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Poitras elected PSS secretary
Michele Poitras, an MIS support specialist for State Personnel Services, has been elected recording secretary for the Professional Staff Senate.
Poitras defeated Tracey Murphy, assistant for budget and personnel, Office of the Vice Provost for Enrollment and Planning, and Eileen Sirianni staff assistant, General Libraries Access Services, for the post.
Poitras will serve through June 30, 2005, the remainder of the term originally held by Louise F. Lougen, lead programmer and analyst for Procurement Services, who resigned this fall as recording secretary.
Teaching workshop to be held
The Center for Teaching and Learning Resources will present "Classroom Assessment Practices," a workshop to be led by Clyde F. (Kip) Herreid, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, from 1-2:30 p.m. Jan. 30 in 120 Clemens Hall, North Campus.
The focus of the workshop will be to review some of the most valuable techniques and methods used to assess student performance before a course starts and throughout the semester. Participants will learn about the many forms of "Think, Pair, Share" and "Concept Tests" techniques that can be used in any class, of any size, at any time to find out instantly what students know.
Herreid also will instruct workshop participants on how to use "minute papers," "directed paraphrasing" and pre-course assessment measures to solicit feedback from their students.
In addition, participants will learn about the five guidelines for successfully using assessment techniques.
Although the workshop is free of charge, registration is required and may be made online at http://wings.buffalo.edu/ctlr or by contacting Lisa Francescone at lcf@buffalo.edu or at 645-7328 and leaving a name, department and email address.
Pianist Greenberg to present first UB faculty recital
Jacob Greenberg will perform his first solo recital as a UB faculty member, which will focus on works by contemporary British composers, at 8 p.m. Jan. 24 in Slee Concert Hall, North Campus.
Among the works to be performed include Harrison Birtwistle's 1998 etudes called "Harrison's Clocks," which Greenberg has studied with the composer and premiered in the U.S. in 2001.
Greenberg also will be performing Thomas Ad�s' "Ancient Anthem" and "Still Sorrowing," and George Benjamin's "Relativity Rag" and "Shadowlines."
Prior to joining the UB faculty, Greenberg served for three years as principal keyboardist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, with whom he also played extensively as a chamber musician. As an orchestral player, he has performed with the Israel Philharmonic and the New World Symphony.
In March 2001, Greenberg collaborated with fellow music department faculty member Tony Arnold in her first-prize appearance at the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He received the special award for Outstanding Accompanist at the 2001 Louise D. McMahon International Music Competition, again in collaboration with Arnold. Their recording of Elliott Carter's "Of Challenge and of Love" will be released this spring by Bridge Records.
Greenberg is completing doctoral studies at Northwestern University as a student of Ursula Oppens.
Tickets for the concert are $5; UB students showing a valid ID are admitted free of charge. Tickets may be obtained at the Slee Hall box office, the Center for the Arts box office and at all Ticketmaster outlets.
Anderson Gallery, community center collaborate to create mural
A mural created through a special collaboration between the UB Anderson Gallery and the Gloria J. Parks Community Center is on display in the "penthouse" of the community center at 3242 Main St., Buffalo.
The mural, entitled "Imagination Playground," was the first project in an ongoing series of arts-in-education programs for children and families of the University Heights District.
The artwork is divided into four sections, each representing a season. Buffalo landmarks and neighborhood houses are incorporated into the design of the mural to emphasize the overarching theme of "community."
The mural was created under the direction of muralist Fernando Godinez and painted by 12- and 13-year-olds who attended summer camp at the community center during July and August.
SOM establishes "Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship"
The School of Management has named eight highly experienced individuals from the local business community "Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship." The group will assist the school in the development and implementation of educational initiatives in entrepreneurship.
The "Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship" program was formed at the behest of SOM Dean John M. Thomas.
"We are planning a number of new programs to integrate entrepreneurial studies into our curriculum, particularly in areas related to the university's mission in the commercialization of technology and the biotechnology industry," said Thomas.
"We identified eight prominent individuals who have made significant contributions to entrepreneurship in Western New York, and invited them to join this group and share their expertise with our faculty and students," Thomas added. "I am honored that they all have accepted and I look forward to working with them."
The inaugural "Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship" are John F. Dunbar, partner, Strategic Investments & Holdings, Inc.; Robert H. Fritzinger, president and CEO, MicroLanguage; Thaddeus H. Grasela Jr., president and CEO, Cognigen Corp.; Laszlo Meszaros, president and CEO, Meszaros International, Inc.; Thomas A. Palmer, partner/vice chair, Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel; Nora B. Sullivan, director, Citigroup Private Bank; Paul Willax, CEO, Center for Business Ownership, Inc., and Joseph E. Wolfson, president and CEO, HealthAmerica Network.
Thomas said the Senior Fellows in Entrepreneurship will assist the school in a variety of significant roles, such as lecturing in entrepreneurship classes; mentoring MBA students who enroll in the new Biotechnology Management concentration; advising the school on how to provide management and business planning assistance to the university's initiatives in technology transfer, and participating with the school's Center for Executive Education in the development of short courses and certificate programs in the field of technology entrepreneurship.
Anderson Gallery extends "Open Wide"
"Open Wide: 500 Years of Dentistry in Art," an exhibition of more than 75 prints, drawings, photographs and books from the collection of Morton G. Rivo, will remain on view in the UB Anderson Gallery through Feb. 1.
The Anderson Gallery is located on Martha Jackson Place off Englewood and Kenmore avenues. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1-5 pm. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 829-3754.
Wiater named associate dean
Kathleen Wiater, formerly director of development for the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, has been named associate dean and senior director for advancement and constituent relations in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
In addition to her position at the University of Wisconsin, Wiater has served as director for corporate/foundation relations at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and has held development positions at Skidmore College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Sagamore Institute.
She holds a bachelor's degree from Fredonia State College.
CFA to present Garth Fagan Dance
The Center for the Arts will present Garth Fagan Dance at 8 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Mainstage theater in the CFA, North Campus.
The performance is sponsored by KeyBank. Media sponsors are WGRZ-TV and WJYE-FM.
Garth Fagan has been called "a true original," "a genuine leader" and "one of the great reformers of American dance." Fagan's achievements—the creation of the internationally acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance, the company that fulfills his vision, and work as a guest choreographer, most recently and notably for Walt Disney's "The Lion King"—have been recognized by a host of awards and honors.
For his path-breaking choreography for "The Lion King," Fagan was awarded the prestigious 1998 Tony Award for Best Choreography. He also received the 1998 Drama Desk Award, 1998 Outer Critics Circle Award, 1998 Astaire Award, 2000 Laurence Olivier Award and the 2001 Ovation Award for his work on the Broadway musical, which opened in fall 1997 to extraordinary critical praise.
Now in its 33rd anniversary season, Garth Fagan Dance is at the top of its profession. The company's dancers are renowned for their individuality, unmannered approach and virtuosity.
The company last performed at the Center for the Arts in October 2002, receiving critical and popular appraise. The upcoming performance will feature an all-new program, including excerpts from Fagan's acclaimed "Griot New York," featuring music composed by Wynton Marsalis; "DanceCollageForRomie," and "Translation Transition."
Ticket holders for this performance may attend a pre-performance talk to be held at 7 p.m. in the CFA Screening Room.
Tickets for Garth Fagan Dance are $22, $18 and $16. Exclusive discount coupons are available at all KeyBank locations. Patrons also are encouraged to present their "Key To Your Town" key tags—available at all KeyBank locations—at the CFA box office to receive the same discount. Tickets are available at the CFA box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster locations.
For more information, call 645-ARTS.
Ackmann to speak at "Meet the Author" series
Martha Ackmann, author of "The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight," will give a reading from her book at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the theater in Allen Hall, North Campus.
Ackmann's appearance is part of the "Meet the Author" series presented by WBFO 88.7 FM, UB's National Public Radio affiliate.
Bert Gambini, WBFO music director, will host the event, which is free of charge and open to the public. A reception and book signing will take place immediately following the reading.
In 1961, just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hopes of becoming America's first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests at the legendary Lovelace Clinic as the Mercury 7 astronauts, but the "boys' club" at NASA and on Capitol Hill summarily dismissed them.
In "The Mercury 13," journalist and professor Martha Ackmann tells the story of the dramatic events surrounding these 13 remarkable women—all crackerjack pilots and patriots who sometimes sacrificed jobs and marriages for a chance to participate in America's space race against the Soviet Union. In addition to talking to these women, Ackmann also interviewed Chuck Yeager, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter and others with firsthand knowledge of the program at NASA and the White House.