Nassau notes

The first talk in the 2008-09 President’s Lecture Series will feature João Biehl, a professor of anthropology, speaking on “Social Innovation in Global Health: When People Come First” at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, in 101 Friend Center.

Biehl’s talk will explore the limits of “magic-bullet” approaches to global health problems and the advantages of “people-centered” initiatives. Biehl will draw from his study of Brazil’s effort to universalize access to life-saving AIDS therapies and the repercussions of this initiative throughout the country’s government, markets, health systems and personal lives. He also will report on a project to study global AIDS treatments that he is undertaking with undergraduate and graduate students through Prince-ton’s Grand Challenges Program.

Biehl’s talk is the first of two scheduled for this year’s President’s Lecture Series. Leonard Barkan, the Arthur W. Marks ’19 Professor of Comparative Literature, will deliver the second talk, titled “Did Eating Have a Renaissance? Mapping a Scholarly Itinerary From Past to Repast,” at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in 101 Friend.

The lecture series was started by President Tilghman in 2001 to bring together faculty members from different disciplines to learn about the work others are doing in a variety of fields.

The talks will be webcast; for viewing information, visit www.princeton.edu/webmedia.

University Public Lecture Series brought Actress Glenn Close

Screen and stage actress Glenn Close

Screen and stage actress Glenn Close talked about her childhood, her relationship with her father and how she connected with some of the well-known characters she has portrayed in a Feb. 19 talk at Princeton. “I’ve always felt that in order to truly commit to a character and do her justice, to find her truth, I must love her no matter what the behavior,” she said. “I have to find some common point of humanity.” To read about Close’s visit, go to www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S23/50/95G32/. (photo: Denise Applewhite)

Former Mexican president to speak

Former Mexican President Ernest Zedillo, an economist who now directs Yale University’s Center for the Study of Globalization, will speak on “Latin America: 200 Years of Solitude” at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in McCosh 50.

Zedillo held Mexico’s presidency from 1994 to 2000. After starting his career as a professor at the National Polytechnic Institute and El Colegio de Mexico, he worked for the Central Bank of Mexico and served in several government positions before his election as president.

In addition to directing the Center for the Study of Globalization, which aims to develop policies that enable the world’s poorest populations to benefit from a global market economy, Zedillo is a professor of international economics and politics at Yale. He is chair of the Global Development Network, which provides policy advice to developing countries. He also is a member of the Global Development Program Advisory Panel of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament; and the Group of 30, which advises governments on the impact of public and private economic decisions on global financial markets.

The talk is designated as a Walter Edge Lecture sponsored by the University Public Lecture Series.

The future of transportation is topic of forum

“Transportation and Infrastructure Issues for the Next Decade” is the subject of a forum scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 6, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.

The current federal surface transportation bill — which provides funding for expansion and repair of roadways, bridges and rail systems — expires in September. The country’s transportation infrastructure is plagued by congestion, deferred maintenance, and outdated and insufficient systems and infrastructure. At the same time, it faces new challenges related to energy, the environment and public health.

The forum will explore the status of the next surface transportation authorization legislation, opportunities for new financing sources and ways to link transportation to broader policy goals in energy, health and the environment.

Panelists will include the commissioners of transportation from New York City and the states of New York and New Jersey, as well as speakers from the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, the Brookings Institution, the American Association of State and Transportation Officials and the Environmental Defense Fund.

The forum is open to the public, but registration is required. For more information, go to www.princeton.edu/prior/events/conferences/ or contact Georgette Harrison at gharriso@princeton.edu.

The forum is sponsored by the Policy Institute for the Region in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, along with the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University and the Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University.

Levy to discuss Israeli elections

“After the Gaza War and Israeli Elections: What Hope for Israeli-Arab Peace?” is the title of a lecture by political analyst Daniel Levy set for 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 2, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.

Levy is a senior fellow and co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation and a senior fellow and director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at the Century Foundation. He was a policy adviser to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and a member of the negotiating team for the Israeli-Palestinian “Oslo B” agreement under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

The event talk is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Princeton Middle East Society.

Talk explains the ‘Cheney Rules’

Journalist and author Barton Gellman, a visiting professor at Princeton this spring, will present a lecture titled “Cheney Rules: What the Obama White House Can Learn From the ‘Angler’” at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.

Gellman is the author of “Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency,” which examines Dick Cheney’s role in crafting the Bush administration’s policies on national security, the economy and the environment. A book signing and reception will follow the lecture.

Currently a special projects reporter on the national staff of The Washington Post, Gellman shared Pulitzer Prizes for national reporting in 2002 and 2008. The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Program in Law and Public Affairs.

Art Museum presents contemporary Chinese art

“The Bikers,” a pair of hanging scrolls by Zhang Hongtu (photo: Bruce M. White)

“Outside In: Chinese x American x Contemporary Art,” a new exhibition at the Princeton University Art Museum running March 7 through June 7, features a selection of more than 50 works by six artists. The paintings, drawings, photography, book arts, sculpture and installations on display highlight a wide range of styles and subject matter in contemporary Chinese art. Selections include two works by Zhang Hongtu: “Shitao (Ten Thousand Ugly Inkblots) — Van Gogh,” an oil painting (above); and “The Bikers,” a pair of hanging scrolls with computer-generated images. For more information, visit www.princetonartmuseum.org.

Conference will examine issues of race and real estate

Issues related to race and home ownership will be examined at a conference scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, March 5-7, in various locations on campus.

Panels in the “Race and Real Estate” conference will explore the topics of homes, neighborhoods, public space and money. The event will feature scholars from fields including sociology, architecture, law, history and business, as well as professionals working in the areas of development, design and sustainability.

The conference was organized by the Center for African American Studies and the Program in Law and Public Affairs.

The conference will begin at 4:30 p.m. March 5 in 101 Friend Center, with welcoming remarks and a screening of the documentary “Home” about the struggle of a Newark, N.J., family to own a home. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film’s director, Jeffrey Togman, associate professor of political science at Seton Hall University, as well as Regina Austin, the William A. Schnader Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Mary Abernathy and Sheree Farmer, two women featured in the documentary.

Discussions will continue March 6 in Robertson Hall with panels titled “Homes” at 9 a.m., “Neighborhoods” at 11 a.m. and “Public Space” at 2:30 p.m. The panels will be followed at 4:30 p.m. with the keynote lecture, titled “House Proud,” by Patricia Williams, the James L. Dohr Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and a columnist for The Nation.

The event will conclude March 7 in 16 Robertson with a panel titled “Money” at 9 a.m. and a roundtable discussion about the future of urban housing issues at 10:45 a.m.

J.G. Petrucci Co., Inc., a development and design-build organization based in Asbury, N.J., is sponsoring the conference. The event is open to the public, but advance registration is required.

To register and to view a list of speakers and events, visit www.princeton.edu/africanamericanstudies/news/events/rre.xml.

‘Town hall meeting’ planned on financial outlook

A “town hall meeting,” scheduled to provide a financial overview of the University and a look at how present economic conditions will affect the next fiscal year and beyond, is set for 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, in McCosh 10.

The session is open to all members of the University community.

Presentations will be made by Provost Christopher Eisgruber, Executive Vice President Mark Burstein, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Carolyn Ainslie and Vice President for Human Resources Lianne Sullivan-Crowley. There also will be a question-and-answer period.

In a letter to the University community in January, President Tilghman detailed projections for how the economic turbulence will affect the University’s operating budget, faculty and staff recruitment and compensation, and capital planning. Since then, administrators have scheduled meetings to provide additional information and to answer questions for a number of groups on campus, including the faculty, the department chairs, the Academic and Administrative Managers Group and the Council of the Princeton University Community.

Those who cannot attend the town hall meeting are invited to visit a website that describes the cost-savings initiatives at www.princeton.edu/savings. Those with cost-saving
ideas to share may send an e-mail to savings@princeton.edu.

Students perform ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ at Berlind

A student performance of Tennessee Williams’ landmark play “A Streetcar Named Desire” is set for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 6-7, and Wednesday through Friday, March 11-13, at the Berlind Theatre.

The play is a senior thesis production by Shannon Lee Clair for the Program in Theater and Dance in the Lewis Center for the Arts.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning “Streetcar” centers on a culture clash between Blanche DuBois, a fading relic of the old South, and Stanley Kowalski, a rising member of the industrial, urban immigrant class. Clair stars as DuBois alongside senior Tyler Crosby as Kowalski. The production is directed by Tracy Bersley, a lecturer in theater and dance.

Clair said she chose “Streetcar” for a thesis project based on how she had been cast in campus productions in the past. “Being a fairly put-together, centered person, I often find myself cast in similar roles. But, while Blanche certainly lives on the principle of being put together, the tidal wave of life experience that crashes against her is so forceful that she is thrown far from her center,” Clair said. “This part and my director, Tracy, push me out of all comfort zones I might ever try to live in as an actress.”

Tickets are $10 for students and senior citizens, and $15 for others. For tickets, call the McCarter Theatre Center box office at 258-2787 or University Ticketing at 258-9220.

Senior thesis exhibition features works by Ruthie Schwab and Mary Margaret O’Toole

“Miscellaneous: Still Lifes in Color,” by Mary Margaret O’Toole (left); “Taste” by Ruthie Schwab

Seniors Ruthie Schwab and Mary Margaret O’Toole will display their paintings in a senior thesis exhibition for the Program in Visual Arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts.

The exhibition runs March 4-13 in the Lucas Gallery, 185 Nassau St. Works on view will include Schwab’s “Taste” (right) and O’Toole’s “Miscellaneous: Still Lifes in Color.”

March events set at Labyrinth

Labyrinth Books will host the following University-related events in March. The events, which are free and open to the public, will be held at the bookstore, 122 Nassau St.

• Literary critic Peter Brooks will discuss his book “Henry James Goes to Paris” with Sophie Gee, an assistant professor of English at Princeton, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5. The book explores the effect of James’ time in Paris on his work. Brooks, the Sterling Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Yale University, currently is the Mellon Visiting Professor in Princeton’s Department of Comparative Literature and the University Center for Human Values.

• “Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry” by Tony Rothman, a theoretical cosmologist and lecturer in physics at Princeton, is the subject of a talk at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10. Rothman’s book examines the deep connection between mathematics and culture in Japan.

• Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James McPherson will speak on his new biography of Abraham Lincoln at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11. “Abraham Lincoln: A Presidential Life” describes Lincoln’s legacy and why he remains a quintessential American hero 200 years after his birth. McPherson is Prince-ton’s George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History Emeritus.

• A discussion about poverty in America featuring Princeton sociologist Katherine Newman is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, March 23. Newman is the co-author of “The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America” and is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs. This event is cosponsored by HomeFront of Lawrenceville, N.J., which provides shelter and children’s programs to homeless families.

• Anthony Grafton, Princeton’s Henry Putnam University Professor of History, will speak on his two new books of intellectual history at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 25. Grafton has published “Worlds Made by Words: Scholarship and Community in the Modern West,” a series of essays on scholars and institutions, and “Obelisk: A History,” a book co-written with three colleagues about how the history of the giant standing stones invented in ancient Egypt reflects the story of Western civilization.

For more information about these and other events at Labyrinth, visit www.labyrinthbooks.com.

Broadmead Swim Club accepting members

The Broadmead Swim Club, located near campus at 184 Broadmead St., is accepting members for the 2009 season and is offering a special early-membership rate for University faculty and staff.

Those who join before March 11 will pay $600 for a University family membership and $430 for a University single membership. After that, a University family membership is $635 and a University single membership is $450.

Special rates also are available for graduate students and their families. More information, including membership applications, can be obtained at www.princeton.edu/~bsc or by e-mailing Noreen Quigley at noreen_quigley@yahoo.com.