Special programs and travel
All members are invited to attend The Commonwealth Society’s Book Group, Brown-bag Lunch Series and travel opportunities. Members may also receive notification about other lectures, seminars and performances taking place on the VCU campuses or sponsored by various VCU departments.
Download the registration form [PDF] to sign up for our special programs. Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The Commonwealth Society reserves the right to cancel any class or event if there is not sufficient enrollment.
Travel
- What’s New at Mount Vernon?
May 2, 2008
Enjoy a spring day at the plantation home of George Washington. We will leave Richmond, Va., at 7:30 a.m., arrive at Mount Vernon and visit the recently opened Ford Orientation Center and the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center. We will visit the house and take a 30-minute cruise on the Potomac River around Mount Vernon. After the cruise, we will board our coach for Old Town Alexandria where you may have lunch or visit a museum or another historical site. We will return to Richmond by 6 p.m. The fee is $75 for members and includes round-trip coach fare, entrance fees, Potomac River cruise and snacks.
Book Group
- The Commonwealth Society Book Group
All current members are invited to participate in these always enlightening discussions. The book group meets the fourth Friday of each month (except July, August and December). Upcoming books are “Wooden Fish Songs” by Ruthanne Lum McCunn, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” by Mohsin Hamid, “Hunting and Gathering” by Anna Gavalda and “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson.
Brown-bag Lunch Series
Brown-bag Lunch Lecture
Members of The Commonwealth Society may attend brown-bag lectures at no charge. Nonmembers may attend for $5. Information regarding the dates and locations will be sent to registered members.
- What’s So Bad About Atheism?
Theodore Roosevelt called our first secretary of state, Tom Paine, a “dirty little atheist.” During the Cold War, Americans believed one of the greatest perils of Communism was its atheistic canon. A spate of books has recently appeared attacking beliefs in God and supporting atheism. Why this rancorous response? What’s so bad about atheism?
Lecturer: Dr. Jack D. Spiro, Ph.D., a School of World Studies faculty member, holds the Harry Lyons Distinguished Chair in Judaic Culture. He also is director of the VCU Center for Judaic Studies and editor of its online publication, Menorah Review. Spiro is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Beth Ahabah.
- Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth Visits Richmond: A Behind-the-Scenes View of the Preparations
Like all well-planned events, the 2007 visit of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth to Virginia appeared to just happen seamlessly. During this lecture you will go behind the scenes with the principal person who made the event “just happen” and hear about working with the British embassy and Buckingham Palace, protocol issues, what went well and perhaps an anecdote or two about breaches in protocol. Accompanying this highly entertaining lecture will be a slide show of the Queen’s visit.
Lecturer: William H. Leighty has a long history of service to the commonwealth of Virginia, most recently as chief of staff to Gov. Tim Kaine and former Gov. Mark Warner. Leighty has joined VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs as director of the Government Performance Initiative.
Photos: William H. Leighty (Queen Elizabeth) and Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (Mount Vernon)