McPherson College to offer a weekly summer webinar series

McPHERSON, KAN. - McPherson College, the only college in America offering a four-year bachelor’s degree program in automotive restoration technology, announced the launch of a webinar series called “Wheels of Change: How the Car Automobile Shaped Our Lives.” This six-week summer series focuses on the people, innovations, and the art that helped shape the automotive industry and will feature car-world insiders from around the country.

The first webinar is June 25 at 12 p.m. CDT, with the topic, Four Epic Road Trips that Upended the World. Space is limited, so each week’s webinar will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Online registration is on the college website at https://www.mcpherson.edu/autorestoration/wheelsofchange/.

McPherson College’s automotive restoration program started in 1976 and has become a nationally recognized and award-winning leader in automotive education. The program offers students experience outside of the classroom at some of the most prestigious car events, with 85% of students participating in internships at museums, private collections, and shops across the United States and Germany over the past five years. These institutions include Hagerty, Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, Rad Rides by Troy, and RM Sotheby’s, among others.

“Wheels of Change will spotlight our college’s uniqueness as a leader in the auto industry while providing participants dynamic conversation with special guests,” said Amanda Gutierrez, vice president for automotive restoration at McPherson College. “Professor Yohn is well-known for his knowledgeable, engaging, and fun instruction on the evolution of the automobile and its impact on our social and cultural development.”

Yohn, chair of McPherson College’s Department of History and Politics, will serve as host and instructor for the six webinars. For more than 20 years, Professor Yohn has taught courses on the social history of the automobile at McPherson College and has led student study trips to Europe and South America. His next teaching adventure is a “Cars and Castles” tour of Europe.

“Wheels of Change” will cover a wide variety of topics, including how the automobile liberated women, the creation of mega auto corporations, and how the former General Motors executive Harley Earl revolutionized and democratized automotive designs. The full schedule is online at https://www.mcpherson.edu/autorestoration/wheelsofchange/ and below:

June 25 - Four Epic Road Trips that Upended the World: Bertha Benz, Ransom Olds, Horatio Nelson Jackson, & Alice Ramsey. Guest: Kyle Smith, McPherson College alumni and associate editor at Hagerty

July 2 - Paving the Way for the Automobile: Roads, steam omni-busses, bicycles, and the entrepreneurs behind them. Guest TBA

July 9 - Thar be Giants in Them Thar Hills! Henry Ford, Billy Durant, and the megacorporation. Guest: Bob Casey, retired curator of transportation, Henry Ford Museum

July 16 - The Road to Perdition: How the automobile liberated women and captivated teenagers. Guests: Abbey Paulsen – high school junior restoring (and driving) a Model T and Tabetha Hammer, McPherson College alumna and director of Greenwich Concours

July 23 - The Great War: Industrial pacifism, mobilization, and mechanization. Guest: Casey Maxon, McPherson College alumni and historian at Historic Vehicle Association

July 30 - Art for the People: How Harley Earl and automotive styling democratized beauty. Guest: Donald Osborne, host of recurring segments of “Assess & Caress with Donald Osborne” and “Behind the Bowtie” on Jay Leno's Garage.

ABOUT McPHERSON COLLEGE AUTOMOTIVE RESTORATION

The McPherson College Automotive Restoration program began in 1976. It has evolved into the only award-winning four-year bachelor’s degree program for automotive restoration technology in the country. The program offers student experience outside of the classroom at some of the most prestigious car events in the United States, like Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where the program was featured in a spotlight on Fox Business. The college also has a growing alumni base who work in all facets of the car collecting world including Hagerty, Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, Historic Vehicle Association, RM Sotheby’s, in their own shops, at museums, and private collections. Learn more about the program at https://www.mcpherson.edu/programs/auto-restoration/.

ABOUT McPHERSON COLLEGE

Established in 1887, McPherson College is a four-year liberal arts college founded by the Church of the Brethren. The beautiful 27-acre campus is set in McPherson, Kansas, a town of 13,000 that is one of the top 100 small towns in the U.S., with a strong diversified economic base and located in central Kansas 50 miles north of Wichita. McPherson College offers over 30 areas of study including pre-professional programs and the unique option to create a student-designed major, which allows students to combine select courses throughout the curriculum to meet their specific personal and professional goals. Learn more about McPherson College at https://www.mcpherson.edu/.