April 17, 2000

Seminar on Asian American Role in Politics Set for April 20
In this presidential election year, Professor Yu-Chi (Larry) Lo of Harvard University has been invited by UConn's Asian American Faculty and Staff Association, the Asian American Studies Institute and the Asian American Cultural Center to speak on a new national political movement called the "80-20 Initiative," that is designed to strengthen the voting clout of the Asian-American community at the local and national levels. The seminar will take place Thursday, April 20, at 4 p.m. in the Konover Auditorium of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. The seminar will be preceded by a reception beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Stacy Hansmeyer, left, and Paige Sauer, co-captains of the women's basketball team, wave while riding a float down Trumbull Street in Hartford on April 9. Thousands of fans came out to celebrate the team's national championship. Photo by Peter Morenus

Talk on Politics and Statistics to Take Place April 24
Janet Norwood, one of the nation's leading government statisticians, will discuss how the government's statistical agencies have responded to political pressures over time on Monday, April 24, in the Konover Auditorium at the Dodd Center. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. Her talk is sponsored by Pfizer Inc.

Norwood, a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, a non-profit policy research organization in Washington, will speak on "Politics and Federal Statistics." Her career has focused on the development of quality statistical data for use by government and the public. Her work has included analysis and interpretation of employment data and examination of issues in consumer pricing, transportation and education. She also has encouraged leading government officials to recognize the importance of using high quality data to support decisions and has written extensively on the role of statistics in the development of public policy.

Norwood served as chair of the Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation under both President Bush and President Clinton. She previously served as U.S. Commissioner of Labor Statistics under Presidents Carter and Reagan.

Rebecca Stygar

Nature and the Everglades Topic of Teale Lecture April 26
Peter Matthiessen, an explorer and nature writer who has written 24 books of fiction and nonfiction, will speak on "Nature and the Everglades," on Wednesday, April 26, at 4 p.m. in the Dodd Center. His talk will be the final event in this year's Edwin Way Teale Series on Nature and the Environment.

Mathiessen's trilogy of fiction about the Everglades is drawn from fragments of historical fact. Killing Mr. Watson depicts the fortunes of Edgar J. Watson, a ruthless, real-life outlaw who, following the Civil War, fled a charge of murder in South Carolina, hid in the Indian territories, established a sugarcane empire in Florida, and ultimately was gunned down by a howling mob. Lost Man's River, second in the trilogy, describes the lives of 20 families whose fortunes and misfortunes were intertwined with and followed Watson. In the third novel, Bone by Bone, Watson tells his own story.

Matthiessen has been a member of expeditions to remote regions of all five continents. A former commercial fisherman, he participated as a diver in the worldwide search for the great white shark that led to his book Blue Meridian and the film Blue Water, White Death. His most recent work is Tigers in the Snow (New York: North Point Press/ Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000). His book The Snow Leopard received the National Book Award.

Noted Oral Historians to Speak at April 29 Conference
Oral history and public history will be the focus of a half-day conference featuring two of the leaders in the national oral history movement, to be held on Saturday, April 29, in the Konover Auditorium at the Dodd Center, beginnig at 9 a.m.

Featured speakers are prominent oral historians Anne Ritchie of the National Gallery of Art, and her husband, Donald, who works at the U.S. Senate Historical Office. There will also be a panel discussion. A buffet lunch in Rome Commons Ballroom follows the conference at 1 p.m.

Registration is required and begins on the day of the conference at 8:30 a.m. It is also possible to pre-register. To obtain a registration form or for more information call (860) 486-4582.

Rebecca Stygar

Forum on Faculty Development Document Rescheduled
The Academic & Community Forum to discuss the new faculty development document, originally scheduled for April 17, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, May 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. It will be held in Room 200, Whetten Graduate Center.