UBThisSummer is back with something for everyone

Members of the UB community will be able to enjoy an evening of food, music, carnival games and other activities in the classic setting of Baird Point at a Summer Sunset Festival, the latest UBThisSummer offering to help faculty and staff take advantage of what many believe is the best time of year to experience the UB campus.

Also new this summer is the UBThisSummer Golf Open, a four-person scramble-format tournament for UB employees set for Aug. 10 at Glen Oak Golf Course. Download the registration form.

These activities offer an opportunity for UB employees to get to know each other in a casual setting, says Matt Blum, director of summer/winter enrollment in the Office of the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management. “We’re trying to build a sense of camaraderie over the summer among UB faculty and staff,” he says.

The sunset festival, planned for July 31, and the golf tournament join a UBThisSummer lineup that includes Warm Weather Wednesdays and the traditional program of credit-bearing courses, non-credit workshops, lectures, entertainment events and youth camps that offer something for everyone.

The class schedule for summer 2015 is now available, with more than 2,000 campus-based and online courses for current UB students who want to work toward their degree. Students who attend other colleges and universities can take courses as non-matriculating students, and incoming UB freshmen can get a jump on prerequisite and general education courses. High school students also are welcome to take a course and get a taste of the college curriculum. Summer sessions begin May 26.

There also are myriad options for students to study abroad, and take part in research, internship and service learning opportunities.

A variety of workshops offers informal learning opportunities on topics ranging from dance and music instruction to music education.

And a full slate of youth camps and enrichment programs provide academic and recreational programs for children and teens.

Despite some less-than-ideal weather last summer, Warm Weather Wednesdays was a hit, Blum says, and is back for another season of Frisbee golf, canoeing on Lake LaSalle, kite-flying and yoga. Free and open to all UB students, faculty, staff and their families, and the broader community, the first event, “Paint a Pot & Pot a Plant,” takes place on May 20. See related story for the full list of Warm Weather Wednesdays events.

Other UBThisSummer items of note:

• The popular UBThisSummer Lecture Series also returns for a 10th year, with prominent faculty members sharing their knowledge in an informal lecture setting. This year’s lectures will highlight the new Communities of Excellence — topics to be announced soon — as well as the RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) institute. Lectures will take place at 4 p.m. July 8, July 15 and July 29 in 101 Davis Hall, North Campus. Details on specific lecture topics and lecturers will be forthcoming.
• UB on the Green, the free outdoor performance series on the South Campus, has been brought under the UBThisSummer umbrella. Concerts will be held on July 15, July 22, July 29 and Aug. 5. Information on artists will be forthcoming.