ROCKLAND –- Adas Yoshuron Synagogue in Rockland is hosting a summer lecture series with two upcoming programs.

The first, scheduled for Monday, August 4, at 7 p.m. will be a special conversation with Professor Ross K. Baker, a member of the Political Science Department of Rutgers University and Member of the board of contributors of USA Today, speaking on Bipartisanship: A Mixed Blessing? His talk will be followed by a Q & A session and refreshments.

Baker, a nationally recognized authority on the U.S. Congress, was a research associate at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. before coming to Rutgers in 1968. He received both his B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Baker is featured on NPR's "All Things Considered." He is a regular contributor to the editorial pages of the Los Angeles Times and Newsday, and his commentaries have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and Philadelphia Inquirer.

On successive sabbatical leaves starting in 1975, Baker served on the staffs of Senators Walter F. Mondale, Birch Bayh, and Frank Church; as a consultant to the Democratic Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982-83; as a senior adviser to Senator Chuck Hagel in 2000 (R-Nebraska); and Patrick J. Leahy in 2004 (D-Vermont). Most recently (2008 and 2012) Baker was Scholar in Residence in the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), including the lame duck session. In 1992, Baker was a Fulbright Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs in Stockholm.

His books include The Afro-American (Van Nostrand, 1970), Friend and Foe in the U.S. Senate (The Free Press, 1980, and Copley, 1999), The New Fat Cats (Priority Press, 1989), House and Senate (W.W. Norton, 1989, 1995, and 2000). He also co-authored American Government (1983 and 1987). His new book, Is Bipartisanship Dead? is scheduled for release in September by Paradigm Publishers.

On Tuesday, August 12 at 7 p.m., Professor Clifford Dacso and Sheryl Dacso will speak about Health Care Reform: The U.S. Joins the Civilized World. This will be an opportunity to hear from two health-care experts about the realities of the Affordable Care Act, what managed care means for most Americans, and the opportunities and remaining challenges.

Clifford C. Dacso, MD is a Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology and Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Professor at the University of Houston College of Technology, and Adjunct Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. His major areas of research include healthcare delivery systems, medically underserved communities, global health, non-invasive monitoring, physiological measurements, decision-making in health care, and technology-enabled aging in place

A graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Texas School of Law, Sheryl Dacso, J.D., Ph.D., has represented health care organizations, hospitals and physicians for over 30 years. She is Board Certified in Health Care Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and certified in health care compliance by the Health Care Compliance Association. In November 2002, she was named by Texas Lawyer as the number one "Top Notch Lawyer" in health care law in Texas. She has written several textbooks and articles on a broad range of health-care topics ranging from managed care contracting to virtual practice arrangements among physician practices. Dr. Dacso holds faculty appointments at the University of Houston, where she teaches at the Law School in the Health Law Institute and in the College of Technology, and teaches in the Medical Humanities program at the University of Texas Medical School as a McGovern Fellow. She is a thought leader and frequent speaker on many health care topics.

Both programs are free and open to the public. Adas Yoshuron Synagogue is located at 50 Willow Street in Rockland. For more information, please call 207-594-4523, or email info@adasyoshuron.org.

Calendar Listings

Monday, August 4, 7 p.m.: Bipartisanship: A Mixed Blessing? A talk with Ross Baker, Prof. of Political Science at Rutgers University. Adas Yoshuron Synagogue, 50 Willow Street, Rockland. FMI: 207-594-4523; info@adasyoshuron.org. Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, August 12, 7 p.m.: Health Care Reform: The U.S. Joins the Civilized World. A talk with Professor Clifford Dacso of Baylor College of Medicine and Sheryl Dacso, a health care attorney. Adas Yoshuron Synagogue, 50 Willow Street, Rockland. FMI: 207-594-4523; info@adasyoshuron.org. Free and open to the public.