George Mitchell to Speak at Willamette University

Sen. George Mitchell, chairman of the Peace Negotiations in Northern Ireland and former senator of Maine, will speak at Willamette University on Monday, March 12, 2001 at 8 p.m. in Willamette University's Smith Auditorium.

Mitchell is the second and final speaker in the 2000-2001 Atkinson Lecture Series, Willamette University's premiere speaker series, established in 1956 to bring internationally prominent leaders to the University. Mitchell's lecture is entitled “An Evening with George Mitchell.”

Tickets will be available starting Monday, Feb. 26 through Mid-Valley Arts Council, 503-370-7469, and all FASTIXX outlets, 1-800-992-8499. Ticket prices are $5 each plus service charge. A book signing will follow Mitchell's lecture.

Mitchell was praised as the most trusted man in the U.S. Capitol through 14 years as a senator. He was instrumental in the passage of landmark legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and in the successful reauthorization of the Clean Air Act in 1990.

After retiring as Senate Majority Leader in 1995, Mitchell served as chairman of the Peace Negotiations in Northern Ireland. His leadership was instrumental in the drafting of a historic peace accord. For his service, Mitchell received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the U.S. government can bestow.

Mitchell has authored four books: Men of Zeal, co-authored with Sen. Bill Cohen of Maine; World on Fire; Not For America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy; and The Fall of Communism and Making Peace.

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Willamette Law Professor Elected as President of Prestigious Law Association

Willamette University College of Law Prof. James Nafziger was elected to a two-year term as president of the International Law Association - American Branch. This election recognizes Nafziger's distinguished career in international law and his multiple contributions to the advancement of the field.

The International Law Association, with several thousand worldwide members, has over 40 national branches, of which the American Branch is the largest branch. Prior to his presidential election, Nafziger held positions in the organization as director of studies and vice president.

The International Law Association was founded in 1873 and is considered the preeminent non-governmental organization devoted to the development of international law. It has a consultative status in the United Nations and drafts resolutions, model treaties, and other documents which often influence the development of international law. Its current agenda includes some 25 projects involving committees of experts from around the world. Last July, the Association had its annual meeting in London. The meeting opened in Westminster Hall and included a reception hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Nafziger has also recently been appointed as a member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, one of the world's most prestigious international legal organizations. The Academy, founded at The Hague in 1924, plays an important role in stimulating research in comparative law throughout the world.

Nafziger has taught international and comparative law at Willamette for 23 years.

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Willamette University Theatre Presents: “Art In Action”

Willamette University Theatre will present its annual spring dance concert - "Art in Action." Combining performances in modern dance with humorous interpretations of classical ballet, "Art in Action" explores themes of the human condition sometimes going a little over the edge.

Running for only one weekend, "Art in Action" previews on March 8 at 8:00 p.m. Evening performances are on March 9 and 10 at 8:00 p.m., with a Sunday matinee on March 11 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for evening shows and $8 for matinees. Student and senior tickets are $6 for all shows. The preview show is half price. For ticket reservations, please contact the box office at 503-370-6221. For additional information, contact Jen Druback, Willamette University Theatre publicity manager, at 503-370-6222.

Kimberly Christensen, artistic director for the concert, has been the dance instructor at Willamette University for five years. She also teaches at the University of Oregon and danced with the Van Ummersen Dance Company. This year's guest choreographer, Walter Kennedy, was a principal dancer and master teacher for nearly 20 years with the internationally acclaimed Lewitzky Dance Company. Prof. Clay Everett and Willamette student Lindsay Linx Alexanderson '02 will be creating the lighting design.

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Author of Measure 58 to Speak at Willamette

Helen Hill, author of Measure 58 - Oregon's "open-file" adoption law, and Adam Cornell, an advocate for scholarships for foster children, will speak in the Cone Chapel on Tuesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. Their lecture is part of Operation Dream 2001- a weeklong program organized by students focusing on educating the Willamette campus and local community on current social justice issues. This year's topic, chosen by student co-coordinators, is "Lost and Found: Exploring Adoption and Foster Care."

All events during the week of March 5 are free and open to the public. No tickets are required. For more information on the events listed below, contact the Community Outreach Program office at 503-370-6953.

Other events during the week include:

Monday, March 5
Craig Lesley, Willamette English professor and author of Storm Riders, will speak on his experiences fostering a Native American boy, 11 a.m. in the Hatfield Room, Hatfield Library.
Movie "Secrets and Lies," 7 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center

Tuesday, March 6
Helen Hill and Adam Cornell will speak in the Cone Chapel at 7 p.m. Helen Hill is a schoolteacher from Oregon, who made legislative history when Measure 58 passed in 1998 and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. This law makes it possible for adoptees to have access to their birth records. Adam Cornell is a former foster care youth who is currently lobbying for bill HB2431 to grant educational scholarships for foster care youth entering a college or university.

Wednesday, March 7
Bistro Night with music band "Blue Eyed Soul" and a panel discussion on issues of transracial, gay, single parent, disabled parent and international adoption at 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 8
Adoption and foster care orientation and training provided by Services for Children and Families (SCF) at 6 & 7:15 p.m. in the Autzen Room, the Putnam University Center.

Resource Fair for anyone involved in adoption or foster care 6:45 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center.

Friday, March 9
Movie "Second Best" featuring William Hurt will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center.

Saturay, March 10
Play day for foster and adopted children from 1-5 p.m. in the Sparks Center.

Foster and adopted children and their parents will come to Willamette's campus for a day of interaction and appreciation.
Willamette students will spend time with the children throughout the day's events, including pool games, gym games and the movie "Stuart Little."

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AIDS Memorial Quilt to Visit Willamette University

A portion of the Names Project Foundation AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at Willamette University Monday, Feb. 26 through Thursday, March 1 as part of the campus-wide week entitled "Taking On the Fight: AIDS Awareness Week." All proceeds from the week's events will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

The vigil and opening ceremonies for the Names Project Foundation AIDS Quilt will be Monday, Feb. 26 in the Cone Chapel from 8-9 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. The AIDS quilt will be on display in the Cone Chapel Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 27-28 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday, March 1 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The AIDS quilt closing ceremony will take place at 8 p.m. in the Cone Chapel on Thursday, March 1.

Other events during the week include:

Tuesday, Feb. 27
Speaker Cleve Jones, 7 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required to attend this event and will be available starting Monday Feb. 12 from the Putnam University Center Information Desk 503-370-6300. Remaining tickets will be available at the door. Cleve Jones, founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, was one of the first gay community activists to recognize and respond to the threat of AIDS. Jones helped found the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in 1983 and has remained a passionate and articulate spokesperson for people living with AIDS and a leader in the worldwide campaign to stop the epidemic.

Wednesday, Feb. 28
Faculty/administration vs. students basketball game at 7 p.m. in the Sparks Center. Entry fee $1. This event is open to the public.

Thursday, March 1
HIV testing and information/discussion with Marion County Health Services, 10:30 a.m. ­ 2:30 p.m. in the Putnam University Center. There will also be a President's Run, a one-mile run beginning at 6 p.m. around the perimeter of campus. This event is open to the public and requires a $3 entry fee. The AIDS Quilt Closing Ceremony will take place at 8 p.m. in the Cone Chapel.

Friday, March 2
Silent auction and dessert in the Alumni Lounge, 3rd floor Putnam University Center from 4-6 p.m. This event is open to the public. Auctioned items have been donated by local businesses.

For more information on these events, contact Lisa Jones, director of student activities, 503-370-6463. This event is organized by The Panhellenic Council, Associated Students of Willamette University (ASWU), House Hall Representatives and Interfraternity Council.

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Willamette's Website is Changing

This is the first of three phases of development for Willamette University's new and improving website. Phase one was designed to make the site easier to use and more appealing. Content changes will follow in later phases, and will be ongoing.

We've completely revamped the navigation system to make it easier for you to find what you need with as few clicks as possible. We've also added a brighter and more colorful look to better reflect the essence of Willamette. You'll notice these modifications on our homepage, and on many of the pages linked from there.

We have not implemented these design and navigational changes throughout the whole site as yet. We wanted to give you an opportunity to view it in an early stage of development and give us your thoughts on how we can better design it to meet your needs. Ultimately, we want the site to be comfortable as well as functional - a place you'll want to come back to and visit again.

Below the newly designed pages, you'll find the remainder of the Willamette web pages, unchanged. Updating these pages, as well as adding additional functionality and content changes to the site, will take place after we've evaluated our web visitors' comments and suggestions. You'll be able to navigate through the site as normal, using your "Back" and "Forward" browser buttons at the upper left of your screen.

Enjoy the site. Give it a test drive. Check out the new Quick Jump button in the upper-left corner. Email us at new-web@willamette.edu to let us know what you think we can do to improve things even more. And for those of you who aren't that familiar with Willamette yet, make sure you click on the loudspeaker icon on the right of our homepage to hear how to say our name just like a "real Oregonian."

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Latin-American Quartet To Play At Willamette

Willamette University's New Music presents Cuarteto Latinamericano on Thursday, March 1, 2001, at 8 p.m. in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. This concert is free and open to the public.

Cuarteto Latinoamericano is composed of three brothers, violinists Saul and Aron and cellist Alvaro Bitran, with violist Javier Montiel. The Cuarteto holds quartet-in-residence positions at the Performing Arts Center in Mexico City and at Carnegie-Mellon University. The program will include the premiere of a Quintet for piano and string quartet written especially for the Cuarteto by Willamette's composer-in-residence, John Peel. Pianist and faculty artist Jean-David Coen will be joining the Cuarteto for this performance.

For additional information, contact the Willamette University Music Department at 503-370-6255.

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Three Willamette Students Make Final Round for Truman Scholarship

Willamette congratulates three students who are finalists in receiving the prestigious Truman Foundation Scholarship. Willamette joins Yale and Dartmouth as the only universities that nominated three or more students and had a 100% success rate in the choice of finalists.

The three Willamette finalists are:

• Anna Carpenter '02, a sociology major from Boulder City, Nev. She will travel to Phoenix, Az., to interview on March 5.
• Johnny Vong '02, a politics major from Upland, Calif. He is currently studying in Galway, Ireland and will interview in Oxford, England, on Feb. 26.
• Russell Bither-Terry '02, a politics major from Eagle River, Alaska. He will interview in Washington, D.C., on March 26, one day after returning from a spring break study trip to Cuba.

Recipients of the Truman Scholarship receive $30,000 for undergraduate and graduate study leading to careers in public service, along with leadership training and internship opportunities In 2000 the Truman Foundation recognized Willamette for fostering awareness of the Truman Scholarship competition on campus and encouraging students to consider careers in public service.

In the last three years Willamette has had ten Truman finalists going to regional interviews, the final round of competition.

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Willamette to Receive Honor From Truman Foundation on Founders Day

Willamette University will be honored as a 2000 Truman Foundation Honor Institution on Thursday, Feb. 1, Founders Day, for its exemplary participation in the Truman Scholarship program. This honor puts Willamette in elite company. In the five-year history of the Truman Foundation Honor Institution Award, only 38 colleges and universities nationwide have been selected for this honor.

The award is given to schools that attain excellence in three areas:

• Encouraging students to pursue careers in public service
• Effectively promoting the Truman program on their campuses
• And demonstrating sustained success in helping their students win Truman Scholarships

The Truman Scholarship is one of the most rigorous scholarship programs in the country. Each year, the Truman Scholarship Foundation awards 75-80 college junior $30,000 scholarships to attend graduate school in preparation for career in public service. Over the years, eight Willamette University students have received this prestigious scholarship. Three of those awards have been earned in the last two years.

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Willamette University Theatre Presents: “The Bald Soprano” & “The Lesson”

Willamette University Theatre will perform an evening of two classic one-act plays ­"The Bald Soprano" and "The Lesson" by Eugene Ionesco, one of the foremost playwrights of the "Theatre of the Absurd."

The production will open Friday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. with a preview on Thursday, Feb. 15, also at 8 p.m. The show will run Feb. 15-17 and 22-24 at 8 p.m., with matinees Feb. 18 and 25 at 2 p.m. and Feb. 22 at 11 a.m.

Tickets are $10 for evening shows and $8 for matinees. Students and senior tickets are $6 all shows. Preview is half price. For ticket reservations, please contact the box office at 503-370-6221. For additional information, contact Jen Druback, Willamette University's theatre publicity manager, at 503-370-6222.

Ionesco's first play, "The Bald Soprano," satirizes the monotony of the daily lives of the English, middle class, frozen in their meaningless formalities. He places the tragic and farcical side by side. In "The Lesson," a teacher gains domination over his pupil through his superior use of language.

Several Willamette University theatre professors are involved with this production. Prof. Julie Akers will be directing the production, her fifth at Willamette. Scene design is by Prof. Chris Harris. Light design is by Clay Everett, with costume design by Bobby Brewer-Wallin.

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Willamette to Honor Black-American Leaders

Willamette University presents an event highlighting Black History Month: "Celebrating Our Past and Honoring Our Living Legends", Thursday, Feb. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. The celebration is free and open to the public.

The event will feature music, song and dance, dramatic readings, and poetry. Willamette will also be celebrating the accomplishments of Oregon’s living African-American legends in education, community service and leadership.

The honorees include:

• Dr. Benjamin Canada, superintendent, Portland Public Schools
• George Russell, superintendent, Eugene Public Schools
• Geraldine Hammond, retired school administrator, Salem-Keizer School District
• Hon. Margaret L. Carter, state representative, District 18, Portland
• Hon. Avel Gordly, state representative, District 19, Portland
• Jackie Winters, state representative
• JoAnn Bowman, state representative
• Hon. James A. Hill Jr., former treasurer, State of Oregon
• Dr. Daniel O. Bernstine, president, Portland State University
• Dr. M. Lee Pelton, president, Willamette University

The Salem Gospel Choir will appear for a special performance and a reception will follow the event. This event is sponsored by the Willamette University Black Student Organization and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. For more information, call 503-370-6294.

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Willamette Theatre Students To Compete In Prestigious Regional Competition

The Willamette University Theatre’s cast from “How I Learned to Drive” was chosen to compete in the prestigious Kennedy Theatre American College Theatre Festival’s regional competition in Anchorage, Alaska during the week of Feb. 12. Five plays will be chosen from regional competitions throughout the country to perform at the national competition in the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Susan Coromel, co-chair of Willamette’s theatre department, referred to the regional festival as “the Rose Bowl of university theatre.” In addition, Willamette University is the only Oregon university, the only liberal arts university and the only primarily undergraduate program chosen to compete.

The American College Theatre Festival holds annual regional competitions and selects a small number of plays to be performed. This year approximately 40 plays were entered, with four chosen to compete. Willamette University, along with the University of Wyoming, Western Washington University and the University of Alaska, were the four schools invited to perform plays from their fall theatre season. Willamette participates in a region that includes Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

“Participation in the competition and the reputation of the American College Theatre Festival increases Willamette’s visibility,” said Coromel. “The judges that travel to Willamette to view our plays always say they are so impressed with the quality that comes out of our small University.”

The Willamette University Theatre will conduct a benefit performance of “How I Learned to Drive” on Friday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. to offset the cost of traveling to the competition. Ticket prices for this performance have not yet been determined. For more information, contact the theatre box office at 503-370-6221. Penske Trucking is underwriting the cost of transporting the set design and props for the play.

In addition to the play being chosen for this prestigious competition, six Willamette student actors will take part in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition at the regional competition in Anchorage, Alaska. This competition provides students with scholarships. Regional winners are also invited to the Kennedy Center to compete on the national level.

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