POUGHKEEPSIE, NY—The annual “Service of Lessons and Carols,” a service of readings, choral anthems, and congregational carols, that culminates in a candle lighting ceremony, will be held at Vassar College in the Vassar Chapel on Sunday, December 6. This popular event, free and open to the public, will begin at 7:00pm. A free will offering will be taken to support Dutchess Outreach of Poughkeepsie, via the college's "Community Works" campaign (see http://communityworks.vassar.edu/index.html). The doors will open at 6:30pm, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
One of the first-ever college productions of the acclaimed musical Rent, directed by Christopher Grabowski, will be presented by the Experimental Theater of the Drama Department at Vassar College, December 2*, 3, 4, and 5 (*preview performance). The performances, free and open to the public, will begin at 8:00pm in the Martel Theater in the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film. Please note that seating is very limited and advance reservations are required. For information and reservations (available two weeks before the performance), call the box office at (845) 437-5599 or visit http://drama.vassar.edu.
On Monday, November 23, beginning at 10:00am and continuing through the evening, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, in conjunction with other Vassar organizations, will host “Think Food!” a day dedicated to fasting, reflecting, acting, and connecting around food issues. All activities are free and open to the public.
Guido Beltramini will examine the work of the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, during Vassar College Art Department's Claflin Lecture on Monday, November 23. Free and open to the public, the program will begin at 5:30pm in Taylor Hall, Room 102.
For the Rock Record: Geologists on Intelligent Design, co-edited by Vassar professor Jill S. Schneiderman, offers a cogent synthesis of the flaws of the idea of intelligent design from a geological standpoint. The publication coincides with the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published 24 November 1859.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
Letter from the president reporting on the status of workforce reduction.
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.
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.
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 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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