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Visit by Dalai Lama moved to Sept. 18-20
The dates for the visit to UB by His Holiness the Dalai Lama have been changed to Sept. 18-20.
Stephen C. Dunnett, vice provost for international education and co-chair of the committee planning the visit, said the dates were changed in conjunction with an invitation to the Dalai Lama to attend a gathering of Nobel Peace Prize laureates in Denver prior to his visit to Buffalo.
During his visit to Buffalo, the Dalai Lama will participate in two public ticketed events: an address in UB Stadium on the North Campus as part of the Distinguished Speakers Series and an interfaith service to be held in Alumni Arena on the North Campus.
The visit originally was scheduled for Sept. 21-23.
"Planning for the major events of His Holiness's visit is well under way," Dunnett said. "During the spring semester the pace of preparations will quicken as we get ready for this landmark event in the life of our university."
TCIE to present seminar
"Preparing Effective RFPs and Winning Proposals," a seminar that will address a number of issues related to content, organization and writing techniques as they apply to RFPs and proposals, will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the UB Technology Incubator, 1576 Sweet Home Road, adjacent to the North Campus.
The seminar, presented by the Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE) in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), will address such topics as planning before writing, writing for action, organizing information logically, using a writing process and strategy, and writing and editing for clarity and conciseness. Discussion will be augmented by selected examples and exercises that illustrate key principles, and by the personal experiences of panelists Ray Bissonette, associate professor emeritus, Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Bill Jehle, former senior project manager with Praxair Inc. who currently serves as a project management consultant with Ronald J. O'Mara, P.E. P.C.; and Robert Turley, manager of the mechanical and electrical engineering department at Watts Engineering and Architecture, P.C.,
The seminar will be led by William Grunert, a retired Praxair engineer and manager who is an adjunct lecturer in the Center for Technical Communication in SEAS.
Cost is $150 per person.
Registration information can be found online at http://www.tcie.buffalo.edu/seminars.htm
Sudanese film to be screened
The Western New York Coalition for Progress and the UB College Democrats will host a screening of the award-winning documentary "Lost Boys of Sudan" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Screening Room in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Admission is free, but donations may be made to Journey's End Refugee Services, which is a co-sponsor.
"The plight of Sudanese refugees has not received the attention it deserves," says Nelson Starr, vice president of the Western New York Coalition for Progress and event co-chair. "This documentary follows two Sudanese refugees orphaned by the civil war as they depart their war-ravaged homeland and come to live in the United States. Their tale from war and horror to the culture shock of American suburbia is extraordinary and compelling."
A panel discussion addressing the plight of refugees from the war-torn region of Darfur in the Sudan will follow the screening. Among the panelists will be Sudanese refugees residing in Western New York and Claude E. Welch Jr., SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences, and a specialist in African political affairs.
Smiley to deliver King address
Public broadcasting talk show host Tavis Smiley will be the keynote speaker for the 30th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Event, to be held at 8 p.m. Feb. 3 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus. Lecture sponsor is the UB Minority Faculty and Staff Association.
Named by Time magazine as one of America's 50 most promising young leaders, Smiley can be seen nightly on PBS and heard weekly on Public Radio International, hosting "The Tavis Smiley Show." Both shows present a combination of news, issues and entertainment. In its first season on PBS, the show won the 2005 NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Television, News, Talk or Information (Series or Special)."
When Smiley began hosting the program on National Public Radio in 2002, it was the first nationally broadcast talk show centering on black issues. Smiley attracts high-profile guests, including Bill Cosby, Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Condoleezza Rice, Sens. John McCain and Ted Kennedy and Michael Eric Dyson. Over the course of his career, Smiley also has secured interviews with Bill Clinton, Fidel Castro and Pope John Paul II.
A well-known political commentator, Smiley is a regular guest himself on the nationally syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show" and has made appearances on "Politically Incorrect," ABC's "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings" and NBC's "Today Show."
He has authored several books, including "Keeping the Faith: Stories of Love, Courage, Healing and Hope from Black America" and "How to Make Black America Better: Leading African Americans Speak Out."
Tickets for the Smiley lecture are $16, $20 and $24; discounts are available to members of TIAA-CREF, UUP and the UB Alumni Association. Go to http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/special/tickets.shtml for more information. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and the Center for the Arts box office.
CAS poetry contest seeks entries
High school poets have the opportunity to have their work judged by a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet by participating in the annual UB Poetry Contest, sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.
The contest, which enables students to learn about the resources in the Department of English and underscores the university's well-known commitment to poetics by encouraging young poets, is open to all high school students. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Carl Dennis, writer-in-residence in the English department, will serve as judge.
Winning poets will read their work and prizes will be awarded at an awards ceremony to be held on April 1 in the Screening Room in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Dennis also will conduct a student poetry workshop the day of the awards ceremony.
The contest was initiated by Uday P. Sukhatme, CAS dean, based on one he initiated while serving as interim vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The contest has proven to be a hit at UB.
"I have received a large number of appreciative comments from high school teachers and counselors who feel the poetry contest provides a wonderful outlet for high school students to express their emotions and concerns," said Sukhatme. "The booklet we publish for the winning poems gives students a feeling of accomplishment as published poets," he added.
Completed entry forms and entries must be postmarked by mail by the close of business on Feb. 6.
For more information, call 645-2711 or visit the poetry contest's Web site at http://www.cas.buffalo.edu/outreach/poetry/index.html.
In addition to the CAS, contest sponsors are the Center for the Arts; WBFO 88.7 FM, UB's National Public Radio affiliate, ThinkBright, the lifelong learning channel and an online service of WNED-TV, and the UB Humanities Institute.
Vocalist to participate in residency at UB
Vocalist Weston Hurt will spend four days in Buffalo next week as part of a collaborative residency project between the UB Department of Music and the Marilyn Horne Foundation.
The residency will feature four "informances" presented at local schools, including one for UB music majors and minors at noon on Tuesday in 250 Baird Hall, North Campus, that will be open to the public.
The residency will conclude with a full recital by Hurt at 8 p.m. Jan. 27 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus.
During each of the informances, Hurt, a recent graduate of the Juilliard Opera Center, will sing excerpts from his full recital, discuss each excerpt and talk about his career as a professional classical musician.
Tickets for the Jan. 27 recital are $12 for general admission; $9 for UB faculty/staff/alumni, seniors and WNED members with ID card; and $5 for students. Tickets may be purchased at the Slee Hall box office or at all Ticketmaster locations, including Ticketmaster.com.