Retirement group hosts lecture series on ethics

Retirees looking for some intellectual stimulation can learn about ethical issues involving politics, business and media during the upcoming Learning in Retirement: Aerobics for the Mind program lecture series, "Ethical Issues in the Public Eye."

The topic especially is pertinent and timely in light of a recent University task force that was formed to explore U-M's role in grappling with ethical issues, says Ann Tai, the program's staff coordinator.

The Learning in Retirement program, housed in the Turner Senior Resource Center (TSRC), usually attracts more than 150 people to its lectures, Tai says.

With about 9,000 people age 65 or older living in Ann Arbor, Tai says it is important to have opportunities for senior citizens to not only keep their minds active, but also participate in outside activities.

"It's just like any muscle," she says. "You've got to exercise your brain and use it or lose it."

There are about 600 members of the Learning in Retirement program, which started in 1987. Many members come to the lectures from as far away as Livingston, Oakland and western Wayne counties.

The program's previous lecture series highlighted little-known topics about the state of Michigan, including its fish, lighthouses and role in the Underground Railroad.

The "Ethical Issues in the Public Eye" series includes six lectures scheduled for every Thursday starting Feb. 24. Lectures run 10-11:30 a.m. and are held at the Best Western Executive Conference Center, 2900 Jackson Rd. in Ann Arbor.

The fee is $25 for all six lectures. Attendees also must pay an annual $15 membership to attend the lecture series.

Each lecture is about an hour long and includes a question and answer period. The ethics lecture series includes the following topics and speakers:

• Feb. 24, "Evolution of the Moral Code," Brian Malley, lecturer in the psychology and anthropology departments

• March 3, "Corporate Corruption," David Hess, assistant professor of business law

• March 10, "Money, Politics and the Public Interest," John R. Chamberlin, professor of public policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

• March 17, "Media: The Trouble is Money," Charles R. Eisendrath, director of the Knight-Wallace Fellows program for journalists

• March 24, "Role of History in Modern Bioethics," Martin S. Pernick, history professor

• March 31, "Does Might Make Right? Ethics in International Relations," David Singer, professor emeritus of political science.

For more information about TSRC, call (734) 998-9351 weekdays 9 a.m.-2 p.m. or visit http://www.med.umich.edu/geriatrics/tsrc/.

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