N A S S A U   N O T E S

Seamus Heaney to visit campus April 15-18

Irish poet Seamus Heaney, the 1995 Nobel Laureate in Literature, will visit Princeton's campus Monday through Thursday, April 15-18.
     Heaney is currently the Ralph Waldo Emerson Poet in Residence at Harvard University and has previously held academic appointments at the universities of Dublin and Oxford.
     His visit to Princeton, sponsored by the Program in Hellenic Studies, the Program in Creative Writing and the Council of the Humanities, will include a reading and a lecture that are open to the public. He also will meet informally with faculty and students.
     The reading will begin at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall.
     Heaney will deliver the 11th Helen Buchanan Seeger Lecture in Hellenic Studies at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in McCosh 50. The title of his address is "'Hellenize It': Poets, Poems, Predicaments in Greece and Ireland."
     In addition, an exhibition in the Firestone Library lobby has been organized in connection with Heaney's visit. Titled "Seamus Heaney: An Irish Poet in Greece," it will be on display until April 30.
     Heaney has made repeated visits to Greece. His most recent volume of verse, "Electric Light" (2001), includes several poems in which Heaney draws on his observation of the modern Greek society and people, as well as on his knowledge of classical Greek literature.
     An abstract of Heaney's talk proposes that "Greece and Ireland have much in common: two nations with ancient mythologies and interrupted histories; two nations that achieved independence through the growth of romantic nationalism, both political and cultural; two nations where a prophetic or at least a public role is always available to the poet." The abstract states that Heaney "will consider the parallel situation of the Greek and Irish poet in modern times and talk about some representative achievements."
     Heaney received the Nobel Prize for his "works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past."

'English Patient' author here

Author and poet Michael Ondaatje will read from his work in a program at 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 15, in McCosh 50.
     Ondaatje won the Booker Prize, England's highest honor for fiction, in 1992 for "The English Patient," which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film. He also has won Canada's Governor General's Award and the Canada-Australia Prize.
     His other works include a memoir of his childhood, "Running in the Family"; a collection of poetry, "There's a Trick With a Knife I'm Learning To Do"; and several novels, "Anil's Ghost," "In the Skin of the Lion" and "Coming Through Slaughter." He has taught for many years at York University in Toronto.
     The reading is sponsored by the Canadian studies program and the Council of the Humanities.

Lecture focuses on political and economic challenges facing women

A lecture on "Challenges for Women: Political and Economic Decision-Making" is set for Monday, April 15, in Bowl 1, Robertson Hall.
     June Zeitlin, executive director of the Women's Environment and Development Organization, will speak at 4:30 p.m.
     A women's rights advocate for more than 25 years, Zeitlin joined the organization as executive director in 1999. She previously worked at the Ford Foundation, where she oversaw work on women's rights in the United States and expanded its global work on women's issues. While at the foundation, she developed a program examining the integration of gender, work and family and the need for institutional change.
     The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Bobst Center for Peace and Justice.

NYC Council speaker relates exeriences

Gifford Miller, a 1992 Princeton graduate who is speaker of the New York City Council, will present the Priscilla Glickman/Ivy Club Lecture at 8 p.m. Monday, April 15, in 104 Computer Science Building.
     His address, titled "From Princeton Senior to Speaker of the New York City Council in 10 Years," will be followed by a reception at the Ivy Club, 43 Prospect Ave.
     Miller first won a seat on the city council in 1996. He was elected speaker in January 2002, replacing Peter Vallone. The job is considered by many the second most powerful position in the city.

Program in Visual Arts

Paintings, including this "Self-Portrait," by senior Emy Kim will be on display Tuesday through Saturday, April 16-20, at the Lucas Gallery, 185 Nassau St. Kim is displaying her senior thesis work in the Program in Visual Arts along with photography by senior Josephine Sittenfeld. The opening reception for the show will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

President of League of Women Voters to speak on election reform

Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, president of the League of Women Voters, will speak on "The League of Women Voters and Election Reform" at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.
     Jefferson-Jenkins was elected president of the League of Women Voters and chair of the League of Women Voters Education Fund in 1994. She is the first woman of African-American descent to head the organization. In her second term as president, she has placed a high priority on issues such as increased citizen participation in the electoral process, campaign finance reform, voting and health care. She leads the education and advocacy efforts of the league on public policy issues while also working to encourage women and ethnic minorities to run for public office.
     Jefferson-Jenkins is a recognized authority on the voting rights of African Americans and is the author of "The Road to Black Suffrage" and "One Man One Vote: The History of the African-American Vote in the United States."
     The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and offered in conjunction with an undergraduate task force on "Designing American Electoral Reform."

Panel planned on Sept. 11 backlash

Representatives from three advocacy groups will present a panel discussion titled "Backlash: Discrimination Facing the Asian Pacific American Community After 9/11" on Wednesday, April 17. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. in 302 Frist.
     The panelists will be Nicholas Rathod of South Asian American Leaders for Tomorrow, June Han of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium and Joshua Salaam of the Council on American Islamic Relations. These three organizations have led calls for the government to further explore the hate crimes committed against South Asians and Muslims after Sept. 11, as well as to re-evaluate its own policies to prevent racial profiling and discrimination.
     The event is presented as part of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration. For more information, contact Taufiq Rahim at trahim@princeton.edu.

Art historian to give Tanner lectures

T.J. Clark, the George and Helen Pardee Professor of Art History at the University of California-Berkeley, will deliver the Tanner Lectures on Human Values on Wednesday and Thursday, April 17-18, in 101 Friend Center.
     The theme of his lectures, which begin at 4:30 p.m., will be "Painting at Ground Level." He will explore the uniquely human phenomenon of standing upright, and how painters use bipedalism to explore the pleasures, weaknesses and ambiguities of human existence.
     Four specially invited scholars will deliver commentaries following each lecture. The discussants for Wednesday's lecture, titled "Poussin's Mad Pursuit," will be Elizabeth Cropper, dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art, and Richard Wollheim, professor of philosophy at Berkeley. The commentators following the second lecture, titled "Bruegel in the Land of Cockaigne," will be Svetlana Alpers, professor emerita of the history of art at Berkeley and visiting research professor at New York University, and David Freedberg, professor of art history at Columbia University.
     Clark is the author of five books on modern art, including "Farewell to an Idea: Episodes From a History of Modernism" and "The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and his Followers."
     The lectures are sponsored by the University Center for Human Values. Each will be followed by a reception at Prospect House. For more information, call 258-4798 or e-mail values@princeton.edu.

'Urban Diasport' conference set

A conference on "Urban Diaspora: The City in Jewish History" will take place Wednesday through Friday, April 17-19, on campus.
     Focusing on the enduring significance of the city as the locus of Jewish experience, the conference will provide an opportunity to explore new ways of taking history beyond the political frontiers of nation and empire. The primary goal is to use specific urban settings to enable discussion of broader issues, including economic restructuring, social mobility, and intellectual and cultural interchange.
     Kenneth Jackson, the Jacques Barzun Professor of History and the Social Sciences at Columbia University and a commentator on the PBS series "New York: A Documentary Film," will present the keynote lecture at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in 101 McCormick. Jackson, who teaches a legendary course on the history of New York, will speak on "Jewish Metropolis: The Past and Future of New York City."
     Sessions will run from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday in Bobst Hall. For a complete schedule, visit www.princeton.edu/ ~jwst/events/diaspora.html.
     The conference is being sponsored by the Program in Jewish Studies, Ronald Perelman Institute, Shelby Collum Davis Center for Historical Studies, Eberhard Faber IV Class of 1915 Memorial Lecture Fund and School of Architecture. For more information, call 258-0394 or e-mail <jwst@princeton.edu>.

Composers offer musical reactions

An unusual concert of "reactionary" music, with performances of world premieres and classic repertoire, is planned for Thursday, April 18.
     Titled "For Every Action There is a Reaction," the free event will begin at 8 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall.
     It will feature four second-year Ph.D. candidates who are required to present a concert as part of their general examination -- a crucial step towards the achievement of the final degree. Each candidate has selected an existing work and composed a musical response to it.
     Works by John Dowland, Johannes Brahms, Leos Janacek and Steve Reich have served as the principal inspiration for the program. The "responses" have been composed by Randall Bauer, Brooke Joyce, Tae Hong Park and Sharon Zhu. Performers will include the Brentano String Quartet, pianist Margaret Kampmeier and the Princeton Chapel Choir.

Officials debate trust in government

"In Government We Trust?" is the topic to be debated at the University's annual Symposium on New Jersey Issues Friday, April 19.
     The event will run from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall. It is open to the public free of charge, but registration is required.
     The symposium will feature a panel of legislators who respond to the comments made by a panel of non-elected officials with diverse academic and professional expertise in government.
     Sponsored by the Office of Community and State Affairs and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the symposium focuses on topics of interest to New Jersey legislators. Persons interested in attending may register by e-mail at hersh@princeton.edu or fax at 258-1294. For more information, visit web.princeton.edu/ sites/pucsa/.

University Concerts

Jazz composer Maria Schneider will bring her big band to campus at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 20, for a concert in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. Part of the University Concerts Jazz Series, the program will feature compositions by Schneider as well as jazz standards. Tickets are available through the Richardson box office at 258-5000.

Seminar offered on investments

Aseminar on "The Five Fundamentals of Successful Wealth Accumulation" is set for Tuesday, April 23, in Frist Multipurpose Room C. There will be two sessions: from noon to 1 p.m.; and from 1 to 2 p.m.
     David Bailin, chartered financial consultant and chartered life underwriter, will lead a discussion of the basic rules one should follow in making investment decisions in all markets, utilizing principles of the 1990 Nobel Prize-winning Modern Portfolio Theory. Participants will learn how to get higher returns without taking significant risks. The seminar is intended as a primer not only for those beginning to manage investment portfolios, but also for those who are approaching retirement and wondering how to invest their funds.
     Those planning to attend are encouraged to e-mail their questions in advance to <lynno@princeton. edu>. The seminar is sponsored by the Work-Life Task Force of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.
 
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April 15, 2002
Vol. 91, No. 23
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Contents

Page one
• Paczynski 'OGLEs' the sky for answers to cosmic questions
• Telescopes serve as time machines for sky surveyors
• International friends break the language barrier

Inside
• Symposium to honor Tilghman
• Academic managers unite to provide continuity, support
• HR provides benefits information
• Spring tradition

Sections
• People
• By the numbers: Items that have been named for Princeton
• Nassau Notes
• Calendar of events

Editor: Ruth Stevens
Calendar editor: Carolyn Geller
Staff writers: Jennifer Greenstein Altmann, Steven Schultz
Contributing writers: Marilyn Marks, Evelyn Tu
Photographer: Denise Applewhite
Design: Mahlon Lovett, Laurel Masten Cantor, Megan Peterson
Web edition: Mahlon Lovett