COS Distinguished Speaker Series Finale

This year, the Distinguished Speaker Series was held off campus for the first time. At the mouthwatering Tex-Mex cuisine restaurant, Cocina 214, guests crowded in for each guest speaker.

Topics ranged from the Mayan collapse to managing conflicts in relationships. Drawing a crowd each time, each speaker was an expert in their field, bringing their knowledge and expertise to dinner.

In September, Dr. James Fox came from Northeastern University to speak about “Mass Shootings in America: Myths and Realities.” October’s speaker was Dr. Arthur Demarest from Vanderbilt University, his talk was titled “The Maya Collapse.” November brought Dr. Andrei Markovits from the University of Michigan with his talk “Sports, Politics, and Cultural Transformation.”

Dr. Tony Heinz, from Columbia University, started of the new year with his talk “Wonders in Two Dimensions: Looking at Graphene and Beyond.” Dr. Dan Canary kicked off Valentine’s week with a talk on “Managing Conflict Strategically in Personal Relationships.”

The series wrapped up with a spectacular talk from Barry Fisher titled “CSI in Real Life: Realities of Modern Forensic Science.” He spoke to a crowd of approximately 60 in downtown Winter Park. As they enjoyed their sizzling fajitas and fresh tacos, Fisher spoke about his extensive career in the field of forensic science.

We will be continuing this exciting series in the fall 2015, beginning in September and running through April 2016. Check our website over the summer to find all of the details about our next speakers including location, date and times at www.cos.ucf.edu/dss.