Alice Walker to speak

Poet, essayist and author Alice Walker, best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning book "The Color Purple," will speak at 8 p.m. April 26 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

The lecture is the last of the academic year in the 13th annual Distinguished Speakers Series, presented by UB and the Don Davis Auto World Lectureship Fund. The series is sponsored by the Student Association. Walker's lecture is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Walker has written two collections of short stories, four volumes of poetry, two collections of essays, two children's books, a biography of Langston Hughes and five novels.

Her more recent works include "Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer's Activism," which reveals her commitment to activism in its cultural, spiritual and political forms, and "By the Light of My Father's Smile," which synthesizes ancient and modern wisdoms.

Tickets for the lecture are available through the Center for the Arts box office at 645-2787, or through TicketMaster locations and at 852-5000.

Blumenthal named chair of biochemistry

Kenneth M. Blumenthal, professor of molecular genetics, biochemistry and microbiology at the University at Cincinnati, has been named chair of the Department of Biochemistry, effective Aug. 1.

A specialist in the study of protein structures, Blumenthal has been conducting research in the field funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1976. He is principal investigator on a four-year, $596,000 NIH grant to investigate the interaction of peptide blockers with gastric chloride channels.

Blumenthal holds a degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin and a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Chicago. He completed a three-year NIH postdoctoral fellowship in biological chemistry at the UCLA School of Medicine.

A member of NIH's site-visit teams, Blumenthal also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. He has been a member of three NIH study sections.

Blumenthal has authored or co-authored 50 publications in refereed journals and has written five book chapters.

Dance troupe to present "Cinderella"

Pick of the Crop Dance troupe will present an original storybook ballet, "Cinderella," April 7-9 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. on April 7, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on April 8 and 2 p.m. on April 9.

Tickets, at a cost of $17 for adults and $15 for students and senior citizens, are available at the Center for the Arts box office.

"Cinderella," Pick of the Crop's third storybook ballet production, will feature more than 100 children in four casts representing more than 60 area dance studios. Children's roles include jesters, acrobats, magician's assistants and chickens. Joining the children will be more than 30 non-professional adult dancers in the roles of ballroom dancers, court dancers, king and queen.

The production was created and choreographed by Elaine Gardner, Pick of the Crop artistic director, with original music by music director Curt Steinzor.

Forum on hate crime to be held tonight

An "On the Issues" forum titled "Hate Crimes: How Children Learn to Hate" will be held at 7:30 p.m. today in the Center for Tomorrow on the North Campus. It will be free and open to the public.

Featured will be Charles Ewing, UB professor of law and nationally known forensic psychologist and author; the Hon. Michael A. Battle, Erie County Family Court Judge; Aaron Stewart, Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of New York, and the Teen "Reality" Theatre Group.

Ilene Fleishmann, assistant dean in the UB Law School, will be the forum moderator.

The forum will be presented by the American Jewish Committee of Western New York in cooperation with the UB Law School, WGRZ-TV Channel 2, Maimonides Medical Society, the League of Women Voters of Greater Buffalo and the Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of New York.

For more information, call 877-6234.

Information sessions set on grad student Fulbrights

Information sessions for graduate students interested in applying for Fulbright grants for 2001-02 will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on April 12 and April 14 in 930 Clemens Hall on the North Campus.

The grants, sponsored by the U.S. State Department under the legislative mandate of Congress, are for graduate study or research abroad in academic fields and for practical training in the creative and performing arts.

Approximately 900 grants will be available to graduate students in more than 100 countries.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application and hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent by the beginning date of the grant. Creative and performing artists are not required to have a bachelor's degree, but must have four years of relevant training or study. Candidates in medicine must have an M.D. or equivalent (e.g., D.D.S., O.D., etc.) at the time of application.

All applicants are required to have sufficient proficiency in the language of the host country to carry out their proposed study or research.

Fulbright full grants provide round-trip international travel, maintenance for the duration of the grant and tuition waivers, if applicable.

Fulbright travel grants provide round-trip travel to the country where the student will pursue study or research. They are intended to supplement maintenance awards from other sources that do not provide funds for international travel or an applicant's personal funds.

Anyone planning to attend an information session should contact Mark Ashwill, Fulbright program adviser, at 645-2292 or ub-wli@acsu.buffalo.edu. Information also may be obtained from the UB Fulbright Program homepage at http://wings.buffalo.edu/fulbright.

Limon Dance Company comes to UB for residency, performance

The Center for the Arts will present the internationally famous Limon Dance Company at 8 p.m. April 15 in the Mainstage Theatre on the North Campus. It is the third performance in the center's 1999/2000 KeyBank Dance Series.

The renowned dance company currently is in residence in the Center for the Arts until April 15. The residency includes master classes for students in the Department of Theatre and Dance, as well as activities for several elementary, middle and high schools in the area.

In continuous operation since 1946, the Limon Dance Company is recognized as America's oldest modern-dance repertory company. It is the living embodiment of the movement, technique and philosophy of theater developed by José Limon and his mentors. The company's mission is to produce vital, exciting dance theater of the quality to be at the vanguard of the international dance scene and to provide a home for modern-dance masterpieces.

The Limon Dance Company was the first American modern-dance company to perform in Europe in 1950 and the first dance troupe to perform in Lincoln Center in 1963. The company performed during every American Dance Festival season from 1948-73, and has had the honor of appearing twice at the White House.

Tickets for the April 15 performance are $18, $15 and $9 for the general public and $7 for students. Discount coupons are available at all area KeyBank locations. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts box office from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at all Ticketmaster locations. For more information, call 645-ARTS.

For more information on the Limon Dance Company in residence at the Center for the Arts, call 645-6921.

Alumna funds scholarships

Alumna Adele M. Gottschalk, M.D. '67, has given a $225,000 gift to support scholarships for students in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The Adele M. Gottschalk Scholarship Endowment Fund will provide a renewable tuition scholarship for at least one student in each incoming freshman class "who demonstrates need and is morally fit." The size of the scholarship amount will be between 25 percent and 100 percent of tuition, as determined by the dean and the dollars available to be spent from the account.

For Gottschalk, it was a simple decision. "I am grateful for the educational opportunities that I had and for the whole system that allowed me to take advantage of them," she said. "I wanted to help others who need similar assistance."

Gottschalk, who grew up in New York City, said her father died when she was 11 and her mother told her: "If you want an education, you will have to pay for it." Gottschalk said she worked hard to earn her education during a period when state schools awarded scholarships based on merit and need through the Governor Rockefeller Scholarship Incentive Award program.

She completed her undergraduate degree at City University of New York in Queens and came to Buffalo for medical school.

Gottschalk continued to earn scholarships that covered virtually all of her tuition for medical school.

ESI seeks EMAP proposals

The Environment and Society Institute is seeking proposals for projects to be funded by its Environmental Management Alternatives Program (EMAP).

EMAP provides seed funding for interdisciplinary research and analysis on environmental problems relevant to the regional community.

All UB faculty members are eligible to apply for funding. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged to apply.

Projects can be up to 12 months in duration, with a starting date of July 1.

Proposals must be received no later than 4 p.m. on June 2. All submissions should be in digital form, preferably as word-processing files attached to email messages, sent to ESI Co-directors John Vena at jvena@buffalo.edu or Errol Meidinger at eemeid@buffalo.edu. Floppy disks may be mailed or delivered to the institute at 719 O'Brian Hall, North Campus.

For further information, contact the institute at 645-2159 or ub-esi@acsu.buffalo.edu or visit the Web site at http://www.buffalo.edu/esi.

FBI agent to speak

Michael Mason, assistant special agent in charge of the Buffalo office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will address the April 11 meeting of the Emeritus Center.

Mason will discuss "The X-Files vs. an Equally Interesting Reality" at 2 p.m. in the South Lounge, 102 Goodyear Hall on the South Campus.

The program is open to all members of the UB community.

For further information, call the Emeritus Center at 829-2271.

"UB Today" schedules April lineup

The "UB Today" television show that will air on Adelphia cable in April will cover a range of activities and programs at the university.

Featured will be Lewis Mandell, dean of the School of Management, who will discuss the school's new Executive Development Center in the former Butler mansion on Delaware Avenue; psychology professor Frank Fincham, who will explain the new Parents and Transition (PACT) program for children whose parents are undergoing separation or divorce; Al Harris, director of the University Gallery, who will describe the new Chinese art exhibit in the Lightwell Gallery, and head softball coach Marie Curran.

A new "UB Today" program airs each month at 6:30 p.m. Sundays on Channel 18 International; Channel 10 in Lancaster, Clarence, Orchard Park and Elma, and at 9 p.m. Mondays on Channel 18 International.

Stuttering workshop to be held at UB

A workshop to help teens and adults who stutter assess their communication strengths and learn how to improve their effectiveness as communicators will be part of conference to be held April 29 at UB.

The program will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 280 Park Hall on the North Campus.

The workshop is sponsored by the Buffalo Chapter of the National Stuttering Association. The Speech and Hearing Clinic in the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences is a co-sponsor.

The deadline for advance reservations is April 20.

For more information, call Bonnie Weiss at 838-3999 or 645-2154, ext. 1112.

Library of Congress to be topic of talk

Roberta Stevens, bicentennial program manager for the Library of Congress, will discuss "Celebrating America's Library and America's Libraries" at 5 p.m. today in the Special Collections Reading Room on the fourth floor of Capen Hall on the North Campus.

Stevens, an alumna of the UB School of Information and Library Studies, will describe the key events that changed the direction of the Library of Congress, the bicentennial program of America's oldest federal cultural institution and how the bicentennial's scope and activities reflect the complex and multidimensional role libraries play in our society today.