Columnist Frank Rich to Speak at Willamette

Op-ed columnist Frank Rich of The New York Times will present the spring 2008 Atkinson Lecture at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, in Smith Auditorium at Willamette University. He will discuss the intersection of culture and politics.

Tickets are available beginning Monday, March 3, at the Information Desk in Putnam University Center. For Willamette faculty, students and staff, the first ticket is free with a Willamette ID, and subsequent tickets are $10 each. Tickets for the general public are $10.

A former film and television critic at Time magazine and The New York Post, Rich began working for The New York Times in 1980, and during the years has served as chief drama critic and political commentator. His op-ed columns have been a regular feature of the Times since 1994. In 1999 he was given the additional duty of senior writer for The New York Times Magazine.

Rich's weekly essays on the intersection of culture and news helped inaugurate the expanded opinion pages that the paper introduced in the Sunday Week in Review section in 2005. From 2003-05, Rich was the front-page columnist for the Sunday Arts & Leisure section.

Among other honors, Rich received the George Polk Award for commentary in 2005. His latest book, “The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth From 9/11 to Katrina,” was published by the Penguin Press in 2006. His childhood memoir, “Ghost Light,” was published in 2000 by Random House. The film rights to “Ghost Light” have been acquired by Storyline Entertainment. A collection of Rich’s drama reviews, “Hot Seat: Theater Criticism for The New York Times, 1980-1993,” was published by Random House in October 1998.

Born in 1949 in Washington, D.C., Rich is a graduate of its public schools. He graduated magna cum laude in 1971 from Harvard College, earning a bachelor of arts degree in American history and literature. At Harvard, he was editorial chairman of The Harvard Crimson, an honorary Harvard College scholar, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and the recipient of a Henry Russell Shaw traveling fellowship. Rich has two sons and lives in Manhattan with his wife, author Alex Witchel, who is a reporter for The New York Times.

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Puttin' on the Ritz Invites Community to the Dance Floor

Put on your best dress or tuxedo and your dancing shoes and enjoy an evening of big-band music Feb. 29 and March 1 at Willamette University’s 13th annual Puttin’ on the Ritz.

The event starts both nights at 6:30 p.m. with appetizers, followed by dinner and dancing from 7 to 11 p.m. The Cat Cavern in Putnam University Center will be decorated for an evening of swing-style dancing. Bon Appetit will provide the meal, and the Willamette Jazz Ensemble and the Willamette Singers will perform music from the 1940s and ’50s.

“This event fills an oft-mentioned void in the Salem community for an upscale evening where dancing is encouraged and the music is timeless,” said Choral Director Wallace Long.

Tickets are $34.50 per person, $138 for a table of four and $260 for a table of eight. Proceeds will help the Willamette Singers travel to Vancouver, B.C., to perform at the American Choral Directors Association Northwest Regional Convention. Call Susie Thompson-Drain at (503) 370-6214 to reserve tickets.

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Scholar Presents New Findings on Ancient Religious Icons

A noted art history scholar will present his groundbreaking findings on the origins of religious icons in a free lecture Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Roger Hull Lecture Hall at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University.

“Icons in Antiquity: The Symphony of the Gods” will feature Thomas Mathews, emeritus art history professor from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. The event is the first in a new annual series called the Lane C. McGaughy Lectureship in Ancient Studies, established by the Willamette University Center for Ancient Studies and Archaeology (CASA).

Thomas Mathews is leading an interdisciplinary project that has uncovered fresh evidence of the icon phenomenon from Egypt in Roman times. Icons, which are panel paintings of sacred subjects, are the most characteristic genre of art of Orthodox Christianity, and currently accepted theories trace their origin to the Roman cult of the imperial image or to the use of funeral portraits. Mathews’ project team is studying panel paintings of the 1st–3rd centuries that bear strong resemblances to the Christian icons that followed them, constituting an important bridge between “pagan” antiquity and Christianity.

Mathews, who holds degrees in classics, philosophy, theology and art history, has devoted himself to the interpretation of religious art of the early Christian and East Christian worlds. He is the author of 13 books and many scholarly articles, and his research has been supported by numerous prestigious grants and fellowships, including the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The event is co-sponsored by CASA and the Mark and Janeth Hogue Sponenburgh Lectureship Fund of the department of art and art history. The Lane C. McGaughy Lectureship in Ancient Studies honors the George H. Atkinson professor of religious and ethical studies emeritus who founded Willamette’s classical studies program and is a founding member of the Salem Society of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Northwest House of Theological Studies.

For more information, call (503) 370-6250 or visit www.willamette.edu/centers/casa/research_grants/lane_mcgaughy.

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Learning WebEdit Workshops

The Web Development Team has scheduled a series of workshops to introduce the Willamette community to WebEdit. These hands on sessions will cover the basics of editing and updating your web pages using WebEdit.

We encourage groups of individuals who will be working on the same pages to attend a session together. These sessions are intended for staff members. If you would like us to set up a session for the students who will be working on your site please contact us at webdev@willamette.edu.

All sessions will be conducted in Smullin 6.

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Willamette University Honors Wartime Students

Japanese-American students at Willamette University during World War II were forced to say an abrupt goodbye when federal prosecutors rounded them up for a trip to an internment camp. In February, Willamette invites them to return for a series of events in their honor.

Japanese-American alumni from the time period, their families and the general public are invited to campus Feb. 19, the 66th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signing Executive Order 9066 authorizing the removal of people deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland.

Oregon Poet Laureate Lawson Inada and friends will present “Revisiting Willamette: A Sentimental Journey,” an evening of poetry and jazz, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Hudson Hall. Inada, a nationally noted poet and the author of five books, is an emeritus professor of writing at Southern Oregon University who was sent to an internment camp as a young boy. Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed him Oregon’s fifth poet laureate in 2006. The program also will include 1940s–era music performed by jazz musicians Larry Nobori, Rick Homer, Andre St. James, Nola Bogle and Gordon Lee. This event is co-sponsored by the Portland Japanese American Citizens League.

Earlier in the day, Shizue Seigel, author of “In Good Conscience,” will discuss cross-racial alliances to protect civil liberties during wartime in a lecture at 4 p.m. in the Hatfield Room of the Hatfield Library. Siegel’s book offers portraits of two dozen citizens who spoke out against internment and examines how ordinary people can become advocates for justice and compassion.

Two films, “From 9066 to 9/11” and “Stand Up for Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story,” will be presented Feb. 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Paulus Lecture Hall at the College of Law. The event will include a discussion with the filmmakers and local Japanese-Americans affected by Executive Order 9066. Ralph Lazo was a Latino teenager who boarded a train to a World War II camp so he could join his Japanese friends.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Michelle Maynard at (503) 370-6031.

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Community Invited to Celebrate Africa Week

Willamette University will host its third annual celebration of Africa with a series of free events during the week of Feb. 18–22.

In previous years, Willamette hosted one day of Africa-related events, but with growing interest among students and faculty, the program was expanded to an entire week. All events are free and open to the public.

The film “Blood Diamond” will be shown at 9 p.m. Feb. 18 in Smith Auditorium. The film will be accompanied by a discussion of the historical forces that triggered the actual events depicted in the film and will contextualize the film within current geopolitics.

Jan Haaken, Portland State University psychology professor and author of “Speaking Out: Women, War, and the Global Economy,” will lead a workshop at 1 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Hatfield Room of Hatfield Library. The workshop will explore why and how African countries are often mired in social unrest.

Willamette students and faculty will unveil Oregon’s first mammoth puzzle map of Africa Feb. 20 at 3:30 p.m. in Cat Cavern. In addition to a puzzle competition and activities, students will display educational posters for each of Africa’s 54 countries. Festivities will include African music and snacks.

That evening at 6 p.m. in Cat Cavern, attendees can watch “Africa Dreaming,” four 25-minute short films produced by African filmmakers about love, family and relationships in Namibia, Tunisia, Mozambique and Senegal.

On Feb. 21, four Willamette students will show slides and share experiences from their time studying abroad in South Africa, Uganda and Ghana. This event is at 11:30 a.m. in Cone Chapel.

The week culminates Feb. 22 with an all-day African market in Putnam University Center and Goudy Commons. Come shop for jewelry, crafts, drums, clothing, baskets and artwork while supporting humanitarian projects in Africa and local entrepreneurs in Oregon.

African cuisine will be served throughout the week in Goudy Commons, Cat Cavern and the Bistro. Also that week is an exhibition of West African Yoruba sculpture on display at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

For more information about any of these events, contact Willamette’s anthropology department at (503) 370-6615.

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Exhibition Explores Africa Through Prints

A small exhibition of African prints and related etching plates from Ashland painter and printmaker Betty LaDuke will be presented Jan. 19 through May 10 in the lobby and Print Study Center of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University.

Betty LaDuke: Prints displays the artist’s longtime interest in the people and cultures of Africa. The daughter of Russian and Polish-Jewish immigrants, LaDuke focuses her work on multicultural issues and the international places she has visited during the past 40 years. Her African work portrays the color, texture and rhythms of African rural life, exploring universal themes such as creation myths, birth and death, food production and the spirit’s journey.

LaDuke traces her interest in other cultures to her work with African-American artists Charles White and Elizabeth Catlett, both of whom she credits as mentors and role models. LaDuke earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University in Los Angeles. In 1964, she accepted a full-time faculty position at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, where she taught for 32 years.

Betty LaDuke: Prints is supported in part by grants from the City of Salem’s Transient Occupancy Tax funds and the Oregon Arts Commission.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State St. (corner of State and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem near the campus of Willamette University. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed Monday. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children younger than 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information, call (503) 370-6855 or visit www.willamette.edu/museum_of_art.

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Video Contest, Symposium Highlight Focus the Nation at Willamette

Willamette University students, faculty, staff and community members gathered on campus recently for a daylong symposium on problems and solutions surrounding global climate change. The discussions were part of a nationwide project called Focus the Nation, with more than 1,200 colleges and universities participating.

Willamette also hosted a contest to create a video for the original song “Oceans Rising,” written by Willamette Vice President Kristen Grainger. Grainger performed the song with guitarist Dan Wetzel. The winning video, created by Willamette senior Katie Salisbury, a religious studies major, was shown at a free concert in Smith Auditorium. View Salisbury’s video at www.willamette.edu/go/oceans_rising.

Thursday’s discussions focused on a wide range of topics, including health effects of climate change, the challenge of teaching climate change in schools, the relationship between faith and climate change and private sector contributions to sustainability. Panelists included state agency representatives, educators, students and faculty.

For more information, visit www.willamette.edu/about/sustainability/focusthenation/ or focusthenation.org.

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Teacher Workshop, Gallery Talks Planned for Lavadour Exhibition

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University will host a series of free gallery talks and a workshop for teachers in conjunction with the exhibition James Lavadour: The Properties of Paint, on display Feb. 2 through March 30.

The workshop, for teachers interested in bringing their classes to see the exhibition, will be Feb. 5 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the museum. The workshop will help teachers prepare their students for a field trip to the museum, develop strategies to tour the exhibition and reinforce the gallery experience and broaden curriculum concepts back in the classroom.

Elizabeth Garrison, the museum’s Cameron Paulin Curator of Education, will teach the workshop. She has written a teacher guide that will be available after Feb. 6 at www.willamette.edu/museum_of_art. The workshop is free, although advance registration is required by calling (503) 370-6855.

Free gallery talks about the exhibition, presented by museum docents, will be every Tuesday, Feb. 5 through March 25, from 12:30 to 1 p.m. at the museum.

James Lavadour: The Properties of Paint features a range of recent work by this Native American painter and printmaker. Since 2000, Lavadour has focused intensely on the properties of paint, creating works that he describes as the intersections between his better-known landscapes and his lesser-known architectural structures.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State St. (corner of State and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem near the campus of Willamette University. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed Monday. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children younger than 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information, call (503) 370-6855 or visit www.willamette.edu/museum_of_art.

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