News from SUNY Cortland

For more information contact: Jennifer Wilson, 607-753-2232

CORRECTION: SUNY Cortland Schedules Plays, Musicals, Concerts for Fall

CORTLAND, NY (08/12/2008; 1533)(readMedia)-- Note to Editor: A correction has been made to the time of the fall concert of Broadway music on Nov. 9.

SUNY Cortland has scheduled the following events through the end of the Fall Semester.

Comedy: Romont Harris will perform his routine on Saturday, Aug. 23, during the College's Welcome Week activities. Admission is free. The comedian, who will begin at 9 p.m. in the Corey Union Function Room, got his first taste of the spotlight in high school in Philadelphia, where he reigned as the unofficial "class clown." An energetic performer, he likes to give his audiences a well-rounded show of comedy, song and dance. The entertainer has appeared on television with "The Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon," the syndicated game show "Love Connection," NBC's "It's Showtime At The Apollo" and "Bet's Comic View." For more information, call the Campus Activities and Corey Union Office at (607) 753-2321.

Magic and Mystery: Mentalist Alain Nu will offer participants a guided tour through the mind and its mysteries at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26, in the Corey Union Function Room. Nu comes to campus during Welcome Week courtesy of the Student Activities Board, and the performance is free. Part magician and part dynamic speaker, Nu makes his audience see things that aren't there and feel things that aren't real, opening up a world of possibilities limited only by the individual's imagination. Clairvoyance, thought control, synchronicity and mind over matter are all rolled up in his show. He has been featured on television, radio and newspapers worldwide. He's also the star of TLC's television series, "The Mysterious World of Alain Nu." For more information, call the Campus Activities and Corey Union Office (607) 753-2321.

Art Exhibition: A pair of exhibitions with a political theme will be offered at SUNY Cortland's Dowd Fine Arts Gallery from Tuesday, Sept. 9-Thursday, Nov. 6. An installation piece that concerns what the artists call "identitarianism" in politics, named "The Purple States - CarianaCarianne," will be shown in the lower level pit of Dowd Gallery. The works explore ideas of identity, politics, socialization and aesthetics. The second exhibition, "Paper Politics," a collection of politically motivated prints using traditional, handmade methods, is curated by Josh McPhee. The two exhibitions will culminate with an election evening closing party in which the gallery will broadcast televised and Webcast election coverage. The exhibitions are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment. For more information, call the gallery at (607) 753-4216.

Lecture: Jonathan Kozol, an activist and author of Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools (1967), will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9, in SUNY Cortland's Corey Union Function Room. In 1988, Kozol examined the lives of people deprived of the raw necessities in Rachel and her Children: Homeless Families in America. His most recent book, Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation (1995), is a study about schoolchildren in the South Bronx. The free lecture, part of a yearlong series on the theme of "Inequality," was organized by the College's Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee. For more information, contact Associate Professor of History Kevin Sheets at (607) 753-2060.

Lecture: Professor Thomas Hischak, a faculty member in SUNY Cortland's Performing Arts Department, will give an address titled "Lyceum or Lunatic Asylum? Higher Education in Greece Today" on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at SUNY Cortland. Hischak, whose scholarship focuses on modern theatre history, taught and directed at the University of Patras in Greece last May on a Fulbright grant. He will describe and discuss how the Greek universities do and do not work today. Organized by the President's Office, the free sandwich seminar will begin at 12:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. For more information, contact Hischak at (607) 753-4206.

Lecture: Ann Ferguson, a professor of philosophy and women's studies at the University of Massachusetts, will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, at SUNY Cortland. Her lecture, titled "Global Gender Solidarity and Feminist Paradigms of Justice," will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. Presented by the College's Center for Intercultural and Gender Studies Advisory Board, the talk is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Mechthild Nagel, professor of philosophy, at (607) 753-2013, or Caroline Kaltefleiter, coordinator of the Women's Studies Program, at (607) 753-4203 or kaltefc@cortland.edu.

Panel Discussion: SUNY Cortland's Institute for Civic Engagement will conduct a Constitution Day Panel on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 12:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. The discussion, titled "Guns, Constitutional Rights and You," will feature two SUNY Cortland political science faculty members, Robert Spitzer and Christopher Latimer. The panelists will address recent developments on the constitutionality of gun control legislation, focusing on the following question: "To what extent can states and the federal government limit the right to bear arms?" Professor Richard Kendrick, who directs the College's Institute for Civic Engagement, will moderate the sandwich seminar. Sponsored by the President's Office, the presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the institute at (607) 753-2481.

Community Roundtable: SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Robert Spitzer, a SUNY Cortland professor of political science, will discuss "The 2008 Election: A Realignment in the Making" from 8-9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, in SUNY Cortland's Park Center Hall of Fame Room. A recipient of a 2003 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities, Spitzer has focused on areas including U.S. constitutional law, presidential politics, the presidential veto, and the politics surrounding the right to bear arms. The latest edition of his most read work, The Politics of Gun Control," was released in 2007. Sponsored by the President's Office and the College's Center for Educational Exchange, the event is free. Refreshments will be served at 7:45 a.m. For more information, contact the center at (607) 753-4214.

Concert: SUNY Cortland's Campus Artist and Lecture Series will present Brazz Tree, a New York City-based violin and guitar duo performing their new brand of music called "New World acoustic rock (Music NWAR)" on Saturday, Oct. 11. "A sublime, surprising, bristling and hearty stew of Irish lyricism, daredevil jazz aerobatics and punk rock moxie," wrote Greg Tate of the Village Voice. "Both the elegance and the energy are off the chain." Guitarist Brad Hammond's folk-inspired, percussive riff-based guitar lines are coupled with traditional folk and fiddle tunes. Mazz Swift's conscious lyrics are sung with soulful originality. Brazz Tree will begin at 8 p.m. in the Corey Union Exhibition Lounge. Tickets are $3 for SUNY Cortland students and $5 for all others and may be obtained through the Campus Activities and Corey Union Office, Corey Union Room 406, or at the door one hour prior to the performance. For more information, call (607) 753-2321.

Lecture: Earl Shorris, a pioneering educator, activist and author, will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15, in SUNY Cortland's Old Main Brown Auditorium. Shorris has earned praise for his work teaching the humanities to the world's poor and disenfranchised people. He teaches Clemente courses, which are based on the premise that the insights and skills offered by study of the traditional humanities disciplines can provide people with tools for gaining control over their lives. The free lecture, part of a yearlong series on the theme of "Inequality," was organized by the College's Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee. For more information, contact Associate Professor of History Kevin Sheets at (607) 753-2060.

Lecture: Suad Joseph '66, a SUNY Cortland Distinguished Alumna and a professor of anthropology and women and gender studies at the University of California, Davis, will speak on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at SUNY Cortland. Joseph, also the director of the Middle East and South Asia studies program, will discuss women in the Middle East. Her research has focused on her native Lebanon, the politicization of religion, women in local communities, women, family and state and on questions of self, citizenship and rights. The free lecture will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. Part of a yearlong series on the theme of "Inequality," the talk was organized by the College's Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee. For more information, contact Distinguished Service Professor Henry Steck in the Political Science Department at (607) 753-4807 or Associate Professor of History Kevin Sheets at (607) 753-2060.

Musical: SUNY Cortland's Department of Performing Arts will present the new musical "Luna Park" on Oct. 24 through Nov. 2 in the Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. This premiere work about the famous amusement park will be performed at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets, which are $16 for general public, $14 for senior citizens and SUNY faculty/staff, and $7 for high school and college students, will be on sale at Jodi's Hallmark Shop and at the door. For more information, check the department Web site at www.cortland.edu/performingarts or call (607) 279-4666.

Gospel Choir Festival: The annual African American Gospel Music Festival will feature guest choirs from campuses across New York State including SUNY Cortland's own Gospel Choir on Sunday, Nov. 2, at SUNY Cortland. Invited guest choirs will include Ithaca College, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Oswego and Syracuse University. The festival will begin at 4 p.m. in Corey Union Function Room. It is organized by the Africana Studies Department and hosted by the SUNY Cortland Gospel Choir. Admission is $2 for students, $3 for faculty and senior citizens and $4 for the general public. A reception will follow the performances. Directing Cortland's Gospel Choir will be Robert Brown. For more information, contact Samuel Kelley at kelleys@cortland.edu or (607) 753-4104.

Community Roundtable: A panel of local experts led by Brice Smith, SUNY Cortland assistant professor and chair of physics, will discuss "Sustainable Energy" from 8-9 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, in SUNY Cortland's Park Center Hall of Fame Room. The panel will include a representative from a clean energy company, Renovus Energy. Sponsored by the President's Office and the College's Center for Educational Exchange, the event is free. Refreshments will be served at 7:45 a.m. For more information, contact the center at (607) 753-4214.

Faculty Recital: Edward Moore, a pianist-instructor in SUNY Cortland's Department of Performing Arts, will give a piano recital on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. in the Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. Admission is free. For more information, check the department Web site at www.cortland.edu/performingarts or call (607) 279-4666.

Concert: The College Singers, under the direction of Professor of Music Stephen Wilson, will perform a fall concert of Broadway music at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9, at the SUNY Cortland Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. Presented by the College's Performing Arts Department, admission is free. For more information, check the department Web site at www.cortland.edu/performingarts or call (607) 279-4666.

Concert: SUNY Cortland's College-Community Orchestra, under the direction of Ubaldo Valli, will present its fall concert of classical music on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. in the Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. Admission is free. For more information, check the department Web site at www.cortland.edu/performingarts or call (607) 279-4666.

Dance: SUNY Cortland's Campus Artist and Lecture Series will present the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company on Thursday, Nov. 13. This nationally acclaimed troupe with an international cast combines the rich tradition of Chinese art with contemporary dance. ". . . choreographer Nai-Ni Chen has created a work that whispers as quietly as it shouts, alternately reaching out to audiences with symbolism and imagery that is by turns mysterious, subtle, and overt," writes Karyn D. Collins of Asbury Park Press. A resident company at the Harlem School of the Arts since 1997, the company receives support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. in the Dowd Fine Arts Center Theatre. Admission is $5 for SUNY Cortland students, $8 for senior citizens and $10 for all others. Tickets may be obtained through the Campus Activities and Corey Union Office, Corey Union Room 406, or at the door one hour prior to the performance. For more information, call (607) 753-2321.

Concert: The Choral Union of SUNY Cortland, a college-community choral group conducted by Professor of Music Stephen Wilson, will present its Fall Concert consisting of classical choral music on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. in the Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. Presented by the Performing Arts Department, the event is free. For more information, check the department Web site at www.cortland.edu/performingarts or call (607) 279-4666.

Concert: SUNY Cortland's Department of Performing Arts will present its annual Holiday Concert of seasonal choral and instrumental music on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m. in the Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. Admission is free. For more information, check the department Web site at www.cortland.edu/performingarts or call (607) 279-4666.

Community Roundtable: A panel of local historians will discuss "Sign Language: A Look at Cortland County Historical Markers" from 8-9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, in SUNY Cortland's Park Center Hall of Fame Room. The panelists include Mindy Leisenring, executive director of the Cortland County Historical Society, and Jeremy Boylan, Cortland County historian. Sponsored by the President's Office and the College's Center for Educational Exchange, the event is free. Refreshments will be served at 7:45 a.m. For more information, contact the center at (607) 753-4214.

Dance: SUNY Cortland's Department of Performing Arts and the Performing Arts Institute will present the holiday dance favorite "The Nutcracker Ballet" on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. in the Dowd Fine Arts Theatre. Tickets, which are $16 for general public, $14 for senior citizens and SUNY faculty and staff, and $7 for students and children, will be on sale at Jodi's Hallmark Shop and at the door. For more information, check the department Web site at www.cortland.edu/performingarts or call (607) 279-4666.

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