By Mike Rosso
Since 2003, a dedicated group of area volunteers has been helping to enhance the lives of intellectually-curious regional citizens, and they’ve been doing it free of charge.
It began in 2002, when four Chaffee County couples decided to bring interesting speakers to the area. They began telling their friends about the idea and the Collegiate Peaks Forum Series (CPFS) was born.
The group decided their lives would be enriched by investigating the challenging questions raised by the interrelationship of philosophy, religion and science through academic stimulation, related discussions and their ensuing insights. To that end, notable speakers and scholars active in these disciplines would be invited to speak, offer their published works and engage in constructive dialogue.
From the start, the topics have focused on science, religion and philosophy and the way that they interact, said William McQueen, president of the CPFS board. The board attempts to integrate both science and religion in the same lecture, as they did in 2013 when they invited Dr. Peter Hess, who serves as Director of Outreach to Religious Communities with the National Center for Science Education in Oakland, California. He helps to promote dialogue at the interface between science and religion, particularly in the areas of evolutionary biology and climate change.
This year the board is presenting Dr. Matthew Brown, director of the Center for Values in Medicine, Science and Technology at the University of Texas at Dallas, who will speak on Ethics in Medicine, Science and Technology. The board is not afraid to present controversial lecturers and in the past have featured talks on such topics as global warming and fracking.
A 2011 lecture by Dr. Temple Grandin, a prominent and widely cited proponent of the rights of autistic persons and of animal welfare, drew over 600 attendees. Another big hit was a lecture on the Snowmastadon, presented that same year by Dr. Kirk Johnson of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and held at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville. (This author was in attendance and was thoroughly informed and entertained).
Lectures are held through the Upper Arkansas Valley in community centers, schools, museums and churches. Admission is always free. The average attendance for each lecture is between 150 and 250.
The process to choose speakers involves starting a list based upon recommendations of the current board and past members, as well as friends. Often the list might be two years out, and each June a special meeting is held to sort the choices and decide whom to invite and how to schedule the lectures. Sometimes a board member may have a connection with a particular speaker, but often the lecturers are cold-called after they’ve been discovered via television, magazines or the internet.
The lectures are mostly financed by individual local supporters, but recently the CPFS have had help from area small businesses, as well as grants from larger business supporters, according to McQueen. Larger donors are given more exposure via the website, lecture sponsorship and special recognition. The Buena Vista Chamber offers the group office space for meetings and helps with insurance and mailing discounts. The board is seeing a steady improvement in fundraising efforts and is spending more time each year to find and choose lecturers. Their goal is to continue to improve the quality and variety of speakers and attract more attendees every season.
The 2014 lineup includes topics as diverse as the debate over the age of the Grand Canyon, the Southern Civil Rights Movement, and violence in the Bible, among others.
Their website, www.collegiatepeaksforum.org, lists upcoming speakers, past lectures, profiles of Leadville, Buena Vista, Fairplay and Salida, as well as a list of business and personal donors and a contributor button. The CPFS also welcomes lecture suggestions from readers of Colorado Central. They can be reached at 719-395-7807 or by email at: president@collegiatepeaksforum.org.
