Society of Skeptics

Skeptics Highlights

The Society of Skeptics has been in continuous existence since 1977 and is one of the premier high school lecture series in the country. The series was an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1962, and has served as a forum for the discussion and debate of important national and international issues. Over the past 25 years, under the tutelage of Dr. Martin Miller, the weekly lecture series has featured a wide variety of speakers who are engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. One thing is certain: they all succeed in generating healthy discussion in the Blair classrooms and around campus. A selection of speakers from the past 10 years follows:

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL FIGURES

• Governor Tom Kean, former Governor of New Jersey: “Issues in Education”
• Mayor Brett Schundler, Mayor of Jersey City and Gubernatorial Candidate for NJ: “The Voucher System”
• Yao Yao Chen,Vice Consul, People’s Republic of China: “China’s Relationship with the United States”
• Jahnbaz Almas, former Vice-Consul/Afghanistan: “A Critical Analysis of the Taliban”
• Albie Sachs, political activist in African National Congress: “The Future of South Africa”

HEROES

• Veronica DeNegri, Chilean Human Rights Activist (A former “Disappeared”): “ The 1973 Overthrow of Salvador Allende by General Pinochet: Torture and Murder in Chile.”
• Dith Pran, Cambodian Holocaust Survivor and author of The Killing Fields.
• Professor Ningkun Wu, Survivor of Mao’s Cultural Revolution and Author: “A Single Tear: A Family’s Persecution, Love, and Endurance in Communist China

ENTREPRENEURS

• John C. Bogle ’47, Founder, Vanguard Funds: “The Creation of the Vanguard Funds”
• John Kennedy, Founder of Cornet International: “On Being an Entrepreneur”
• Sean Starke, International Coffee Dealer: “The Politics and Economics of How Coffee Gets to Your Table”
• Scott Turner, Founder, President and CEO, HMHTTC Response Inc.: “Dealing with Hazardous Materials.” Entrepreneur of the Year (New Jersey)

JOURNALISTS

• J.B. Browning, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal: “The Life and Times of a Reporter”
• Mike Vaccaro, Sport Columnist, The New York Post: “The Current Sport Scene: Questions and Answers”
• Consuelo Mack, CNBC Anchorwoman: “Wall Street Issues”
• Tony Kornheiser, ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption (PTI): “Answering All Sports Questions”
• Lou Dobbs, CNN TV Lou Dobbs Tonight: “The Economy in Crisis…Outsourcing Issues, etc.”

SOLDIERS

• Chris Fussell, Navy SEAL: “A SEAL’s View of the Attack on America”
• Ted Wenner ’96, Captain, US Army: “The War in Iraq”
• Walter Carter, author: No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love: “D-Day June 1944 and the Normandy Campaign”
  

POLITICAL ADVISORS/OPERATIVES

• Bob Weiner ’65, White House Drug Policy Office’s Director of Public Affairs: “The War on Drugs Has Worked”
• Peter Sichel, former CIA Station Chief: “The Role of Intelligence Agencies in The War on Terror”
• Dr. Stephen Halper, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State: “The Crisis in Kosovo”
• Raymond Burghardt ’63, U.S Ambassador to Vietnam: “The Sandinistas and the Contras in Iran”
• Doug Bandow, The Cato Institute: “The Constitutional Rights of Accused Terrorists”

ATHLETES

• Marty Glickman, US Olympic sprinter and former ABC Sportscaster: “The 1936 Olympics”
• Jumping Johnny Wilson, former Negro League baseball player and Harlem Globetrotter: “Barriers to African Americans in Professional Baseball and Basketball”
• Marcus O’Sullivan, Villanova Track and Cross Country Coach, Former Irish Olympian, Two-time NCAA mile champion, World Champion and indoor mile World Record Holder: “An Irish Runner’s Story: Coming to America”

ACADEMICS/SCHOLARS/SCIENTISTS

• Dr. Rado Pribic, Professor, Lafayette College, “The Cost of German Re-Unification”
• Dr. Peter Mandaville ’90, Professor, George Mason University: “US Policy in the Middle East: Bin Laden to Hussein”
• Dr. Stephen Bronner, Professor, Rutgers University: “The Case Against War with Iraq”
• Dr. Eric Foner, Professor, Columbia University: “African Americans and the Declaration of Independence”
• Dr. Richard Lutz, Professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: “Journey into the Abyss”
• Dr. Josh Sanborn, Professor, Lafayette College: “The Current Russia... Oligarchs and Oil Politics”
• Damon Hostin ’91, Team Sequence Leader, The Celera Corportation: “The Genome Project”

Past speakers have also included social activists, philanthropists, political organizers, scientists, performers, Blair alumni and Blair faculty.

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