UMBC
Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

Past Friends of the Library Events: 2009 - 2008

Thursday, October 22, 2009, 4 p.m. : Gallery Events

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Event: "Should a 3rd Nuclear Reactor Be Built at Calvert Cliffs?" by Dr. Stephen F. Barker, Chair of the Friends of the Library and Gallery Council

Moderator: Dr. Stephen F. Barker, Chair of the Friends of the Library & Gallery Council

Panelists: JOHANNA NEUMANN, State Director for Maryland PIRG, a statewide nonprofit nonpartisan consumer advocacy group. As the State Director, Neumann is responsible for program development, research and advocacy. Ms. Neumann received a bachelor's degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from Tufts University in 2001 and graduated from Green Corps, the Field School for Environmental Organizing in 2002. Prior to joining Maryland PIRG in 2006, Ms. Neumann worked with Toxics Action Center based in Boston and the Environmental Health Education Center at the University of Maryland School of Nursing to protect communities from toxic threats. Her areas of expertise include energy policy, toxics reform and consumer protection.

J. SCOTT PETERSON, Nuclear Energy Institute's Vice President of Communications. Prior to his current position, Mr. Peterson served as senior director for NEI's Communications Division. Mr. Peterson directs the Institute's activities in media relations, advertising, editorial and creative services, public opinion research, and industry communications. At NEI, Mr. Peterson also has served as senior director for external communications and led the activities of three major communications groups at NEI: media relations and advertising, coalition and outreach, and government communications. Mr. Peterson has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and many industry publications, and has appeared on CNN, ABC News, CNBC, CSPAN's Washington Journal, FOX News, National Public Radio, and World Business Review. He has presented speeches on energy, environmental, and communications issues at several business and communications forums. Before joining NEI, Mr. Peterson was director of communications for the American Nuclear Energy Council, a government relations organization for the nuclear energy industry and one of three groups merged in 1994 to form NEI. He also served as a senior media relations representative at Illinois Power and was a reporter and columnist at newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Mr. Peterson received a Bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has completed the Reactor Technology Program for Utility Executives at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A reception followed this event, thanks to the Libby Kuhn Memorial Endowment.

The Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant, which is owned & operated by Constellation Energy, has two 2700 MW nuclear reactors. In 2000, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended the facility's license for 20 years. In 2005, Unistar Nuclear Energy, jointly owned by Constellation and Electricite de France announced that it will build a third reactor (US-Evolutionary Power Reactor). The third reactor would help address the need for more baseload, generating power in the Mid-Atlantic region. The NRC confirmed its acceptance for technical review in June, 2008. Opponents and supporters of the proposed third reactor at Calvert Cliffs have been involved in a series of public hearings before officials of the NRC. A decision by Constellation to start construction is expected by the end of 2009.

The question addressed by the debate was: should nuclear power be used to meet Maryland’s growing energy needs?

For additional background, see: Constellation Energy's web page on the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

Wikipedia article: Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

Maryland PIRG web page opposing the Calvert Cliffs expansion

Event Co-sponsors: MIPAR (Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research), the Public Policy Department, the Political Science Department and the Economics Department.

Thursday, October 22, 2009, 4 p.m. : Gallery Opening Event

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Event: The Art of Persuasion: Poster Design from 1896 through 2008 by Library Staff

Exhibition dates: August 25, 2009 - December 13, 2009.

The opening lecture/discussion on poster design by Post Typography, an award winning design studio based in Baltimore, Maryland. Specializing in graphic design, conceptual typography and custom lettering/illustration, Post Typography's posters are collected by punk rockers and prominent designers alike.

A reception followed this event, thanks to the Libby Kuhn Memorial Endowment.

The exhibit and opening lecture/discussion were free and open to the public.

Juliana Schamp
Juliana Schamp

Saturday, October 3, 2009, 2 p.m. : Memorial Service

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library on 7th Floor

Event: Juliana Schamp Memorial Service

The Schamp family and the Friends of the Library & Gallery held a memorial service for Juliana Schamp, wife of the first Provost of UMBC, Dr. Homer Schamp, and a founder of the UMBC community.


Saturday, May 2, 2009 : Theatre with Dinner

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library on 7th Floor

Event: Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman

The play was Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman, presented by the UMBC Department of Theatre and Directed by Eve Muson. The UMBC Department of Theatre describes the play as follows: "Metamorphoses, a dramatization based on Ovid's myths, is a retelling of classical Greek mythology in contemporary language. The play offers a compassionate view of the human condition. In Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, we witness the transformative power of love, redemption, and forgiveness in the stories of Midas, Orpheus and Eurydice, Myrrah and Cinyrus, Alycone and Ceyx, Eros and Psyche, Phaeton and Apollo, and others."

The event began with a reception at 5 p.m. on the 7th floor of the Library. Dinner commenced at 6 p.m., with remarks by Director Eve Muson after dinner, and the play was held in the UMBC Theatre at 8 p.m.

Tickets were priced at $35 per person. Tickets included the reception, dinner and admission to the play.

Thursday, April 30, 2009, 7 p.m.: Bartleby Celebration

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library on 7th Floor

Event: Celebration of Student Creativity and Publication of Bartleby by UMBC Scheduled Readers

Scheduled readers:

Light refreshments were served following the presentations, thanks to the Libby Kuhn Endowment.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 4 p.m. : Gallery Exhibition

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library on 7th Floor

Event: "Torrijos: Man and the Myth, Photographs" by Graciela Iturbide

Lecture presentations on Latin American cultures and the never-before-presented photographs by Graciela Iturbide, one of Mexico's most celebrated photographers. Iturbide pays homage to contemporary Latin American life through her study of the persona of General Omar Torrijos, Panama's leader from 1968 through 1981.

Light refreshments were served following the presentations, thanks to the Libby Kuhn Endowment.

Monday, February 23, 2009, 4 - 6 p.m. : Gallery Exhibition

Location: Engineering and Computer Science Building, Room 023

Event: "The Mathematics of Fiction" by Dr. Manil Suri, co-sponsored by the Friends and the Dresher Center for the Humanities

Mathematics has an image problem, which greatly inhibits its integration into the popular culture. And yet, if we are to be competitive as a technological (and numerically literate) society, it is imperative to raise its visibility.

The first part of this presentation described the pitfalls inherent in several approaches used to popularize mathematics. The problem may be one of communication, since mathematical ideas are all around us, in various familiar but concealed forms. The second part of this presentation shows how a fundamental mathematical strategy – that of decomposing a process into its basic building blocks from which new processes can be built, arises in many completely different contexts. These include musical compositions, Seurat's pointillism, a computer animation to make Marilyn Monroe smile, and even the creation of fiction!

Manil Suri is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is the author of the novels, The Death of Vishnu and The Age of Shiva.

Light refreshments were served.

This event is part of the Language, Literature and Culture Program's Colloquium Series. For further information, email the LLC Program at llc@umbc.edu, call 410 455-1417 or go to the Language, Literature and Culture web site.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 4 p.m.: Gallery Exhibition

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Event: "Photographs of James L. Amos: Geographic, Illustrative, and Personal," by James L. Amos

Marylander Jim Amos studied photography at Rochester Institute of Technology, worked for Eastman Kodak Company, and found his true calling as a photographer for National Geographic. In twenty-six years he traveled around the world employing creativity, insight, and instinct to photograph the earth and its features, completing many magazine assignments and the photographs for two books. He was named "Magazine Photographer of the Year" in 1969 and 1970 by the National Press Photographers Association. Amos also received many awards from the White House News Photographers Association.

Mr. Amos spoke of his experiences as a photographer and commented on photographs in the exhibition.

Thursday, February 5, 2009, 4-6 p.m.: Panel Discussion

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Event: Planet in Peril: Policy Responses to Climate Change by Ray Hoff, UMBC Professor of Phsyics

Moderator: Ray Hoff, UMBC Professor of Physics and Director of the collaborative NASA-UMBC research centers, Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET) and Goddard Earth Sciences & Technology Center (GEST)

Panelists:

A reception followed this event, thanks to the Libby Kuhn Memorial Endowment.

In 2007, UMBC's President Freeman Hrabowski joined more than 500 campuses in signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. UMBC's Climate Change Task Force has been charged with developing a plan to fulfill this commitment. The February 5 teach-in at UMBC showcased its Sustainability Initiative and celebrated its Climate Change Task Force's work through:

On Thursday, February 5, UMBC joined colleges and universities around the US for the 2009 National Teach-in on Global Warming. Humankind's response to climate change is going to require important personal lifestyle, societal, economic and regulatory changes. The National Teach-in on Global Warming focused on getting Congress and the incoming President to pass laws in the first 100 days of the new administration that will stabilize the global climate. For more information and a complete list of February 5 events, visit http://www.umbc.edu/sustainability.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 4 p.m. : Library Gallery

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Event: "The Creative Photograph in Archaeology?" by Dr. Richard Mason, Department of Ancient Studies

Dr. Mason led visitors through the exhibition and provided commentary.

Preceding the tour, there was a reception provided by the Friends of the Library & Gallery and UMBC Institutional Advancement, for retired faculty and staff. At the conclusion of the reception, there were brief remarks by the Provost.

This event was co-sponsored by UMBC Institutional Advancement.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 4 p.m. : BookNotes

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Event: Dumbing Down the Past: Our Muddled Memory of the So-Called Whiskey Rebellion" a lecture by UMBC Author Terry Bouton

Terry Bouton, Associate Professor in the Department of History at UMBC, lectured on his book, Taming Democracy: "The People," the Founders, and the Troubled Ending of the American Revolution and the misuse of history in modern political debate. The talk focused on the misnamed "Whiskey Rebellion," a 1794 uprising that saw as many as 10,000 militiamen march through the frontier town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the largest armed uprising against the federal government from the Revolution to the Civil War. Recently, modern pundits have turned to this march as the backdrop for editorials about protest, taxation, and the history of anti-government sentiment. But these opinion makers - on both the right and left - have gotten the story wrong. And their errors have distorted how we understand both the past and the present.

Following the presentation, there was a reception provided by the Friends of the Library & Gallery, the Department of History and the Libby Kuhn Endowment.

This event was co-sponsored by the Department of History. It was free and open to the public.

For more information on Dr. Bouton's book, see: the Oxford University Press's web site.

Saturday, April 26, 2008 : Theatre with Dinner

Location: Library 7th Floor

Event: "She Stoops to Conquer" by Oliver Goldsmith

The play was She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, presented by the UMBC Department of Theatre and Directed by Colette Searls. The UMBC Department of Theatre describes the play as follows: "This charming satire of the sentimental comedies of the day has entertained audiences since 1773. A young lady poses as a serving girl to win the heart of a young gentleman too shy to court ladies of his own class."

The event began with a reception at 5 p.m. on the 7th floor of the Library. Dinner commenced at 6 p.m. and the play was held in the UMBC Theatre at 8 p.m.

Tickets were $35 per person. Tickets included the reception, dinner and admission to the play.<.p>

Thursday, April 24, 2008, 7 p.m. : Presentation

Location: Library Gallery

Event: Celebration of Writing and Art

UMBC students read their award-winning poetry, fiction, and essays alongside visual interpretations of their work. The event welcomed the new issue of Bartleby, UMBC's journal of the arts.

Following the presentation, there was a reception provided by the Libby Kuhn Memorial Endowment. This event was free and open to the public.

For further information, call the Library Administrative Offices at 410.455.2356 or email aok@umbc.edu.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 4 p.m. : Library Gallery

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Event: The Race Beat by Gene Roberts

Gene Roberts is University of Maryland College Park Professor of Journalism and co-author of the Pulitzer History Prize winning book, The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation. He spoke about his book and on the role of the press in the civil rights movement. The talk was introduced by Freeman A. Hrabowki, III, President of UMBC.

Following the presentation, there was a reception provided, in part, by the Libby Kuhn Memorial Endowment.

This event was co-sponsored by the Africana Studies, History and Sociology departments. It was free and open to the public.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 7 p.m. : Library Gallery

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery

Event: The Age of Shiva by UMBC Author Manil Suri

Manil Suri, Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at UMBC, is the author of the critically acclaimed and best selling The Death of Vishnu. Suri will present his new novel, The Age of Shiva.

Following the presentation, there was a dessert reception provided, in part, by the Friends of the Library & Gallery and the Libby Kuhn Endowment.

This event was co-sponsored by the Dresher Center for the Humanities. It was free and open to the public.

For more information on his works of fiction, see: Manil Suri's web site.