Lunch With Honors: Winter 2020

Matthew will be discussing how he pursued a career as a creative writer outside of the academy, writing poems while working his “day job” in corporate communications. As an undergrad in the Honors Program (Class of 1996), Matthew thought that he had his career path all mapped out. As an aspiring poet, he would do what he saw other young writers do: pursue an MFA, then teach creative writing. But through an internship with News and Information Services (NIS), the university’s media relations office, Matthew discovered how he could use his writing skills in a different way: helping innovative organizations and people tell their stories.

What he had initially thought was a temporary line of work—as an intern in college, then working at a PR agency during grad school—has turned into a wonderful career. Today Matthew is the marketing communications manager at Paul Hastings, a leading global law firm. He writes (and edits) articles, newsletters, brochures, annual reviews and video scripts. Over the years Matthew has also written (and published) seven collections of poetry, including my new book, The Grace of Distance.

Matthew Thorburn is the author of seven collections of poetry, including The Grace of Distance and Dear Almost. His writing has been recognized with the Lascaux Prize in Collected Poetry and the Witter Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress, as well as two Hopwood Awards during his years at Michigan. He works in corporate communications in New York City and lives near Princeton, New Jersey with his wife and son.

Matthew will be reading from his book at the Literati Bookstore at 7:00p on the 24th. Learn more about the event here.

Anu Partanen is the author of “The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life.” After working as a journalist in Finland for many years she moved to the United States where she was an independent writer for more than a decade. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic. She has been a regular commentator on the BBC, and has worked at Fortune Magazine as a visiting reporter through the Innovation Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University. In Finland she has held many positions ranging from managing editor to columnist, features writer to news reporter, lecturer to on-air commentator. Her book “The Nordic Theory of Everything” compares everyday life, social structures, and entrepreneurship in the United States and in the Nordic region. Currently she is a senior advisor at Nordic West Office, a consultancy based in Helsinki, Finland. 

Please come prepared with questions for Anu.

Thompson is the author of "Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction," host of the podcast Crazy/Genius, and staff writer at The Atlantic. From the book's Amazon description:

Nothing "goes viral". If you think a popular movie, song, or app came out of nowhere to become a word-of-mouth success in today's crowded media environment, you're missing the real story. Each blockbuster has a secret history - of power, influence, dark broadcasters, and passionate cults that turn some new products into cultural phenomena. Even the most brilliant ideas wither in obscurity if they fail to connect with the right network, and the consumers that matter most aren't the early adopters but rather their friends, followers, and imitators - the audience of your audience.

In his groundbreaking investigation, Atlantic senior editor Derek Thompson uncovers the hidden psychology of why we like what we like and reveals the economics of cultural markets that invisibly shape our lives. Shattering the sentimental myths of hit making that dominate pop culture and business, Thompson shows quality is insufficient for success, nobody has "good taste", and some of the most popular products in history were one bad break away from utter failure. It may be a new world, but there are some enduring truths to what audiences and consumers want. People love a familiar surprise: a product that is bold yet sneakily recognizable.

All businesses, artists, and people looking to promote themselves and their work want to know what makes some works so successful while others disappear. Hit Makers is a magical mystery tour through the last century of pop culture blockbusters and the most valuable currency of the 21st century - people's attention. 

Dr. Parag Patil is a professor of Neurology and Neurological Surgery at UMMS. He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from MIT, his MD and PhD from the Medical Scientist Training Program at Johns Hopkins, and completed his neurosurgery residency at Duke University. Before pursuing his medical training, however, Dr. Patil took time off to attend the University of Oxford for two years as a Marshall Scholar where he read philosophy, politics, and economics. In this session Dr. Patil will share his experiences at Oxford and his decade of experience on the Marshall Scholarship selection committee. (The Marshall Scholarship is one of the most prestigious academic scholarships in the world, along with the Rhodes and Gates-Cambridge Scholarships. It provides full funding for two years of postgraduate study at any university in the UK. Other notable Marshall Scholars include LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, novelist Nicole Kraus, Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Neil Gorsuch, and psychologist Angela Duckworth. You can read more about the Marshall Scholarship and U-M's most recent Marshall Scholars at https://lsa.umich.edu/onsf.)

Thank you for your interest in our Lunch with Honors with Dr. John Burkhardt. Following University guidance, this event is canceled. We are working to reschedule for next term. Thank you for understanding. 

Let curiosity lead the way! Dr. John Burkhardt will join us to discuss the impact of curiosity as a driving force behind positive change, career decisions and life choices. No stranger to an unexpected path in life, Dr. Burkhardt will be discussing his passion for education and helping others along with the balancing act of life in the emergency department and academic responsibilities in teaching and research.

His own journey began in the Honors Program with a History major at U-M. Dr. Burkhardt then moved on to Medical School at Case Western and chose to return to Michigan for his residency in emergency medicine. It was during residency that his unexpected career path commenced as he decided to make medical education (an MA and Ph.D. at Michigan) a large focus of his career in addition to work as a practitioner.

Please join us to learn more about Dr. John Burkhardt’s path and why he is passionate about the work he does in medical education toward increased accountability and equity.

Biography

John C. Burkhardt is an Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine and Learning Health Sciences. In addition to Dr. Burkhardt’s clinical work in Emergency Medicine, he has earned both a Master’s and Ph.D. in Higher Education in order to expand his quantitative and policy analytic skills to address large scale professional education issues. His research focuses on critically reevaluating medical education policy to increase fairness, equity, and ultimately address health care disparities. This interest is grounded in a commitment to bring better alignment across key components of medical education so that, as a profession, we can more fully meet societal needs and the needs of our patients. His scholarship has included areas such as recruitment, admissions, selection of residents, curriculum, and assessment. He has chosen these areas due to a belief that there is a current mismatch between our stated goals of inclusion in the profession and our preparation of physicians to meet looming needs in areas of specialization (especially primary care and emergency care), the documented needs of traditionally underserved medical populations, and the way we select, recruit, and train medical students and residents. To address these issues in a novel manner, he also has expanded his research to include examining the effect of educational diversity on health care delivery in order to reconceptualize medical education as an underutilized lever in healthcare disparities amelioration.

Areas of Interest

Research and scholarly interests: Academic and medical specialty career interest, admissions and resident selection processes, career development, educational policy, pipeline issues, public policy, health care disparities, and social justice

Subject-matter expertise: quantitative methodology, large-scale secondary data usage in research, educational policy analysis

Other professional highlights: 

• Admissions Chair and Faculty, Master of Health Professions Education program
• Director of Resident Research and Scholarly Development, Department of Emergency Medicine
• Co-Director, Path of Excellence: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Education Fellow
• RISE (Research, Innovation, Scholarship, Education) Fellowship, University of Michigan Medical School