Award-winning Performer Rita Moreno and Nobel Prize-winning Economist Paul Krugman to Discuss Their Work

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Award-winning Performer Rita Moreno

• Nobel Prize-wining Economist Paul Krugman Photo credit: Dan Deitch

Rita Moreno, Star of Stage, Screen, and Television to Deliver 14th Annual Burian Lecture, October 7, 2009

Rita Moreno, past winner of all four of the most prestigious awards in show business—the Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy—will speak about her life on stage, screen and television as part of the 14th Annual Burian Lecture on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. in Page Hall on the University at Albany's downtown campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and UAlbany's Department of Theatre, and funded by the Jarka and Grayce Burian Endowment.

Rita Moreno is the past winner of all four of the most prestigious awards in show business: the Oscar, the Emmy, the Tony and the Grammy. The Puerto Rico-born performer is the first and only Hispanic, the second female, and the third person in history to achieve that honor. Moreno was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. She received a star on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame" in 1995.

The daughter of a seamstress and a farmer, Moreno emigrated to New York City with her mother at the age of five. By age 11, she had found work dubbing American films into Spanish. At 13, she appeared for the first time on Broadway in the wartime play "Skydrift" (1945). In 1952, she received a small role in the movie "Singin' in the Rain" as the silent screen vamp, Zelda Zanners. She also played the captive Burmese wife Tuptim in the film version of "The King and I" (1956).

Moreno received an Oscar for her role as Anita in the film version of "West Side Story" (1962). Other notable film appearances include "The Night of the Following Day" (1968), and "Carnal Knowledge" (1971). In 2000, she starred opposite Ben Gazzara in "Blue Moon," the story of an aging couple that attempts to rekindle romance at their favorite Catskill retreat after forty years of marriage. [NOTE: The Writers Institute will screen "Blue Moon" on Friday, October 2, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in Page Hall on the UAlbany downtown campus. Free and open to the public.]

Moreno received a Tony award for her Broadway performance as Googie Gomez in "The Ritz" in 1973. Other Broadway credits include "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" (1969-71), and the female version of "The Odd Couple" (opposite Sally Struthers), which enjoyed a run of 295 performances (1985-86).

Moreno received an Emmy award in 1976 for "Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music" for her comic delivery of the R&B song "Fever" on "The Muppet Show." She received a second Emmy in 1978 for "Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series" for an appearance on "The Rockford Files." Moreno also earned three Daytime Emmy nominations for her voice acting in the title role of the PBS animated children's series, "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" (1994-1998).

With an original cast that included Bill Cosby and Morgan Freeman, Moreno starred as Carmela in 780 episodes of the PBS children's program "The Electric Company" (1971-1977), and received a Grammy Award for her work on the "Electric Company Album" in 1972. She is perhaps best-remembered for shouting the show's familiar catchphrase, "Hey you guys!"

Moreno continues to enjoy an active career in television. From 1997 to 2003, she appeared in 52 episodes of "Oz," the HBO prison drama, as Sister Peter Marie Reimondo. More recently, she appeared as Amalia Duque in 13 episodes of ABC's Latino family drama, "Cane." Other TV series appearances include episodes of "Law & Order," "Ugly Betty," "George Lopez," and "The Guardian."

Rita Moreno will deliver the 14th Annual Burian Lecture, a yearly event that brings leading scholars and practitioners of the art of the theatre to the Albany campus. It is funded by the Jarka and Grayce Susan Burian Endowment. The late Jarka Burian taught in the Theatre Department at UAlbany from 1955 to 1993. He was the leading American scholar of Czech theatre and author of the award-winning book "The Scenography of Josef Svoboda," a seminal critical study of the work of one of the twentieth century's most influential theatrical designers. Grayce Susan Burian, who received her M.A. degree from UAlbany and also taught there, is best known for her long tenure as the director of the theatre program, which she founded, at Schenectady County Community College.

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-Winning Economist and influential "New York Times" Columnist, Will Peak on October 9, 2009

Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics and author of an influential "New York Times" op-ed column, will speak as part of UAlbany's Homecoming, Family and Reunion Weekend on Friday, October 9, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. in Page Hall on the University at Albany's downtown campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and UAlbany's Center for Institutional Investment Management.

Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, and the author of a twice-weekly op-ed column in the "New York Times," has been called "the most important political columnist in America" ("Washington Monthly"), and "the most celebrated economist of his generation" ("The Economist"). Krugman has also earned a measure of celebrity as an outspoken and thoughtful critic of the economic policies of both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidential administrations.

A Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University, and Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, Krugman is the bestselling author or editor of 25 books on economics for both general and academic audiences.

His most recent book is "The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008" (2008), a substantially updated and expanded edition of an earlier book on the same subject published in 1999. Widely regarded as a prescient analysis of unregulated bubble behavior in financial markets, the original book presented the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and the Latin American financial crisis of 1998 as cautionary tales for the future of world markets. The updated edition demonstrates how the failure of market regulation permitted a similar, but much larger crisis to occur here in the United States and in the world at large. Krugman also offers a prescription for containing the crisis and preventing economic disaster.

Critics around the globe have hailed the book for its explication of complex ideas in simple, fun-to-read and often humorous terms.

Recent bestsellers by Krugman have included "The Conscience of a Liberal" (2007), "The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century" (2003), and "Fuzzy Math: The Essential Guide to the Bush Tax Plan" (2001). In a review of "The Conscience of a Liberal" that appeared in the "New York Review of Books," Michael Tomasky called Krugman, "The most consistent and courageous — and unapologetic — liberal partisan in American journalism." In advance praise of "The Great Unraveling," a collection of Krugman's columns from the "Times," commentator Anthony Lewis said, "Paul Krugman is the indispensable American columnist, a voice of truth in a political world of lies and calculated injustice."

Krugman received the Nobel Prize in Economics for his contributions to international trade theory, specifically the dynamics of trade between industrialized countries which, he argues, is driven by consumer preference for a diverse choice of brands, and by the benefits derived by producers from ever-expanding "economies of scale." Krugman first began to articulate these ideas in a 1979 paper that was published in the "Journal of International Economics."

Krugman credits Isaac Asimov's science fiction work, "The Foundation Trilogy," which he read as a teenager, with helping to inspire his interest in economics and the social sciences.

In addition to his twice-weekly Op-Ed column which has appeared in the "New York Times" for a decade, Krugman posts almost daily on his "New York Times" blog, "The Conscience of a Liberal," at http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/.

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu.writers-inst.

"The New York State Writers Institute: The First 25 Years," a Discussion and Video Presentation with Directors William Kennedy and Donald Faulkner, to be Held Saturday, October 10, 2009

"The New York State Writers Institute: The First 25 Years," a discussion and video presentation with directors William Kennedy and Donald Faulkner, will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building, Room 126, on the University at Albany's uptown campus. The presentation will feature video clip highlights of memorable guests and past events. Sponsored in conjunction with UAlbany's Community Day, the event is free and open to the public.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Executive Director William Kennedy and Director Donald Faulkner will present an overview of the New York State Writers Institute's 25 year history— its formation, anecdotes about memorable guests and events, and future direction— with video clip highlights of past events.

On August 6, 1984, Governor Mario Cuomo signed into law the legislation creating the New York State Writers Institute, giving the Institute a mandate to provide "a milieu for established and aspiring writers to work together… to increase the artistic imagination." Prior to that, William Kennedy had established the Writers Institute at Albany with funds from a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship that he received in 1983.

Since then the Institute has sponsored a vast number of author visits, film screenings, symposia, staged readings, and writing workshops. Over 1000 writers — in all genres, and winners of every major literary award in the United States and abroad — have shared their work with both student and community audiences, making Albany a literary crossroads.

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.

"Milk" to be Screened on October 10, 2009

"Milk" (United States, 2008, 128 minutes, color, directed by Gus Van Sant) will be shown on Saturday, October 10 at 3:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, on the University at Albany's uptown campus. Sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute in conjunction with UAlbany's Community Day, the screening is free and open to the public.

"Milk" tells the epic story of Harvey Milk, the gay activist and universal symbol of the ongoing battle for civil liberties. Milk, a UAlbany alumnus, became America's first openly gay elected official when he won a San Francisco supervisor seat in 1977. He served eleven months in office and was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance for the city before being assassinated by another city supervisor. Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009. Milk attended UAlbany (then known as the New York State College for Teachers) from 1947 to 1951, majoring in mathematics. The University at Albany will posthumously honor Milk at their annual Reaching Higher, Achieving More alumni luncheon on Friday, October 9.

The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two. The film's star, Sean Penn, won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Harvey Milk and Dustin Lance Black received the Oscar for Best Screenplay.

For additional information contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.

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