Allen Podet, professor of religious studies, Philosophy and Humanities, conducted the Buffalo section of the National Holocaust Day Observance on Tuesday, April 21. The ceremony was held in the VA Medical Center auditorium, and included literary and musical selections and addresses by Holocaust survivors and by Podet.

Kimberly Hart, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, gave an invited lecture, “What Josephine Saw: On the Life and Work of Josephine Powell,” in the Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design at Cornell University, on April 9.

Dolores Battle, senior adviser to the president for equity and campus diversity, presented a short course titled “Bridging the Gap between Multicultural and International Education” at the National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing’s annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia, April 16–18. Battle was also the keynote speaker at the 2009 Leadership Conference in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, on April 24.

Julie Wieczkowski’s article “Tree Mortality Due to an El Niño Flood along the Lower Tana River, Kenya” was published in the March 2009 issue of the African Journal of Ecology 47 (1): 56–62.

An art exhibition by Joseph Piccillo, professor, Art Education, opens today at the Elaine Baker Gallery in Boca Raton, Florida.

Gerald Nosich, professor, Philosophy and Humanities, presented “Critical Thinking in Legal Education” at the 45th Mid-Year Meeting of the Association for Continuing Legal Education, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 31–February 3.

Terence McDonald, associate professor, English, and director, CADET, accepted the position of secretary with the Theatre Alliance of Buffalo (TAB). TAB is a coalition of most of the theaters in Western New York. McDonald is artistic director of Playhouse of American Classics, the theater in residence at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.

Zhang Jie, professor, Sociology, and director, Center for China Studies, was invited to deliver a keynote speech and a research presentation at the Beijing WHO Coordinating Center for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention opening ceremony and academic conference in Beijing, China, March 6–9. His plenary speech was titled “Characteristics of Chinese Rural Young Female Suicide: A Psychological Autopsy Study,” and his research presentation was “Psychological Strain and Suicide.”

Ten short poems by Carol Townsend, chair and associate professor, Design, have been included by editor Gary Earl Ross in the new book Nickel City Nights: Erotic Writing in Western New York. Townsend also presented a slide lecture titled “Creativity and Connectedness” as part of the “Think Shop” series at Canterbury Woods, in Williamsville, New York.

Shannon Schweitzer, assistant professor, Theater, served as chief consultant for Buffalo United Artists’ lighting system in its new facility.