F&M Stories
Common Hour Returns with New Format
With the start of the fall semester comes the continuation of a Franklin & Marshall tradition, but with a twist.
Common Hour begins Sept. 7 and will resume weekly with the addition of a new Campus Hour program.
Events are Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and held in the Barshinger Center for Musical Arts unless otherwise noted. Common Hour and Campus Hour events are open to the public. View the complete schedule.
Common Hour enables the F&M and Lancaster communities to engage in a campuswide dialogue about vital international, national and local issues. While Common Hour has a lecture format, Campus Hour has a discussion and activity format.
Campus Hour aims to mirror Common Hour’s wide-ranging programming, but with an emphasis on F&M topics and resources.
The Sept. 7 kickoff event, “Building Resiliency and Mental Health Through Multiple Pillars of Wellness,” features Josh March, owner of Lancaster-based EmPower Training Systems and member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
There are 13 Common Hour talks scheduled for the fall semester. They feature faculty experts, alumni leaders, and speakers from outside the campus community. The final event of the academic year is a Dec. 7 student concert featuring the College's popular a cappella groups.
Many of the events will be recorded and shared with off-campus audiences, including alumni, students studying abroad, and friends of the College.
Related Articles
February 20, 2026
Work on the Wild Side with Lillian Basom '08, F&M Vivarium Director
Lillian Basom ’08 loved Franklin & Marshall’s vivarium so much that she never left. In fact, she has been the director of operations since 2011. The research facility houses a variety of rodents, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and capuchin monkeys.
February 16, 2026
A Q&A with Historian Manisha Sinha, F&M Mueller Fellow
Historian Manisha Sinha, this year’s F&M Mueller Fellow, will lead a Feb. 26 discussion centered on focus on her latest book, “The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920.”
February 12, 2026
Striking the Right Chord
Award-winning songwriter Bruce Sussman ’71 founded Franklin & Marshall’s first a cappella group on a whim in 1968. Alumni and current members reflect on the group’s origins and influence.