Educational Seminars

Seminars are one of the important parts of the WISR learning experience.

The Seminar/Announcement monthly flyer covers two plus months of events. It is posted above and sent out by email to the WISR list at the beginning of each month.

WISR seminars and events are accessible online through the use of Zoom by videoconference and/or telephone.

Most often, seminars are scheduled on Saturday mornings from 10am to 12 or 1pm. 

We normally schedule at least one Marriage and Family Counseling seminar per month; one practicum for MFT students as well as at least one Interdisciplinary Seminar. 

Over the years, seminars have addressed professional and community leadership, included documentary films, writing workshops, as well as current events depending on what interests students, alumni, faculty and the larger community. In addition, they often include instruction and updates on the use of the ever-changing Google Workspace and related distance learning technology. 

Faculty encourage and facilitate student efforts to create seminars and study groups on topics of interest to them.

At the beginning of each seminar, we often give each participant a minute to introduce themselves, and if they wish, to share a bit about themselves. Those wishing to inform others of the personal pronoun they wish to have used for themselves, are encouraged to do so, when introducing themselves.

At WISR, we intend to create a learning environment that is safe, and supportive of mutually respectful dialogue and collaboration, and curiosity and openness in learning.  We welcome people from all walks of life and of many, varied values and political beliefs, who share WISR’s commitment to affirmation of diversity values:

Western Institute for Social Research admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability in the admissions or in the administration of its educational policies, scholarships and loan programs and all other school administered programs. WISR actively encourages interested members of ethnic and racial minority groups, women, and other underserved persons to discover whether its programs and methods fit their special, personal and community interests and goals.

In addition, WISR seeks actively to build an inclusive and diverse, including a multiracial, multicultural, learning and teaching community, in which the central values are built on the worth and distinctiveness of each person’s background, going beyond our differences to celebrate qualities and needs that we all share as humans. In building and nurturing such a community, WISR affirms the importance of free and open dialogue, and to that end, students, faculty, staff, alumni and Board are all expected to 1) refrain from making comments that would infringe on the safety, dignity and respect for any group, and 2) welcome assistance in learning how to improve their interactions with groups with whom they are less experienced or comfortable.

WISR core values include:

• Developing a multicultural, inclusive perspective. This means developing and using inclusive and multicultural perspectives to inform one’s purposes, and one’s views of social issues and challenges and opportunities in one’s chosen fields or arenas of endeavor—profession, workplace, community.
• Developing a sense of empathy, compassion and community toward, and with, others.
• Appreciating and understanding the broad spectrum of perspectives and consciousness, and how those arise out of people’s culture, gender, economic background, religious and sexual orientations.
• A culture of learning that respects and promotes the dignity of every person.
• The belief that no individual or group may rightfully prosper at the expense of others.
• The use of language that conveys respect for persons whose gender identity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, economic background, or political interests may differ from our own.

All WISR seminars and events are recorded, and photos and video clips, and sometimes entire videos of WISR seminars may be posted on WISR’s website, on WISR’s Facebook Page, or on WISR’s YouTube Channel. We publicly share some videos and clips to promote WISR’s educational content to the wider public.

In addition, the entire video of each seminar is, with some exceptions, accessible to WISR students, faculty and staff through WISR’s online courses.

By participating in a WISR seminar or other event, you are giving WISR permission to use photos or videos of your participation in these seminars and events. However, if you have strong concerns about a particular portion of the seminar in which you made comments, you may, within 24 hours, request that we remove that portion of your comments.

In addition, if you want us to edit out your image and entire participation from one, or even all videos, or photos, of WISR seminars we will honor such requests.