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OSS plans SEFA raffle auction
Operational Support Services in CIT will hold a SEFA Raffle Auction from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 30 in Capen Lobby, North Campus.
Proceeds will go to Mercy Flight and the Erie County SPCA.
A wide variety of items will be raffled, ranging from restaurant certificates to a hotel get-a-way to Buffalo Sabres tickets. The items, all of which have been donated by area businesses and vendors, range in value from $5 to $100.
Tickets for the raffle can be purchased on Oct. 30 in the Capen Lobby during the auction hours.
Winners will be contacted by the end of the day on Oct. 31.
For further information, go to the OSS SEFA Web page at http://www.oss.buffalo. edu/SEFA/sefa.html or contact Barbara Vasbinder at 645-5075.
Law school to host debate
The Law School will host a debate between the candidates for Erie County executive at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday in 106 O‘Brian Hall, North Campus.
Republican incumbent Joel Giambra, and Democrat challenger Dan Ward will square off in anticipation of what many consider to be Erie County�s most significant local election. Topics are expected to include regionalism, the City of Buffalo�s bid for a share in the extra 1 percent sales tax, waterfront development and expansion of public transportation.
The debate is free and open to the public, and seating is limited. Sponsors of the debate are UB�s Progressive Law Society and the Law School Republicans.
For more information, contact Kevin Kelly at 836-9709 or ktkelly@buffalo.edu.
Stein to present rescheduled RIA seminar
Michael Stein, professor of medicine and community health at Brown University's School of Medicine, will speak on "Grim Charity: Injection Drug Users and Needle Sharing" at 10 a.m. on Nov. 14 in Room 132 of the Research Institute on Addictions, 1021 Main St., Buffalo.
The talk, which originally was scheduled for Sept. 19, is part of RIA's Fall Seminar Series. It is free and open to the public.
Stein directs the HIV Services Unit at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, and also holds an appointment at the Women and Infants' Hospital in Providence.
The seminar series will feature another lecture in November by Howard Liddle, a nationally recognized expert on adolescent substance abuse and delinquency. Liddle, professor of epidemiology and public health and psychology, and director of the Center for Treatment Research on Adolescent Drug Abuse at the University of Miami Medical School, will speak on "Family-based Treatment for Adolescent Substance Abuse: Clinical Outcomes, Process Findings and Transportation Challenges" at 10 a.m. on Nov. 7 at RIA.
Stolen safety chair returned
A safety evacuation chair stolen from a stairwell in the Natural Sciences Complex has been found and returned to the Department of Geology.
The chair, which is used to assist persons with disabilities in descending stairs in the event of a fire, was found on Oct. 16 outside the Lehman Hall area office in Governors Complex, according to John Grela, director of public safety.
The chair had been stolen sometime between the morning of Oct. 10 and the morning of Oct. 12.
Grela said that at this time there are no suspects in the theft, but that he believes the thief or thieves left the chair in a place where it could be found.
"I believe they live in Governors and had a guilty conscious when they realized what they had done," he added.
Travis Nelson, support technician for the Department of Geology, said that the chair, purchased by the department for use by one of its students who is wheelchair-bound, now would be kept locked up in its storage case in the seventh-floor stairwell of the Natural Sciences Building and keys will be distributed throughout the department and building.
"I feel that by doing this, it will slow down our response time, but that is better than not having the chair," he said. "What's next—having to lock up the fire extinguishers?
Masquerade Ball to benefit CFA programs
The Friends of the Center for the Arts will present the fifth annual Masquerade Ball from 7:30 p.m. to midnight on Nov. 1 in the Atrium of the CFA, North Campus.
The ball is sponsored by Gibraltar, Commercial Print & Imaging, and Ivoclar Vivadent Inc.
President and Mrs. William R. Greiner are honorary chairs. Dr. and Mrs. Sebastian Ciancio are event chairs. Proceeds from the event will benefit the CFA's Dance Outreach Residency Program, which each year connects a professional dance company in residence at the Center with community organizations and audiences. The event also will benefit the School Time Transportation Stipend Program, which provides free transportation to school children to attend programs at the CFA.
WGRZ-TV personalities Jodi Johnston and Pete Gallivan will host the event. The theme of the night will be an evening of "wizardry, magic and fantasy," with the atrium being transformed into a mystical setting with theatrical lights and sets. Guests are encouraged to come in costume, mask, magical hat or creative black tie. Costumes will be judged for prizes.
A special performance by the Zodiaque Dance Company and theatre students from the Department of Theatre and Dance will be a highlight of the evening. Patrons will dance to the music of The Sid Winkler Band and enjoy the musical stylings of Paul S. Goodman and Michael P. Burke.
The event also will include a silent and no-bid auction featuring a Kittinger chair, airline tickets, theatre tickets, original art, Scanlon's jewelry, a Persian rug, elegant dinners for two, spa days, weekend get-a-way packages and much more.
Tickets are $65 per person and include hors d'oeuvres, roast beef and turkey carving stations, a pasta station and dessert stations. A cash bar also will be available.
For more information, contact Amy Gambino at 645-6774 or visit the CFA Web site at http://www.arts.buffalo.edu.< /p>
Plant closings to be topic of talk
On either side of the Great Lakes, plant closures heralded a new period of economic recession that led to the decline of working-class communities whose livelihoods and integrity were based almost solely upon the long-term employment provided by these factories, argues a new book, "Industrial Sunset, The Making of North America's Rustbelt, 1969-1984" by Steven High.
High will discuss his book from noon to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow in 108 Hayes Hall, South Campus. The lecture is sponsored by the Urban Design Project, the School of Architecture and Planning, the Canadian Consulate and the Canadian-American Studies Committee.
The book examines the economic conditions and labor history in both the U.S. and Canada during the 1970s and early 1980s, tracing the way in which these global movements impacted local communities, governments and unions. He details individual and collective responses to factory shutdowns in the heartland that led to the devastation of neighborhoods and the shifting of national economies, as well as provocative union and government activities on both sides of the border.
A native of British Columbia, High grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where his father was a railroad worker and his mother a schoolteacher. By the time he reached his teens, he had become active in the New Democratic Party (NDP), working his way up the ranks to become national vice president of the NDP-Canada from 1990-92. He earned a doctoral degree at the University of Ottawa.
CFA to present comedian Lewis Black
The Center for the Arts will present comedian Lewis Black at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in the Mainstage theater in the CFA, North Campus. Sponsors for the event are the Student Association and WBUF-FM.
Black has found a home on the stage as an actor, playwright and stand-up comedian. Known as "America's Foremost Commentator on Everything," he is a graduate of the prestigious Yale School of Drama and has performed his social and political comedy throughout Europe and America.
He currently is best known for his weekly political commentaries—"Back in Black"—on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and has starred in two half-hour comedy specials for the network. In addition, Black was a regular contributor to Comedy Central's famed "Indecision 2000" election coverage.
As a stand-up comedian, he has performed at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and opened for Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, The Band, Chicago and Harry Belafonte. Black also received the award for "Best Stand Up" by The American Comedy Awards in 2001.
As an actor, Black has appeared in such films as "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Jacob's Ladder." His television credits include guest spots on "Homicide," "Mad About You," "Murphy Brown" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," to name a few.
As a playwright, he has authored more than 40 plays that have been produced in theaters across the country. He continues to spend his summers acting and teaching at the legendary Williamstown Theatre Festival, the premier summer repertory theatre and artistic retreat.
Tickets for Lewis Black are $25 for the general public and $18 for UB students and 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.
Essig to appear at WBFO
Mark Essig, author of "Edison & The Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death," will give a reading from his book at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 in the theatre of Allen Hall South Campus.
The reading, part of WBFO 88.7-FM's "Meet the Author" series, will be broadcast live on the radio station.
The event is free and open to the public. Bert Gambini, music director of WBFO, the National Public Radio affiliate operated by UB, will be the host.
The event is sponsored by the Roycroft Inn. A reception and book signing will take place following the reading.
Edison stunned America in 1879 by unveiling a world-changing invention—the lightbulb. A decade later, despite having been an avowed opponent of the death penalty, Edison threw his laboratory resources and reputation behind the creation of a very different sort of device—the electric chair. Exploring this startling chapter in American history, "Edison & the Electric Chair" delivers both a portrait of a nation on the cusp of modernity and a new examination of Edison himself.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Essig has lived in Virginia, upstate New York, Manhattan and Brooklyn, and recently moved to Los Angeles. "Edison & the Electric Chair" is his first book. He is working on his second book, which will revisit the topic of poison murder.
Presentations to address teaching, learning and technology
Dramatic growth in undergraduate class size has made it increasingly difficult to offer meaningful "hands-on" laboratory experiences for students. However, educational technology tools provide opportunities to make efficient use of instructional time and improve pedagogy opportunities by actively involving students.
Two presentations co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning Resources and the Educational Technology Center will discuss the various uses of educational technology in the laboratory. The presentations will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 in 120 Clemens Hall, North Campus.
Scott C. White, associate professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, and Louise A. Gilchrist, assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, both in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, will lead one presentation that will offer three examples of how technology is being used in undergraduate biomechanics laboratories of 20-30 students.
The presentation, entitled "Technology Solutions to Large Laboratory Classes," will provide participants with a better understanding of the potential and limitations of using educational technology in laboratory instruction.
The other presentation, to be led by Kathleen M. Boje, associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, is entitled "Pedagogical Experiences with the Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Virtual Laboratory." This presentation will unravel the "vision" behind developing a virtual, interactive laboratory that enhances student decision-making and cognitive skills in the area of biotechnology drug development and research.
The presentations are free of charge and open to all faculty members, but registration is required. Those wishing to attend may register on-line at http://wings.buffalo.edu/ctlr or contact Lisa Francescone at lcf@buffalo.edu, or 645-7328 and leave a name, department and e-mail address.