For the final Porch Discussion of the season, the board of trustees fittingly invited Institution President Thomas M. Becker to speak during Week Nine’s presidential-themed week.
The discussion took place on the Hultquist Center porch Wednesday morning and covered the weekly themes and committed speakers for the 2013 Season.
Audience members then asked about the process of selecting topics and speakers and whether Chautauquans are involved.
Chautauqua Institution President Thomas M. Becker said the Institution’s strategic plan extends its horizons to 2018 at Wednesday morning’s first Trustee Porch Discussion of the season.
“The plan itself requires that we continue to study and continue to discover the key elements to this and then respond to them accordingly,” Becker said.
Early stages of the plan, adopted by the board of trustees, allowed the Institution to learn lessons about the value of cost and revenue that were garnered from the deep analysis, he said.
Sherra Babcock, director of the Department of Education, received mixed reviews on the morning lecture series from those attending Week Eight’s Trustee Porch Discussion.
One attendee suggested the lecture themes each week are becoming too broad, while another said they had become too specific.
“It’s wonderful to have different points of view about that,” she said in response.
The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, director of the Department of Religion, kept the conversation to interfaith dialogue within the strategic plan at Wednesday’s Trustee Porch Discussion.
Marty Merkley is a maestro, a magician, a juggler — but not in the literal sense.
At least, that’s how Jill Bellowe, Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees member, introduced him at Week Five’s Trustee Porch Discussion on Wednesday.
Filling in the fiscal gaps occupied Wednesday morning’s Trustee Porch Discussion at the Hultquist Center.
Sebby Baggiano, vice president and treasurer, and Geof Follansbee, vice president for development and Chautauqua Foundation chief executive officer, both spoke on the topic of “Financial Sustainability.”
George Murphy, Chautauqua’s vice president and chief marketing officer, said he wants Chautauqua to “own” surrounding marketing areas and “attack” problems at the Main Gate, but most of all, he wants to draw people in.
Murphy spoke to nearly 60 people Wednesday on the Hultquist Center porch about the Institution’s recent marketing strategies and the effects of the WNED documentary “Chautauqua: An American Narrative.”
