Young Connections - Graduates 40 and under.

See the events designed especially for you in the last two sections of this newsletter! 

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Annual Meeting/Awards Luncheon
Asilomar 2026
Asilomar 2025 synopsis
Board
Book Club
Crocker Museum
Native Plants
President’s letter
Young Connections
Upcoming Events

From the President

The 38th annual PBKNCA Asilomar Conference in Pacific Grove was a remarkable event, showcasing diverse thought-provoking lectures. Topics included academic “impartiality,” AI and collaboration, human rights and immigration, spiritual ecology, exoplanet biosignatures, computational linguistics in medicine, canine biogerontology, and early modern literature. The speakers offered a rich intellectual experience, including a moving personal story and even live music. The audience participated in in-depth Q&A sessions, and conversations continued over meals and on walks along the beach.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all participants, including our esteemed speakers, dedicated volunteers, and especially Deirdre Frontczak, our Asilomar Chair for the past 12 years. Special thanks also go to Mike Sitzer, our sound engineer, and Barry Haskell, responsible for bookings and nametags.

Preparations for next year's Asilomar conference are already underway (page 3). Following last year’s successful in-person awards luncheon, we are excited to continue this cherished tradition. This event allows us to celebrate our student scholarship recipients and Teaching Excellence Awardees (page 3). I am pleased to announce that our recent call for volunteers has been met with enthusiasm, and we’re welcoming new Phi Betes to our board and committees. Thank you all!

Lastly, Serena Broome showcased Asilomar in the January issue of PBK’s “The Key Reporter.” Her article provides an excellent overview of our conference and retreat.

In this rapidly changing political and social climate, we at PBKNCA remain steadfast in our commitment to advocating for education in the liberal arts and sciences. Since its founding in 1776, PBK has been dedicated to nurturing well-rounded individuals with critical thinking and communication skills. These skills are crucial to upholding our highest ideals. As Phi Betes, we stand firm in our values. We understand the importance of shaping thoughtful, engaged citizens. We take pride in being part of a community that champions freedom of thought and celebrates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.

Thank you for being there.

Warmly, Melissa Xanthe Stevens, President

Upcoming Events

Note: The price stated for events is for current PBKNCA members and their guests; elapsed or non-members will pay a surcharge. Full event information, and means of credit card payment, are available on our website https://pbknca.com/Events/.

If you won’t be able to make an event, contact O’Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com ASAP, or if it is the day of the event call him at 510-207-8761, as there may be others on the waiting list who will then be able to take your place.

No-shows do NOT receive a ref­­­und! Cancellations probably do.

Sign up for events at https://pbknca.com/Events/ To register for an event if you don’t have Internet access,

please contact O’Neil Dillon, cell 510-207-8761.

 California Impressionism and Beyond, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento. March 1

Each year, our PBK association holds its annual conference at Asilomar in Pacific Grove. What many may not realize is we are a stone’s throw from the heart of the California Impressionist movement of the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Many of the masterpieces of this art movement are on display at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, including works of E. Charlton Fortune, Granville Redmond, William Wendt and many others. Many of their painting are of landscapes and seascapes in and near Asilomar.

Come join us for a docent-led tour of this collection and other California artists who came after, including Wayne Theibaud, Gregory Kondos and others.

Date: Saturday March 1 at 10 a.m.

Price: PBKNCA Members and guests $20, all others $25

Information and reservations at https://pbknca.com/event-5941299

Native Plant Extravaganza and Picnic, Berkeley, April 05, 2025. 10 a.m.

We return to the Skyline Garden's project, this time at high bloom, then go on to Orinda to visit one of our docent's remarkable native plant gardens, where we will have our picnic lunch.  Skyline Gardens is a 1.5-mile trail running South from the steam trains at Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley to Sibley Volcanic Regional Reserve.  It is on EBMUD watershed land.

Skyline Gardens is an East Bay Botanic hotspot for native plants, with more than 280 species. 

This event will be led by two docents and will not only be a Spring wildflower walk, but an education on restoring nature.

Date:  Saturday April. 5th

Price: NCA members and their guests $20. All others $25

Information and reservations at https://pbknca.com/event-6009621

Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon, Novato, May 4, 2025, 12- 5 p.m.

This is your opportunity to meet the outstanding scholars and professors whom we have selected to receive our awards, as well as to mingle with your fellow Phi Betes.  Just when you might have lost faith in the future of liberal arts education, seeing and hearing these awardees will act as an inspiring restorative.

Since the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley is no longer available, we found a great place. It is reasonably priced, has plenty of parking, and is easily accessible via the freeway. We are still working out the menu and other details.  You will be receiving additional information about this event via email.

Date and Time: Sunday, May 4, from 12 to 5 - please mark your calendars and plan to join us then

Location: The Key Room, 1385 Hamilton Parkway, Novato.

Price: Has not yet been determined

39th Annual Asilomar Conference Feb. 13–16, 2026. Save the weekend!

A preview of 2026 speakers, who span arts and humanities, natural and social sciences, will be

posted as we progress. For more information, contact Deirdre Frontczak, (707) 494-6173,

deirdre@thesheengroup.com

We are delighted to invite you to share in a weekend of learning, dialogue, and fellowship at the Asilomar Conference Center on the spectacular Monterey Coast.

Throughout the conference, attendees retreat to a historic and celebrated compound (now a state park) whose Craftsman architecture dates to the early 20th century. Between lectures, participants relax in the rustic lodgings, enjoy local wines, explore spectacular coastal trails, visit the Butterfly Grove Inn to see the beautiful Monarch Butterflies, and chat by fireplaces both indoors and out, taking pleasure in the company of people whose love of learning matches their own. While attendees immerse themselves in the natural beauty, a key draw is the opportunity to engage informally throughout the weekend with noted speakers in arts, humanities and natural and social sciences, whose reputations often precede them.

Price: Registration is $150 for members and their guests, $180 Non-PBKNCA. Room and all meals will be about $680. Register online at https://pbknca.com/event-6076572, or use the coupon on the last page.

Registering now will help us pay the deposit for next year and make more funds available for scholarships. If you change your mind, you can get a full refund up to December 10.

Our speakers were:

 

Friday night: Brian Soucek, J.D., Ph.D., PBK; U.C. Davis

The Opinionated University 

The idea that universities should stay neutral on political or social issues has taken hold at schools from UCLA to Harvard, Michigan to Texas. But neutrality is a mirage.

Saturday morning: Tim Bowman, PBK; The Work Innovation Lab

Cracking the Collaboration Code

This talk explored recent discoveries about why, in the wake of technology advances at work, collaboration and teamwork seem so broken – and what we can do about it.

Saturday afternoon: Julio Gutierrez, J.D. Tu Brujula Legal, P.C. [bruja is witch]

An Immigrant’s Journey

This is the story of the author, a formerly undocumented immigrant, and now an attorney – and an exploration of how we Americans can work to ensure that those still on the path can cross safely to the other side.

Saturday night: Doug Christie, Ph.D. PBK Visiting Scholar for 2025;

Loyola Marymount University

 Thinking Like A Mountain: Contemplative Ecology In The Anthropocene

The pioneering environmental thinker Aldo Leopold once asked: can we learn to “think like a mountain?” Can we learn to recenter our thinking beyond our own narrow concerns and within, rather than above or apart from, the living world?

Sunday morning: Rebecca Jensen-Clem, Ph.D.; U.C. Santa Cruz

Exoplanet Imaging with Extremely Large Telescopes 

Astronomers know that our galaxy is teeming with planets, more numerous than the stars. So far, only extremely young, massive worlds have been directly imaged, while older, smaller objects like the Earth remain hidden in the glare of their suns. 

 

Sunday afternoon: Seth Zupanc, PBK; Ph.D. Candidate, PBKNCA Scholarship Awardee

The Power and Perils of Computational Linguistics in Medicine

Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of computer science, artificial intelligence and linguistics. Seth will discuss its application to two of the most humanistic fields within medicine: palliative care and psychotherapy

Sunday night: Franklin Utchen, D.V.M.; PBK; University of Illinois

The Fountain of Woof

This talk delved into the field of biogerontology (the science of aging) as it applies to our dogs, presenting practical strategies for enhancing the health and lifespan of our canine companions – and perhaps, of ourselves too. 

 Monday Morning: Esther Yu, Ph.D., PBK; Stanford University; PBKNCA Teaching Excellence Awardee

Early Modern Literature and the Modern University

This talk explored Yu’s book in progress, Experiencing the Novel: The Genre of Tender Conscience, showed why we should reconsider the early British novel, the appearance of Greek literature in Europe after 1453, the English Revolution, and the emergence of modern liberalism.