Nassau notes

Princeton scholar Cornel West and award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad will discuss the African American intellectual tradition at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall.

The topic of discussion was the focus of a graduate seminar taught by West and Professor Eddie Glaude at which Rashad was a frequent guest while she was in Princeton performing at McCarter Theatre in 2005. The event is sponsored by the Graduate School’s Office of Academic Affairs and Diversity.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the campus community and the public to learn more about the rich conversations and fruitful debates that emerged from the course,” said Karen Jackson-Weaver, associate dean of academic affairs and diversity at the Graduate School. “Phylicia Rashad offered a very unique perspective regarding what it means to be an intellectual and an artist.”

West, the Class of 1943 University Professor in the Center for African American Studies, is one of the nation’s most widely known and quoted public intellectuals on the topics of American society, race, politics and class issues. He is the author of the bestselling books “Race Matters” and “Democracy Matters.” His forthcoming book is titled “Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom.” West earned his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1980.

Rashad is widely known for her role as Claire Huxtable on the television series “The Cosby Show,” for which she earned two Emmy Award nominations and received People’s Choice and NAACP Image awards. Her extensive Broadway credits include “Raisin in the Sun,” for which she won a Tony Award for best actress, as well as “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Gem of the Ocean.” She also has appeared in many off-Broadway and regional theater productions and in feature films. A graduate of Howard University, Rashad is active in charitable and nonprofit organizations and is dedicated to supporting the importance of the fine arts in education.

The event is free, but tickets are required. They will be available for both campus and local community members at Richardson Auditorium beginning at noon Monday, Sept. 22, on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. They are limited to two per person.

Noted economist visiting Princeton to enhance study of Korea

Un-Chan Chung, a leading Korean economist and former president of Seoul National University, will spend this semester at Princeton to lend his expertise to the University’s expanding focus on Korean studies. Chung will be a visiting fellow at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS).

During his fellowship at Princeton, Chung will present a lecture on Korean economic growth on Monday, Sept. 22, and will serve as a commentator at a conference on “Vietnam and East Asia in a Globalized Context” planned for Thursday and Friday, Oct. 16-17.

See the full article on Un-Chan Chung in this issue of the PWB.

McCarter Theatre Center presents “Herringbone”

BD Wong stars in the one-man musical “Herringbone” at the McCarter Theatre Center (photo: Joan Marcus)

The versatile, Tony Award-winning actor BD Wong stars in the one-man musical “Herringbone” at the McCarter Theatre Center through Oct. 12.

Wong plays 11 characters in the quirky song-and-dance tale, in which a young man with a gift for tap dancing finds himself in a profound supernatural struggle for control over his body and soul.

Retiree open enrollment is Sept. 22-Oct. 3

The University’s retiree 2009 annual benefits open enrollment period is from Monday, Sept. 22, through Friday, Oct. 3, with changes effective Jan. 1, 2009.

During this time, retirees may change or waive their health plan coverage. Retirees also may remove dependents from their health care plan. If health care coverage is waived or if dependents are removed from the plan, re-enrollment at a later date is not permitted.

Retirees soon will be receiving information in the mail about the retiree health care plans.

For all pre-65 retirees and those post-65 retirees enrolled in the Princeton Medicare Plan, there will continue to be no annual deductible for the Medco Health Prescription Drug Plan. The co-payments for multisource prescription drugs will increase from $30 to $35 for retail and from $60 to $70 for mail order for 2009. The co-payments for retail and mail-order generic and brand name prescription drugs will remain the same for 2009.

Pre-65 retirees will be offered a new Aetna Preferred Provider (PPO) medical plan option for coverage for 2009. This plan will be offered along with the UnitedHealthcare PPO medical plan. The UnitedHealthcare EPO (HMO) plan will no longer be offered to pre-65 retirees for 2009; any pre-65 retiree currently enrolled under this plan will need to elect a new retiree medical plan during the open enrollment period.

All pre-65 retirees and those retirees enrolled in the premium, standard and Princeton Medicare plans no longer will have the option of electing to be covered under the Aetna PPO dental plan for 2009. The University has partnered with MetLife to offer its retirement dental benefits plan to those retirees. Information about the MetLife dental program will be mailed to retirees at the beginning of November.

All pre-65 retirees and those retirees enrolled in the premium, standard and Princeton Medicare plans will continue to have the option of electing to enroll in a vision plan. A summary of this benefit plan as well as an election form will be included in their open enrollment materials. Anyone already enrolled in the vision plan will have the option to add and/or remove dependent(s) or waive the coverage.

Also enclosed in the open enrollment package will be information regarding the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Retirees are encouraged to read this information carefully and keep it with their other important papers.

More detailed information is available on the Office of Human Resources website at www.princeton.edu/hr/oe, by calling the human resources benefits team at 258-3302 or by sending e-mail to benefits@princeton.edu.

Panel examines Stevenson’s legacy

A panel discussion on “Adlai Stevenson’s Lasting Legacy,” featuring Stevenson’s son among several scholars and public service figures, will be held at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.

The elder Stevenson, a 1922 Princeton alumnus, was the leading Democratic Party figure of the 1950s and an influential politician and diplomat. He served as Illinois governor from 1948 to 1952, Democratic nominee for U.S. president in 1952 and 1956, and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 to 1965.

Panelists examining his life and work will be: John Brademas, president emeritus of New York University and Stevenson’s former executive assistant; Edward Elmendorf, president of the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area; Alvin Liebling, senior U.S. administrative law judge of Illinois and editor of the essay collection “Adlai Stevenson’s Lasting Legacy”; Jack Matlock, former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union; Adele Simmons, president of the Global Philanthropy Partnership and senior adviser to the World Economic Forum; Adlai Stevenson III, Stevenson’s son and a former U.S. senator from Illinois; and William vanden Heuvel, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The discussion will be moderated by Henry Bienen, president of Northwestern University and former dean of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

The event is sponsored by the Wilson School.

Thatcher adviser addresses faith and politics

A policy adviser to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher will deliver a talk titled “‘Doing God in 10 Downing Street’: The Relationship between Faith and Politics in a Postmodern World” at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, in McCosh 50.

Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach was a key domestic policy adviser to Thatcher from 1985 to 1990 and was a chief architect of the British government’s privatization and deregulation programs. He is currently vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, focusing on issues relating to private equity, U.K. and Asian operations, and business development activities worldwide.

Griffiths chairs the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lambeth Fund and Christian Responsibility in Public Affairs, two charitable trusts. The author of several books on monetary policy and Christian ethics, he has written and lectured extensively on economic issues and the relationship of the Christian faith to politics and business.

The talk is designated as the Princeton Lecture in Religion and Ethics and is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion.

Lewis Center for the Arts exhibits independent work

“Henry Triptych” by senior Mary Margaret O’Toole

The Lewis Center for the Arts is hosting an exhibition of independent work in the visual arts by members of the class of 2009 from Tuesday, Sept. 23, through Sunday, Oct. 12, in the Lucas Gallery, 185 Nassau St. A student film screening also is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sept. 23 in the Stewart Film Theater at 185 Nassau.

This panel (shown at right) from “Henry Triptych” by senior Mary Margaret O’Toole is among the featured works, which were completed by the students during their junior year.

The exhibition will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and during Freshman Parents Weekend Oct. 11 and 12.

Espionage is topic of talk by former CIA official Hitz

Former CIA Inspector General Frederick Hitz will present a lecture based on his book “Why Spy? Espionage in an Era of Uncertainty” at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, in 16 Robertson Hall.

Hitz has written extensively about espionage and intelligence issues. His lecture will focus on why espionage worked against the Soviet Union but has been unsuccessful against terrorists.

Appointed by President George H.W. Bush as the CIA inspector general in 1990, Hitz was charged with conducting internal investigations of the agency’s activities, including the case of spy Aldrich Ames.

Hitz is a 1961 Princeton graduate and former lecturer in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He currently is a lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law and a senior fellow at the university’s Center for National Security Law.

The lecture is sponsored by the Wilson School.

Fall lecture series focuses on history of black gospel music

The University will host four speakers in a fall lecture series titled “Made in America: The History of Black Gospel Music.”

The four lectures, all at 4:30 p.m. in 101 McCormick Hall, are:

• Thursday, Sept. 25: “Our Music Was Tambourines and Sometimes Guitar: Contemplating the Roots of Black Gospel” by Jerma Jackson, an assistant professor of history at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the author of the book “Singing in My Soul: Black Gospel Music in a Secular Age.”
• Thursday, Oct. 23: “Why the Golden Age of Gospel Music Matters” by Robert Darden, an assistant professor of journalism at Baylor University and a former gospel music editor at Billboard magazine.
• Thursday, Nov. 20: “Shouting Sinners: The Spirituals, the Blues and the Gospel of the Kingdom” by Teresa Reed, the director of the University of Tulsa School of Music.
• Wednesday, Dec. 3: “Y’all Like That? Power, Practice and Contemporary Gospel” by Guthrie Ramsey Jr., an associate professor of music at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of “Race Music: Black Cultures From Bebop to Hip-Hop.”

The series is sponsored by the Center for African American Studies, the Department of Religion, the Council of the Humanities, the Department of Music, the Program in American Studies, the Davis Center for Historical Studies, the Center for the Study of Religion and the J. Edward Farnum Fund of the University Public Lectures Series.

Tilghman, Malveaux to discuss leadership in higher education

Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman and Bennett College for Women President Julianne Malveaux will discuss “Presidential Perspectives on Leadership” at 2:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall, as part of a conference hosted by the Association of Black Women in Higher Education.

The discussion is open to the public. Prior to her talk with Tilghman, Malveaux will present a keynote address at a luncheon at 1 p.m. in the Shultz Dining Room of Robertson Hall. The keynote luncheon also is open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required by contacting Felicia Edwards at fedwards@princeton.edu by Wednesday, Oct. 1.

These events are part of a conference at Princeton titled “Building on 30 Years of Achievement: Scholarship, Leadership and Service,” which will run Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 9-11. It marks the 30th anniversary of the association, which supports black women in the higher education community and encourages black youngsters to pursue education. The association is led by Makeba Clay, director of Princeton’s Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding.

Conference speakers will include scholars and administrators from institutions around the country, covering topics such as the history and impact of women in higher education, building a diverse work force in higher education, educational access for black girls and young women, and activism in academia. For more information about the conference and to register, visit www.abwhe.org.