OSI Talks

Is genetically modified food dangerous, unnatural, and immoral? Or is it safe and beneficial for us and our environment? This contentious issue has caused legal battles in many countries, with biotech and agricultural companies on one side and environmentalist groups on the other. Horticulture graduate and OSI fellow Angelica Walker-Werth will explore arguments and evidence from both sides of this fraught debate.

At the dawn of the 20th century, John Singer Sargent was among the world's most admired painters. The most sought-after portraitist in Europe and America, he painted such renowned figures as Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry James and set a new standard for elegance.

Yet he was also a cutting-edge innovator whose painting Madame X sparked a national scandal when it was displayed in Paris. Within a few years of his death, however, leading intellectuals had come to view Sargent as a contemptible relic of an unsophisticated age.

In this presentation, Timothy Sandefur will take a new look at Sargent's art and discuss why Sargent came to be despised for his virtues—and why his art is experiencing a long-overdue revival today.

A healthy, successful life, like a healthy, successful business, requires a central purpose—a central aim that animates and motivates you, a productive purpose that pays the bills and helps you to profit and thrive.

In this session, Rajshree Agarwal will present an approach to your work-life called My Enterprise (ME) Inc. Using methods and tools of successful business leaders, ME Inc. positions you as the CEO of your life, helps you discover or further develop your "why"—or the central purpose in life— and helps you leverage your core skills and capabilities, the "how."

Come and learn or deepen your understanding of the importance of a central purpose and how to leverage it to enhance your life. You'll expand your knowledge of how to pursue such a purpose creatively by marshaling your assets and developing win-win relationships.