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Civic engagement topic of presentation
Tufts sociologist Susan Ostrander will give a presentation and lead a discussion on “Civic Engagement and Decision Making: Can Only Government Govern?” at 11:30 a.m. Monday in 280 Park Hall, North Campus.
The free event has been organized by the UB 2020 Civic Engagement and Public Policy strategic strength and co-sponsored by the Department of Sociology.
Professor of sociology in the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, Ostrander currently is conducting a qualitative study of civic and political engagement in the diverse city of Somerville, Mass. The study focuses on residents of this medium-size, urban locale who participate in public life in ways that build democracy from the ground up.
Ostrander’s presentation at UB, which draws from this study, will be a definitional and conceptual exploration of the idea that civically engaged voluntary associations are not always limited to influenc¬ing government but can sometimes actually govern.
She has published in the areas of civic engage¬ment and higher education, community-based social change, gender and class, social justice philanthropy and the contradictory role of philanthropy in both challenging and maintaining social inequality. Her work has been recognized nationally, and she founded and co-led the Civic Engagement Research Group at Tufts from 2003-08.
She is serving her second term on the board of directors of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, and is on the editorial board of the journal Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
For more information, call 645-5376.
Irish architects to present Martell Lecture
Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey, principles in the Irish architectural practice O’Donnell + Tuomey, will present the Martell Lecture in the School of Architecture and Planning at 5:30 p.m. Monday in 301 Crosby Hall, South Campus. The illustrated talk will be free and open to the public.
O’Donnell and Tuomey established their partnership in 1988 and it has since developed an international reputation for outstanding cultural and educational architecture.
Among the firm’s best-known works are the Irish Film Centre, Dublin; the Ranelah Multi-Denominational School, Dublin; the Furniture College of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (Letterfrack Campus, Galway); the Sean O’Casey Community Centre, Dublin; and the Lewis Glucksman Gallery at the University of Cork, noted for its durable cladding of precious Amazon woods. The firm also won a competition last year to design the new student center for the London School of Economics.
The Martell Lecture is funded by the Martell Endowment, founded in 2005 with a gift from Christopher Michael Martell, who holds a master’s degree in architecture from UB, and his wife, Sally, to support a program to bring architects of international significance to the school to work with graduate students and give an annual school-wide lecture.
Schedule Wellfest testing
Appointments are now being taken for faculty and staff who would like to have their blood drawn and tested in advance of UB Wellfest, UB’s annual event designed to promote employee wellness.
The event, formerly known as Wellness Awareness Day, will be held April 9.
Appointments are also being made for those interested in undergoing a fitness screening at Wellfest day.
Click here to download a flyer with the details.
Master plan topic of PSS meeting
The Professional Staff Senate will hold a general membership meeting at 3 p.m. March 25 in the Center for Tomorrow, North Campus.
The main speaker will be Robert Shibley, who will update senators on Building UB: The Comprehensive Physical Plan. Shibley is professor of architecture and planning and senior advisor to President John B. Simpson on the UB master plan.
The meeting is open to all members of the professional staff.
For more information, call the PSS office at 645-2003.
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