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Yale philosophy professor Matthew Noah Smith discusses existential values on November 11, 2009.

“Existential Values: Why We Need Them and Their Threat to Political Order” is the topic of a lecture by Matthew Noah Smith, assistant professor of philosophy at Yale University, which will be given at Vassar College on Wednesday, November 11. The lecture, part of the Philosopher’s Holiday lecture series is free and open to the public and will begin at 5:00pm in Taylor Hall, Room 203.

Three-day Haitian art and handcraft sale to benefit the Vassar Haiti Project's medical inititiative, November 13-15, 2009.

For three days, from November 13–15, the public will be able to join with the Trinity Episcopal Church and the Vassar Haiti Project to support a new medical initiative for the village of Chermaitre while doing some holiday shopping. Offered for sale will be will be over 200 original Haitian paintings, silk scarves, jewelry, and iron sculpture. The sale will be open from 12:00 – 8:00pm on Friday, November 13, with an opening reception; 9:00am – 4:00pm on Saturday, November 14; and 12:00 – 3:00pm on Sunday, November 15. All proceeds will go to support the Vassar Haiti Project's medical initiative. Trinity Episcopal Church is located at 1200 Main Street (Routes 9 and 52) in Fishkill, NY. Free parking is available near Taco Bell off Route 9 near the Route 52 intersection. For directions and to view the artwork, see www.trinityfishkill.org or http://projects.vassar.edu/haiti.

Lecture by Aaron Lansky, founder and current president of the National Yiddish Book Center, on November 11, 2009.

On November 11, Aaron Lansky, founder and current president of the National Yiddish Book Center, will discuss an evolving vision of Jewish cultural education and how he helped save Yiddish books - the topic of his book, Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued One Million Books. The event, free and open to the public, will begin at 5:30pm in Sanders Classroom Spitzer Auditorium (room 212) at Vassar College.

Three contributors to "Delhi Noir" will read from their work on November 17, 2009

On Tuesday, November 17, three authors –Meera Nair, Hirsh Sawhney, and Mohan Sikka – will give a reading from their stories contained in the recent anthology "Delhi Noir." Free and open to the public, the program will begin at 5:00pm in Sanders Hall Spitzer Auditorium (Room 212).

"The River," a solo exhibition by artist Linda Cross in celebration of the Quadricentennial at the Palmer Gallery, November 5 - December 17, 2009.

The James W. Palmer III Gallery at Vassar College will present a selection of works by Linda Cross in "The River," an exhibition in honor of the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial, on view from November 5 through December 17. The opening reception will be held on Thursday, November 5, from 5:00-7:00pm. The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. The Palmer Gallery is located in the College Center in Vassar’s historic Main Building.

Two-day conference, “Teaching and Learning the Hudson Valley: Building Capacity for Place-Based Education,” to be held at Vassar on November 13 - 14, 2009.

Bringing together faculty, staff, administrators, students, and collaborators from the Hudson Valley Region, the Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges & Universities' 6th Annual Meeting will be held at Vassar College on November 13 and 14, 2009. The conference, “Teaching and Learning the Hudson Valley: Building Capacity for Place-Based Education,” is co-sponsored by Vassar College and Pace University Academy for Applied Environmental Studies, and supporting partner the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries. For additional information and to register, see the website http://environmentalconsortium.org/.

The Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble in special performance with commentary on November 8, 2009.

The Department of Dance at Vassar College will present a matinée performance by The Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble on Sunday, November 8, as part of the Ensemble's second national tour "Dance for America," celebrating its 40th anniversary. Free and open to the public, the "Interactive Performance" will begin at 3:00pm in The Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater in Kenyon Hall. Advance reservations are recommended, as seating (on a first-come, first-serve basis) is limited. For reservations, email dancetix@vassar.edu. For additional information about the performance, call The Department of Dance at (845) 437-7470. The performance with commentary will include presentations of audience favorites, including a ballet set to ragtime music with live piano accompaniment.

Pulitzer-winning journalist and Vassar alumna Alexandra Berzon discusses her work and the current state of journalism, November 16, 2009.

Following a year of exhaustive reporting for the "Las Vegas Sun" about fatal construction working conditions on the famed Las Vegas Strip, lead reporter alumna Alexandra Berzon (Vassar class of 2001) was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service last spring. On Monday, November 16, Berzon will speak about her journey to the Pulitzer in the lecture at Vassar College: "Reporting the Local News: How a Vassar Grad Won the Pulitzer Prize in an Era of Newspaper Decline." The program will begin at 5:30pm in Sanders Classroom Spitzer Auditorium (room 212). This Urban Talk is presented by the Urban Studies Program at Vassar College and is free and open to the public.

The Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer project, an innovative and acclaimed public health initiative, is now available online in English and Spanish

Professor Janet Gray spearheads new directions for Vassar’s innovative and acclaimed public health initiative, the Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer (ERBC) project. Originally only available on compact disc, ERBC has now established a web presence with the launch of English and Spanish language sites. Throughout October, Gray's advice on breast cancer prevention is featured on both the Daily Green and Yahoo websites, highlighting research and practical suggestions available from ERBC.

Michelle Harvey selected as first recipient of the Eric M. Smith ’92 Memorial Scholarship

Vassar College freshman Michelle Harvey (Utica, NY) has been selected as the first recipient of the Eric M. Smith ’92 Memorial Scholarship, which provides financial assistance for students who are not able to afford a college education. Preference is given for students who have worked for, or whose parents have worked for, McDonald's®, as Eric Smith and his mother Mindy Mayer, who established the scholarship endowment, were business partners in a McDonald's franchise.

Art Center celebrates the work of the Northern Renaissance’s greatest artist in the exhibition, Albrecht Dürer: Impressions of the Renaissance, November 14 – December 24, 2009.

"Albrecht Dürer: Impressions of the Renaissance," an exhibition organized by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, will feature 41 works celebrating the world of Albrecht Dürer, one of the greatest artists of the Northern Renaissance. All except one of the prints will be drawn from the permanent collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, renowned for its Old Master print collection. The exhibition will open to the public, without charge, from Saturday, November 14 through Thursday, December 24. On Thursday, November 19, exhibition curator, Patricia Phagan, The Philip and Lynn Straus Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Center, will give a lecture about Dürer and printmaking, with a reception to follow.

President Hill's letter on Vassar and the economy

Letter from the president reporting on the status of workforce reduction.

Vassar’s Bookstore offers four author events including presentations by Liza Donnelly, Lynn Owen, Eleanor Garrell Berger, and Michael Korda in October and November, 2009.

The Vassar College Bookstore, located in the College Center, will host four events in the Bookstore Author Series in October and November. Speakers will include New Yorker cartoonist and Vassar faculty member Liza Donnelly (10/7, 10:00am); Vassar staff member Lynn Owen, author of LaGrange (10/15, 5:00pm); Vassar alumna Eleanor Garrell Berger, author of Stepping Out, A Tenderfoot’s Guide to the Principals, Practices and Pleasures of Countryside Walking (11/5, 3:00pm campus walk; 4:00pm bookstore presentation); and best-selling author Michael Korda (11/12, 5:00pm), who will speak about his most recent book With Wings Like Eagles. All events are free and open to the public.

Quadricentennial celebration includes exhibitions, concerts, and poetry readings are featured through December 24, 2009.

This fall, from September through December, there will be a wide array of activities at Vassar College offered in conjunction with the celebration of the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial. All of these will celebrate some aspect of the Hudson River and Valley – either through art, literature, or music. Highlights include the Art Center’s exhibition Drawn by New York (through 11/1); the Vassar College Libraries Poetry of the Hudson (through 12/24); the Palmer Gallery’s The River (11/5-12/17); a poetry reading (10/15); and concerts featuring choirs from the east and west bank of the River (9/26); an outdoor concert by the legendary Pete Seeger. All events are free and open to the public.

"Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film" is a new book by Mia Mask.

Vassar Associate Professor of Film, Mia Mask’s book "Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film," has just been released by the University of Illinois Press. "Divas on Screen" is an accessible and insightful look at five African American film icons: Dorothy Dandridge, Pam Grier, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Halle Berry. Mask examines how these female stars have navigated the uneven terrain of racial, gender, and class stereotypes.

Department of Music presents 25 concerts during the fall 2009 semester, August 30 – December 6, 2009.

The Vassar Department of Music will present 25 concerts during the fall 2009 semester, beginning with the class of 2013 "Welcome Concert" and closing with "A Service of Lessons and Carols." The concert series will feature world-renowned musicians from Vassar's music faculty; Vassar vocal, instrumental, and orchestral ensembles; as well as acclaimed guest performers including the vocal ensemble Chanticleer, early music ensemble La Follia Barocca, Brazilian guitarists Sérgio and Odair Assad, and Steve Turre from the Saturday Night Live Orchestra with his jazz ensemble, the Steve Turre Sextet. Unless otherwise noted, the programs will all take place in the acoustically-superb Martel Recital Hall in Skinner Hall of Music at Vassar College. All programs are free and open to the public, with no reservations needed for general seating.

The Dyson Foundation awards Vassar College $600,000 grant to establish the program Exploring College, designed to help prepare Poughkeepsie High School students for college success

The Dyson Foundation of Millbrook, NY, has awarded Vassar College $600,000 to fund the Exploring College Program, a three-year pilot project to better prepare Poughkeepsie High School students with combined high academic achievement and low income backgrounds for admission and success in college. The program is designed to improve college readiness and aspirations for students from underrepresented backgrounds, to increase the number of these students who attend college, and to expand the collaboration between Vassar College and the City of Poughkeepsie schools.

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emdarrow@vassar.edu

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