Nassau notes

From “The Promise: The Achievement Gap — A Look at the Abbott Districts.” Photographs by Randall Hagadorn

The struggle of urban New Jersey school districts to confront their students’ achievement gap is the focus of an exhibition by photographer Randall Hagadorn in the Bernstein Gallery of Robertson Hall. “The Promise: The Achievement Gap — A Look at the Abbott Districts” takes viewers inside schools affected by the New Jersey Supreme Court rulings in Abbott v. Burke, which declared that education provided to urban schoolchildren in 30 districts across the state was inadequate and unconstitutional. The exhibition runs through Dec. 12 and is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Educational Testing Service.

U.S. ambassador for war crimes issues to speak

The U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, Clint Williamson, will present “An Overview of U.S. War Crimes Policy at the Change of Administration” at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, in 16 Robertson Hall.

Williamson, a career federal prosecutor, has served in his current post since June 2006. As the U.S. envoy for war crimes issues, he regularly meets with top foreign government and United Nations officials to promote accountability, peace and stability, and the rule of law.

Williamson was director of stability operations at the National Security Council from 2003 to 2006 and also served as an adviser to the Iraqi Ministry of Justice as part of his duties with the council.

From 2001 to 2002, he served in the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, overseeing the justice and prison systems in Kosovo. For seven years prior to that, he worked as a trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia in the Hague, Netherlands. Among the cases Williamson handled were those against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and paramilitary leader Zeljko Raznatovic.

The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

German artist Trockel to discuss work

Internationally acclaimed German artist Rosemarie Trockel will discuss her work in a roundtable with Prince-ton art experts at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, in the Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau St.

Trockel’s works in drawing, sculpture, video and other media have been the subject of exhibitions in Paris, London, Frankfurt and New York.

Joining Trockel in the discussion will be: Kelly Baum, the Locks Curatorial Fellow for Contemporary Art in the Princeton University Art Museum; Brigid Doherty, an associate professor of German and art and archaeology; Hal Foster, the Townsend Martin, Class of 1917, Professor of Art and Archaeology; Megan Heuer, a graduate student in art and archaeology; Thomas Levin, an associate professor of German; and Susan Stewart, the Annan Professor of English.

A screening of Trockel’s videos will follow at 7:30 p.m. in 100 Jones Hall.

Trockel is a short-term visiting fellow of the Council of the Humanities this month, hosted by the Department of German. This event is sponsored by both departments.

“The Nutcracker” at McCarter

American Repertory Ballet (photo: Eduardo Patino)

A Princeton tradition for more than 40 years, the McCarter Theatre Center presents “The Nutcracker” Friday through Sunday, Nov. 28-30. The classic holiday tale is danced by the American Repertory Ballet and students from the Princeton Ballet School. For ticket information, call the McCarter box office at 258-2787 or visit www.mccarter.org.

Lecture series explores history and future of higher education

Three lectures by Columbia University scholar Andrew Delbanco will examine the history and future of higher education at 5:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 1-3, in McCosh 10.

The lecture series is titled “Does College Really Matter? The History of Undergraduate Education, Why It’s in Trouble and What to Do About It.” Delbanco will address the changes in higher education that have evolved as the opportunity to attend college has expanded and the cost has escalated.

Delbanco is the Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities at Columbia. His books include “Melville: His World and Work,” “The Real American Dream” and “Required Reading: Why Our American Classics Matter Now.” He is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books and The New Republic, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The talks are designated as the Stafford Little Lectures, sponsored by the University Public Lectures Series and the Princeton University Press.

Final talk set in series on Korea

International politics scholar Yong Chool Ha will deliver a lecture titled “Industrialization and Tradition: Korean Experience” at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1, in 219 Burr Hall.

The lecture concludes a series of three talks this fall on “The New Korean Economy,” organized by Un-Chan Chung, president emeritus of Seoul National University. Chung is a visiting fellow this semester with the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS).

Ha is the Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Social Sciences at the University of Washington and formerly a professor of international relations at Seoul National University, where he directed the Center for International Studies. His primary academic interests are comparative politics and society with a focus on Soviet and Russian politics, Korean domestic and international politics, inter-Korean relations and East Asian regional politics.

The lecture series is sponsored by PIIRS and the Program in East Asian Studies.

‘Business of AIDS’ is focus of lecture by author Pisani

Author and epidemiologist Elizabeth Pisani will discuss her new book, “The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS,” at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, in 16 Robertson Hall.

Pisani’s book reflects on her work with international efforts to halt the spread of AIDS over the past 14 years and presents her views on why governments are reluctant to fund HIV prevention for the people who need it most.

A former journalist for Reuters, the Economist and Asia Times, Pisani earned a Ph.D. in infectious disease epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has provided research, analysis and policy advice to the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control as well as to the ministries of health of China, Indonesia, East Timor and the Philippines.

The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the Gender and Policy Network, the Center for Health and Wellbeing, and the Princeton AIDS Initiative.