of both National Geographic
and Sports Illustrated. She also has exhibited internationally in
galleries,
universities, and book publications in both group and solo projects.
Johnson traveled back to Westmoreland County regularly during the past
year
while she was simultaneously working on a photo project on the weapons
of mass destruction for National Geographic. The photos in The Green Edge
of
Westmoreland include scenes from Western Pennsylvania's dramatic four
seasons and intricate topography. Funded by the Smart Growth Partnership
of Westmoreland County and by the Robertshaw Charitable Foundation, the
exhibition can be seen at the Center for Conservation Education most weekdays
from 2-4 p.m., except the following: Tuesday October 15 and Tuesday October
22, 5-7 p.m.; closed Wednesday October 23; Saturday October 26, 2-4
p.m. For more information call (724) 837-5271.
PANEL ON MEDIA COVERAGE OF 9/11 AT UPG
A panel of six area reporters will discuss the role of the U.S. media following last year's terrorist attacks on Wednesday, September 11 at 7 p.m. in the Powers Hall Auditorium at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.
The program is free to the public. For information, call 724-836-7481. Sponsored by the UPG Humanities Academic Village and the UPG Writing Program, the panel will feature Dennis Roddy of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Marty Levine and Chris Potter of City Paper, Michael Hasch and Dawn Law of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, and Brian Estadt, an editor with Gateway Star Publications. Lori Jakiela, assistant professor of English, will moderate.
According to William Pamerlau, assistant professor of philosophy and director of the UPG Humanities Village, "The program is designed to provide an important educative device as well as a starting point for critical discussion of U.S. foreign policy, particularly with respect to future options for the war against terrorism."
Students from The Insider, the college's weekly student newspaper, will host the event. A reception will follow the program.
SMART GROWTH CONFERENCE AT UPG
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas Hylton will be the featured
speaker at the second annual Westmoreland County Smart Growth Summit at
the
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Friday, September 27. Designed
to raise awareness about the need for comprehensive planning to
prevent sprawling development in Westmoreland County, the conference
will provide information about the benefits of smart growth and how communities
can implement planning guidelines for economic growth while avoiding
wastefulness and damage to the environment. Some 200 planners, developers,
government officials, educators, business representatives, and others
interested in conservation and the environment are expected to attend.
With the help of 152 color photos, Hylton will show how 12 states, from
Vermont to Oregon, have initiated comprehensive planning to provide a better
future for their citizens. His book, Save Our Land, Save Our Towns:
A Plan for Pennsylvania, explains how state planning guidelines can help
lower cost
of living, preserve farms and forests, revive cities, protect the environment,
provide more secure and neighborly communities, and provide
equal opportunities for children.
Other presenters include Amber Levofsky of the EPA Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation; Dr. Kevin Leyden, Department of Political Science,
West Virginia University; Rick James, Community Resource Officer, Norfolk
Police Department; Hon. Allen Kukovich, 39th Senatorial District; Thomas
Comitta, Thomas Comitta Associates, Inc.; Anne -Marie Lubeneu, AIA,
Community Design Center of Pittsburgh; and Larry Larese, Westmoreland County
Director of Planning and Development.
The conference will be held Friday, September 27 in UPG's Ferguson Theater
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The $15 fee includes lunch and the registration
deadline is Wednesday, September 25. For information, call the Smart
Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County at 724-836-7048.
Founded two years ago at UPG, the Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland
County is a private, non-profit group that has been instrumental in
providing planning and educational services to community planners,
developers, and others interested in enhancing economic development without
sacrificing quality of life. The group has been actively involved in
working with Westmoreland County to craft its first comprehensive plan
for
development. Certified planner Alex Graziani is the SGPWC executive
director.