Nominations sought for recipients for honorary degrees

The university-wide Honorary Degree Committee is seeking nominations of persons in the fields of public affairs; the sciences, humanities and the arts; scholarship and education; business and philanthropy, and social services to be considered for an honorary degree from the State University of New York.

The honorary doctorate is the highest honor the state university can bestow for meritorious and outstanding service to humanity at large.

Eligibility for nomination is restricted to persons of state, national or international stature. Nominees who have made extraordinary contributions to UB also will be considered if they have made a significant contribution to areas beyond UB and Western New York.

Nomination forms may be obtained from University Advancement and Development, 503 Capen Hall, or by calling 645-2925. Forms also are available in the Faculty and Professional Staff Senate offices, 543 Capen; Health Sciences Library, administrative area; Lockwood Library, information kiosk near the circulation desk; Office of Student Unions and Activities, 150 Student Union, and the Office of the Provost, 562 Capen.

Nominations must be submitted to the Honorary Degree Committee in 503 Capen by Feb. 28.

Martha Graham Dance Ensemble to perform in CFA on Feb. 19

The Martha Graham Dance Ensemble will perform at 8 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

The energetic ensemble carries forth the legacy of Martha Graham, revered as one of the most influential artists of our time. Graham was named "Dancer of the Century" by Time and female "Icon of the Century" by People. The ensemble is comprised of 12 energetic young dancers directed by company alumnus Kenneth Topping.

The performance will include selections from Graham masterworks and promises to be rich in the ensemble's dramatic, powerful and passionate artistry.

Tickets are $18, $15 and $9 for the public and $7 for students and are available at the CFA box office from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's and Movies Plus.

To charge tickets, call 852-5000. For more information, call 645-ARTS.

T-shirt designs sought for Oozfest 2000

Want to win $100 and see your original design for Oozfest 2000 on more than 1,000 team and volunteer t-shirts and promotional materials?

The University Student Alumni Association is looking for designs for t-shirts for the annual volleyball-in-the-mud contest.

Original designs must be submitted as camera-ready copy on 8-1/2 by 11-inch laser-quality paper by Monday to the USAB office, 109 Allen Hall on the South Campus.

Designs should incorporate the theme "Ooze it or lose it!," along with "Oozfest 2000" and "16th Annual."

The popular, now-traditional "down and dirty" event, which attracts more than 1,000 players, fans and spectators each year, will be held April 29.

For more information, call USAB at 829-2608.

UB theater students to perform Pulitzer Prize-winning play

Students from the Department of Theatre and Dance will be featured in Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Crimes of the Heart," directed by Jerry Finnegan, assistant professor of theatre and dance, Feb. 23-27 in the Black Box Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

Performances will be held Wednesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

The play, which established Henley as a major voice in theatre, is known for being warm-hearted, irreverent, zany and brillantly imaginative. Set in Hazlehurst, Miss., it examines the plight of three young sisters-Lenny, who is unmarried at 30 and facing diminishing marital prospects; Meg, who has endured a failed singing career on the West Coast, and Babe, who is out on bail after having shot her husband. The story shows how each are betrayed by their passions and how they escape the past to seize the future.

Tickets for "Crimes of the Heart" are $3 and may be purchased at the Center for the Arts box office Tuesday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and at all Ticketmaster locations. For more information, call 645-ARTS.

RIA schedules lecture series

UB's Research Institute on Addictions will present national experts speaking on the topics of obesity, gambling and rave culture during its Spring 2000 seminar series entitled "Diversity in Addictions."

Each lecture in the three-part series will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the institute at 1021 Main St., Buffalo.

The series, which is free and open to the public, will open on March 10 with a lecture by David B. Allison entitled "Environmental and Genetic Influences in Obesity." Associate research scientist at the Obesity Research Center of St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York, Allison also holds an academic appointment as associate professor of medical psychology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He has authored more than 150 scientific publications and edited three books. Allison holds several National Institute of Health grants and serves on the Council of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity.

The series will continue on April 14 when Rina Gupta will speak about "Gambling as an Addiction." Gupta is an assistant professor in school/applied psychology at McGill University in Montreal, a child psychologist in private practice and a school psychologist at Selwyn House School. She has received fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et l'Aide a la Recherche for her work on understanding children and adolescent gambling behavior. An expert in the field of youth gambling, Gupta has published in several journals and is director of the clinical intervention program for youth problem gamblers at McGill University.

The series will conclude on April 28 with a discussion of the "Mechanisms of Hallucinogens and Stimulants Used in Rave Culture" presented by Richard A. Glennon. A graduate of the UB School of Pharmacy, Glennon is vice chair of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. His honors include the School of Pharmacy's Instructor of the Year Award, the Virginia Commonwealth University's Distinguished Scholar Award and the American Pharmaceutical Association's Research Achievement Award. He has published more than 200 journal articles, as well as numerous book chapters. His postdoctoral training included a fellowship in psychopharmacology from the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, Mental Health Administration and work in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

For further information about the lecture series, call RIA at 887-2585.

Fire-safety task force formed

Gov. George E. Pataki has formed a Task Force on Campus Fire Safety to develop a comprehensive action plan to protect the health and safety of students attending public and private colleges and universities across New York State. The charge to the task force includes developing a statewide campus fire-safety plan, including possible changes in state laws, regulations and policies regarding fire safety in college dormitories and residence halls.

"While New York campuses have a good record on fire safety, the tragic fire at Seton Hall University is a stark reminder that colleges and universities must be diligent in protecting the lives of the students entrusted in their care," Pataki said. "This task force will undertake a thorough and expedited review of all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations to ensure that New York's colleges are meeting those standards and whether those standards should be changed."

The task force will include SUNY Chancellor Robert L. King; Matthew Goldstein, chancellor of the City University of New York; Sandy Treadwell, secretary of state; James Ross, president of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities; Thomas Murphy, executive director of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York; James Hannigan, executive director of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, and student representatives from SUNY, CUNY and the independent colleges.

The task force also will draw upon the Department of State's Offices of Fire Prevention and Code Enforcement, and will consult with leading experts in fire prevention, safety and suppression.

"The task force will examine all issues related to fire safety, including the disciplinary policies for false alarms in college residence halls," the governor said. "We don't know whether false alarms contributed to the deaths at Seton Hall, but we do know that setting off a false alarm-or ignoring an alarm-must be dealt with in the strongest possible way."

King noted that while most SUNY dormitories have some form of sprinkler system, sprinklers are only part of the fire-safety equation for residence halls. Many fire-safety procedures and regulations are already in place in college dormitories in New York:

- All New York college dorms-of every vintage-must have smoke detectors in every sleeping room

- Since 1984, the New York State fire code requires all new dorms of three stories or more be equipped with sprinklers in every room

- State law requires annual fire safety inspections of all dormitories, while the fire code requires all dorm fire safety systems to be regularly tested.\

Buffalo Chips to give V-day performance

UB's all-male a cappella ensemble, The Buffalo Chips, will present its fifth annual "Valentine's Day Extravaganza" at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

The Buffalo Chips have established themselves as one of the 12 best college a cappella groups in the nation with a second-place finish in the second round of the National Competition of Collegiate A Cappella. After two successful CD releases, the group is set to release its third, "Remember The Songs," this spring.

Tickets for the "Valentine's Day Extravaganza" are $5 and may be purchased at the Center for the Arts box office from noon to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow and at all Ticketmaster locations. A dollar from each purchase will be donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Cornell photos to be displayed in CFA

A special exhibit showcasing images of acclaimed actress Katharine Cornell-never before published or seen by the public-will be on display from Feb. 18 through March 19 in the Center for the Arts' Atrium on the North Campus. The photos were taken in 1915, when the actress was 22 years old, by famed portrait photographer, painter and scientist Howard Beach.

Cornell, an internationally acclaimed actress of the early-20th century who was raised in Buffalo, died in 1974. She earned recognition as the "First Lady of Theatre" and was famous for her role in "The Barretts of Wimpole Street," which she performed 700 times. In 1976, UB dedicated the Katharine Cornell Theatre, a $1 million theater space located in the Ellicott Complex on the North Campus.

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, also will include historical materials on the actress collected by the Center for the Arts. It can be viewed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday.

Family Medicine to present workshop

The Department of Family Medicine will present a national workshop on training physicians for rural practice to be held Feb. 17 and 18 in San Antonio, Texas.

Thomas C. Rosenthal, chair of the department, is head of the national planning committee, which includes faculty from the University of Illinois, University of Nebraska, Southern Illinois University and Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, as well as representatives from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.

The two-day workshop will concentrate on existing models of rural family-practice residency programs; preparedness of residency applicants; sustaining a rural residency program; improving communication between faculty in rural residency programs, and challenges facing rural residency.

Also sponsoring the workshop are the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, the Area Health Education Centers Program, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the National Rural Health Association and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

Tibetan Buddhist scholar, popular soprano to visit UB

Geshe Gawang Jangchup, an internationally regarded Tibetan Buddhist scholar and teacher, will be a visiting scholar at UB through April 3.

The Geshe will lecture on Buddhist spirituality in Asian Studies classes and speak at noon Feb. 11 in 280 Park Hall as part of the "Asia at Noon" brown-bag lunch series. He will attend a reception in his honor at 4 p.m. Feb. 15 in 280 Park, hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences.

He also will attend a performance by the popular and international award-winning Tibetan singer Dadon, who also is visiting UB this month. Dadon will perform at 8 p.m. Feb. 24 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts and will present at an "Asia at Noon" session at noon Feb. 25 in 280 Park.

A majestic and beautiful young soprano, Dadon once was a star of the Chinese-culture industries. Her style combines traditional Tibetan melodies with lively Asian pop to produce a sound that has caused her popularity to spread beyond her country's borders. Her music, backed by synthesizers and flutes, often has a foot-stomping beat and speaks to Tibet's plight and the longings of its people, making her a great annoyance to the Chinese government. Dadon shares with the Geshe a profound love of country, deep devotion to the Dalai Llama and a dedication to the freedom of Tibet.

The film "Windhorse," which stars Dadon, will be aired at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Feb. 25 in the Center for the Arts' Drama Theatre. Highly praised by major film critics, the film explores the violent abuse of Tibetan human rights by the colonial Chinese government.

During the past 10 years, the Geshe has worked hard to raise levels of monastic and secular education in his native Ladakh region in northern India. Following the instructions of the Dalai Lama, whom he met on two occasions, the Geshe has focused his teachings on Buddhism's Graduated Path and on Mind Training.

For more information, call Henry Sussman at 645-6066, ext. 1096.