News
Briefs
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Chinese New Year celebration planned
UB’s Confucius Institute, in partnership with the Chinese Club of Western New York (CCWNY), will present a Chinese New Year celebration from 3-6 p.m. Feb. 5 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
The celebration, which is free and open to the public, will feature lively music, colorful dance and other performances by members of the CCWNY.
Following the performance, a dinner will be held at Imperial Buffet, 2122 George Urban Blvd., near the intersection of Dick Road in Depew. The restaurant was formerly China Town Buffet.
The dinner, which will feature traditional Chinese New Year delicacies and entertainment, will begin at 6:30 p.m. and continue until midnight. Dinner tickets must be purchased in advance and prices range from $8 to $22. For further information on ticket purchase, visit CCWNY’s website .
“Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays,” says Kristin Stapleton, director of both the Confucius Institute and the UB Asian Studies Program, and associate professor of history at UB. “We are excited to be collaborating with the Chinese Club for this festive celebration, since our two organizations share the goal of increasing understanding about China in Western New York.”
The Chinese Spring Festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day. The last day before the New Year begins—Chinese New Year’s Eve—is a day on which families gather for their annual reunion dinner.
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Kulpa to head federal relations
The Office of Government Relations has named Katherine Kulpa as director of federal relations.
A Tonawanda native, Kulpa has worked in the Washington, D.C., office of Sen. Charles E. Schumer for the past four years handling a variety of issues, among them aviation safety reform legislation in response to the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from UB and a master’s degree in public administration from the University at Albany.
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Imam to speak at UB
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the “Ground Zero Mosque,” will speak from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 29 in the Center for Tomorrow, North Campus. His topic: “Cordoba House: A Peaceful Vision of Multi-faith Collaboration.”
The talk is sponsored by the Muslim Student Association.
A Kuwaiti-born author, activist and religious leader, Rauf has lived in New York City since the 1960s and has served as imam of Masjid al-Farah mosque in New York since 1983. He has written three books on Islam and its place in contemporary Western Society, including “What’s Right with Islam is What’s Right with America. He has worked to build bridges between American society, the American Muslim community and the wider Muslim world.
Last year, Rauf received national attention for his plan to build Park51, an Islamic community center originally named Cordoba House, two blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.
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Piano students to give Brown Bag Concert
Piano students of UB faculty member Eric Huebner will present an all-Chopin program at the Department of Music’s monthly Brown Bag Concert, to take place at noon Feb. 1 on the stage in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus.
Now in its 12th year, the Brown Bag Concert Series is designed to showcase the talents of UB music students and faculty. The series of free, informal concerts presented over the lunch hour allows patrons to catch a glimpse of the kind of programming offered on a regular basis by the Department of Music. Participants are invited to bring their lunch and enjoy complimentary Tim Hortons coffee. Each attendee will receive a pair of complimentary tickets for a more formal concert within the following month.
Rounding out the free music offerings for February is a junior recital presented by voice students Lisa Waltzer, soprano, and West Richter, baritone. The recital will take place at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in Baird Recital Hall, 250 Baird Hall, North Campus.
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New film in series
“Au Hasard Balthazar” a 1966 film by French director Robert Bresson, will be screened on Feb. 15 in the Buffalo Film Seminars, the semester-long film series hosted by UB faculty members Diane Christian and Bruce Jackson in the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center in downtown Buffalo.
The film substitutes for the originally scheduled “Diary of a Country Priest,” also directed by Bresson. Jackson says a New York City theater with exclusive distribution rights for “Diary” had complained that the Buffalo screening of the film would impinge on its market.
“Au Hasard Balthazar”is the story of Balthazar, a mistreated donkey, whose life is paralleled with that of the girl who named him. “A study on saintliness,” according to IMDb, the Internet movie database.
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Applicants sought for federal scholarships
Undergraduate and graduate students seeking employment as computer security and information assurance specialists within the federal government may apply for federal scholarship support.
Scholarships are being offered by the U.S. Department of Defense (Information Assurance Scholarship Program) and National Science Foundation (Federal Cyber Service Program).
Information assurance encompasses the scientific, technical and management disciplines required to ensure computer and network security. These disciplines include, but are not limited to, mathematics, biometrics, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, computer science, computer engineering, software engineering, computer programming, computer support, database administration, computer systems analysis, operations research, information security (assurance) and business management or administration.
UB students have been very successful in obtaining these scholarships, says Shambhu J. Upadhyaya, associate professor of computer science and engineering, and director of the Center of Excellence in Information Systems Assurance Research and Education (CEISARE). Six students have gone through the DoD program in the past eight years, and two students have gone through the NSF program. There currently are two students in the DOD program and five students in the NSF program.
The scholarships pay the full cost of tuition, fees, books, lab expenses and supplies and equipment. The DOD scholarship carries an additional stipend of $14,000 for undergraduates and $19,000 for graduate students; the NSF scholarship includes a stipend of $8,000 for undergraduates and $12,000 for graduate students, with a modest additional amount for room and board. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.
The deadline for applications is Feb. 11 for the DOD scholarships and Feb. 18 for the NSF scholarships. Awards will be announced in May.
Information on the application process for both scholarships can be found on the CEISARE website.
For further information, contact Upadhyaya at 645-3180, ext. 133, or at shambhu@cse.buffalo.edu.
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Wine tasting set
The UB Women’s Club will hold its annual Wine Tasting Party at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Buffalo Launch Club, 503 East River Road, Grand Island.
The event, which will feature food and wines of Italy, benefits the Grace Capen Scholarship Fund.
The cost is $65 per person; guests must be 21 years of age or older.
For further information or to make a reservation, contact Joan Ryan at 626-9332.
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