Contemporary Issues Discussion Group

Kendal’s Contemporary Issues Discussion Group (CIDG) continues its weekly Thursday morning pursuit of learning and discussion.
On January 28 at 10:00 am, the group, which currently meets on Zoom, will hear from Ambassador James D. Bindenagel who will be on line from Bonn, Germany. He will talk on “Germany and the U.S.: Today and Tomorrow”

J.D. Bindenagel is a retired 30-year U.S. career diplomat and expert on Germany, where he served as deputy chief of mission in the U.S. Embassy, Bonn, from 1994 to 1997. His latest book, Germany from Peace to Power? was recently published by the Bonn University Press.

Previously, Ambassador Bindenagel served as the founding Henry Kissinger Professor at Bonn University. He is currently Senior Professor there and also a Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.

In 1999, Mr. Bindenagel was appointed by President Bill Clinton as U.S. Ambassador and Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues. He also served as Special U.S. Negotiator for “conflict diamonds.”

Following his diplomatic career, he was Vice President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and subsequently Vice President at DePaul University. Prior to his diplomatic career, he was assigned to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division in Germany.

Ambassador Bindenagel received the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award in 2001, the Commander’s Cross of the Federal Order of Merit from the President of Germany in 2001, and the Presidential Meritorious Service Award from President George W. Bush in 2002.

He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the President’s Circle of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the American Council on Germany and the American Institute of Contemporary German Studies. Mr.Bindenagel is also President of the Japan America Society of Chicago.

He holds an MA in Public Administration and an AB in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Residents who are not on the CIDG Zoom list, can be added by contacting Gene DuBow.

Fitness at Kendal

One of the most active and varied programs that take place at Kendal is its Fitness Program under the supervision of Cathy DiSomma.

Programs such as :

Morning Stretch and Balance with David (zoom), Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9:30-9:50 (week of Jan. 25 only)

Pilates with Regina (zoom) Monday and Wednesday 10:00-11:00

Yoga with Chris (live) Thursday 12:00-1:00

Zumba Gold with Amy (zoom) Friday 11:15-12:15

Chair Yoga with Chris LIVE! (new) Tuesday 12:00-12:30

Tai Chi with Robert (zoom) Tuesday 10:00-11:00, Thursday 11:15-12:15

Lunch Bands LIVE! Monday, Wednesday 12:30-1:00

Scalare Stair Climb LIVE! Wednesday 3:00-3:30

Cathy even writes a weekly Fitness Newsletter which contains helpful information about exercise and diet. She is willing and enthusiastic about mapping out individual fitness programs for residents. She is a great leader for a great program.

February/March Monday Night Programs

Kendal will continue its Monday Night 7:30 pm programs on Zoom during February and March:

Feb 1 Annual Memorial Service sponsored by
Loss Committee

Feb 8 No Program (Residents Council
Meeting in afternoon)

Feb 15 Local Charities Reports: RSHM Life
Center; Open Door Family Medical
Centers

Feb 22 Nicholas Meyer, award-winning
author, screenwriter and director
(and son of resident Leonore Meyer)

Mar 1 Louis Bauer: Nature into Art: the
Gardens of Wave Hill

Mar 8 No Program (Residents Council
Meeting in afternoon)

Mar 15 Professor Andrea Cotoranu: Artificial
Intelligence

Mar 29 Environmental Law Professor Nick
Robinson: The Next Pandemic Is Here

Pace University President to Speak January 25

Pace University President Marvin Krislov will speak at Kendal this month. His topic will be “Higher Education in the Pandemic.” Dr. Kislov’s presentation will take place on January 25 on Zoom.

On January 4, we learned from our local superintendent how elementary and high school students, faculty and administration adapted to restrictions caused by the COVID pandemic.

On Monday, January 25, at 7:30 pm, Pace University President Marvin Krislov will discuss the pandemic’s impact on higher education. His last Kendal appearance occurred on January 28, 2019, when he announced the start of a special partnership between Kendal and Pace University.

Prior to his Pace appointment in 2017, President Krislov served for 10 years as president of Oberlin College where he formed close ties with Kendal on Hudson’s sister institution Kendal at Oberlin. Prior to that, he was vice president and general counsel at the University of Michigan.

A Yale alumnus, he was named a Rhodes Scholar and earned master’s degrees at Oxford and Yale, along with a juris doctor degree at Yale Law School in 1988.

Founded in 1906 as a one-room accounting school, Pace is now one of the largest universities in New York State, enrolling over 13,600 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 175 majors and programs, across business, health care, computer science, humanities, education, science, law, and the arts. Its three campuses are located in Manhattan, Pleasantville and White Plains, home of its law school.

All Kendal residents will receive a Zoom invitation to hear Dr. Kislov’s presentation.

March Impressionism Course Announced

The Kendal Education Committee announced an important art course in March.

It will deal with American Impressionism and be led by Art historian and teaching artist Dr. Jill Kiefer on five Tuesdays, March 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, from 2 pm to 3 pm via Zoom.

Inspired by the novel approaches to painting modern life embodied in French Impressionism, American Impressionism adopted bright palettes and loose brushstrokes to capture the intimate beauty of everyday American life—although its painters took a far more structured approach than their French counterparts.

In this series, participants will examine key American Impressionists such as William Merritt Chase, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, and J. Alden Weir, among others, as well as the organizations and schools that were founded in support of the movement, which outlived American Impressionism’s popularity.

To sign up, please contact Fran Kelly.

Vaccine Update

Since announcing earlier that vaccines had arrived at Kendal, we can now happily report that clinics provided by CVS Pharmacy were held on January 19 and 20. As a result:

95 staff have been vaccinated

41 have received 2 doses

54 have received 1 dose

275 residents have been vaccinated

16 in Clearwater (skilled nursing)
(100% of those eligible), 2 doses

24 in Adirondack and Sunnyside (assisted-
living)(100% of census), 1 dose

235 in Independent Living, 1 dose

Upcoming Clinics

CVS will be on site again for three upcoming clinics in February. These clinics are to provide second doses or, in some cases, first doses for residents or staff who were ineligible on prior dates.

All eligible individuals will be notified when the next vaccination appointment will be.

The administrative process of getting everyone the needed doses was handled efficiently and effectively. Great thanks go to Ellen Ottstadt, Lisa Wacht, Briana Giuliano, Alisa Pontrelli and all the other staff whose efforts were outstanding.

Vaccines at Kendal

Vaccines to deal with Covid-19 have finally arrived at Kendal.

As of January 14, 41 staff members have received two doses, 46 additional staff have gotten their first dose and 16 Clearwater (Nursing Facility) residents have received both doses.

Next up are the residents in Assisted Living and Independent Living. Registrations for the vaccine have been completed. It is expected that the first shots will be given on January 19 and 20.

While there is a feeling of relief among most residents and staff, the strict regulations such as:
No outside visitors

No communal eating (Bistro closed)

No eating together in apartments

Masking, social distancing and aggressive
hand-washing

are still very much in effect.

While residents are hopeful that the vaccine will add to reducing the possibility of being infected by the virus, they fully understand that the stringent rules are what are keeping us safe at present.

Monday Night Programs

It has been a tradition at Kendal to have Monday night programs at 7:30 pm. When Covid-19 prevented in-person gatherings, the Education Committee moved them to Zoom. The quality of the speakers remains constant. The upcoming list of programs follows:

January 25 - Marvin Krislov, President, Pace University: “Postsecondary Education during the Pandemic”

February 1 - Annual Memorial Service sponsored by the Loss Committee

February 8 - No evening program (Residents Council Meeting in afternoon)

February 15 - Local Charities Committee Reports: RSHM Life Center; Open Door Family Medical Centers

February 22 - Nicholas Meyer, award-winning author, screenwriter and director

All residents will receive a Zoom invitation.

Questions about the programs should be addressed to Fran Kelly, Education Co-Chair.

January/February Courses

In addition to Monday night programs, the Education Committee offers a number of afternoon courses throughout the year. They usually start at 2:00 pm and run for about an hour. They are available by subscription only.

Currently scheduled are:

Tuesday, January 19, 26 - American Theater: Rejecting Realism (Kate Farrington)

Friday, January 29, February 5 - History of Paris (Edward Berenson)

Tuesday, February 2, 9, 16, 23 – Impact of Religion on Human Society (Jean-Marc Oppenheim et al.)

To sign up, please contact Fran Kelly.

Betty Friedan Birthday Webinar

Kendal resident Muriel Fox is producing an historic Zoom webinar, airing at 7:00 pm Thursday, February 4, to celebrate the 100th birthday of Betty Friedan, mother of the modern women’s movement. 

Titled “Betty Friedan’s 100th Birthday: Moving The Legacy Forward,” the one-hour program salutes Friedan as the author of the world-changing book The Feminine Mystique, and the founder and first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

In addition to Muriel, who was a NOW co-founder, speakers will include U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, New York Times columnist Gail Collins, and Friedan’s son and daughter. Invitations to the free webinar can be obtained from the website at: www.veteranfeministsofamerica.com 

The program will also be accessible through Facebook and YouTube.