Joe Berg Seminars
Description, Mission Statement and History
The Joe Berg Society is a prestigious academic society which provides
twelve yearly seminars between September and May in each the Humanities
and Sciences. Membership extends from the middle of the Sophomore year
to the middle of the Senior year. Speakers are college professors and
professionals from the community who want to share their fields with outstanding
high school students. It is an honor to be nominated for admission.
The two year program provides 90-minute evening seminars presented by
college professors, MD's, PhD's, engineers, artists, actors, authors,
dancers, musicians, and architects, as well as performances and tours
at the Jacksonville Symphony, the Jacksonville Zoo, museums, laboratories,
hospitals, clinics, theaters, and aboard Navy vessels. The volunteer speakers
are carefully selected for their expertise and ability to communicate
with students. Science topics include biological, physical, and chemical
sciences, both theoretical and applied, as well as math and computer technology.
Humanities seminars include music, drama, the visual arts, dance, literature,
philosophy, history, political science, and introductions to foreign cultures.
The Jacksonville community has been generously supportive of the program.
The Research Laboratory at Mayo Clinic invites Joe Berg juniors and seniors
to be summer interns with their PhD's, a phenomenal opportunity for high
schoolers.
Mission Statement
The Joe Berg Society of Jacksonville presents challenging
evening seminars and programs for outstanding public and independent
high school students led by experts in various fields of the sciences
and humanities. Participation in the society promotes independent thinking
and a love of learning while enlarging the students' awareness of career
options and current societal issues and allowing association with many
of the other best students in Jacksonville.
Beginning
The Joe Berg Society Science Seminars began providing enrichment to
high school students in Skokie, Illinois, in 1957. It began as a challenge
to encourage science and engineering students at the high school level
through science projects and fair competitions in response to the launch
of Sputnik by the Soviet Union. In 1960, the program came to Jacksonville,
Florida, under the sponsorship of the Southside Kiwanis Club and the
Duval County Public Schools. Here, in 1963, a parallel Humanities Seminar
began, and in 1983 independent school students were invited to participate.
In 2006, the University of North Florida College of Arts & Sciences
and the College of Education and Human Services Education are co-sponsors
of the Joe Berg Seminar program, now a venerable Jacksonville institution.
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