Graduation Fair to provide Commencement details
Graduating seniors will be able to address all of their questions relating to Commencement Weekend 2014 at the Graduation Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 24 in Emerson Suites. Representatives from the Commencement Committee, Career Services, Alumni Association, the Bookstore and the Senior Week Planning Committee will be available to answer all questions.
Students will be able to order their caps, gowns and flowers, talk to representatives from each of the organizations, purchase graduation announcements, reserve commencement housing and buy senior week passes.
All attendees will be entered to win prizes such as gift cards, diploma frames, senior week passes and graduation announcements. Stopping at the information tables will allow students to enter to win the grand prize: two reserved parking spaces on Commencement Day.
Alumnus lawyer to visit college to discuss career
Michael McNeil, prominent entertainment lawyer and Roy H. Park School of Communications alumnus, will visit the campus to speak at a dinner held 7 p.m. March 20 in the School of Business, conference room 301. The School of Humanities and Sciences pre-law program and the Ithaca College Alumni Association will host the dinner, where McNeil will answer questions about his academic and professional experiences in entertainment law.
McNeil is the head of business affairs for Weta Digital, a New Zealand visual effects company that earned five Oscars for its work on the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “King Kong” and “Avatar.” In addition to these films, McNeil has been the executive producer for the children’s animation series “Jane and the Dragon” on NBC and was a member of the team that originated the “WotWots” television series.
His experience ranges from negotiating nine-figure production deals to cybersquatting and managing international licensing. Space at the dinner may be limited. RSVP for priority seating should be directed to Michael Whelan, H&S pre-law adviser, at [email protected].
Cornell president named Smithsonian Secretary
The Smithsonian Board of Regents has named David J. Skorton, president of Cornell University, to be the 13th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex, as of March 9. Skorton will continue his official duties as president until his relocation to Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2015.
Skorton will succeed Wayne Clough, who will retire from the Smithsonian at the end of 2014.
Skorton became Cornell’s president July 1, 2006. Under his leadership, Cornell partnered with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to win an international
competition to develop a new type of graduate school, Cornell NYC Tech, which is under development on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
Skorton earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1970 and an M.D. in 1974, both from Northwestern University.
Robert Harrison, chairman of the Cornell Board of Trustees, will appoint a search committee to select the next university president.
Community offers panels on financial elder abuse
The Ithaca College Gerontology Institute and Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center will offer two more professional education opportunities for local practitioners on the topics of financial elder abuse and the relationship between depression and dementia in
older adults.
The workshops will be held from 2–4:30 p.m. on April 8 and May 1 at the Country Inn & Suites in Ithaca. The registration fee is $25 per workshop and $15 for each for retired persons. Registration must be completed no later than one week prior to the workshop.
The first workshop on March 19 featured speakers from the Elder Abuse Prevention Program addressing financial exploitation of elders and how to respond legally in order to protect the victims.
The workshop April 8, called “Application of Sensory Integrative Strategies with Aging Adults,” will feature Mary Siniscarco, chair of the Health Studies program at Utica College, who will talk about how changes in sensory systems affect levels of independence and overall function in aging adults and what strategies can be used to address these concerns.
Dr. Noman Afzal, geriatric psychiatry fellow at the University of Rochester, will specify the relationship between late-life depression and dementia and identify behavorial intervention treatment options for these adults in his workshop on May 1.
For more information and to register, contact the Gerontology Institute at 607–272–1965.
OSEMA to choose winners of national service award
The Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs is accepting nominations and applications for the President’s Volunteer Service Award until March 26. OSEMA will acknowledge all PVSA recipients at the OSEMA Awards Ceremony on April 28 in Emerson Suites.
The award is encouraged for students who are actively engaged in community service either individually or as a member of a student organization. The PVSA is among the highest national recognitions for individuals and groups who perform direct community service annually. Recipients will receive an official certified letter of achievement, a congratulatory letter and the official PVSA pin.
IC Theatre to put on play about psychological loss
Ithaca College Main Stage Theatre will present the contemporary musical, “Gone Missing,” at 8 p.m. on the following dates in the Clark Theater: March 25, 27, 28, 29 and April 1–5. A 2 p.m. matinee will take place March 29 and 30 and April 5.
Ticket prices range between $5.50 and $11 and are available for purchase at the Ithaca College Theatre Box Office located in the Dillingham Center.
Wendy Dann, assistant professor of theater arts, will direct the show alongside musical director Joel Gelpe and the assistant director, junior Melanie Hershmann. Senior Ryan Mutton and juniors Riw Rakkulchon, E-Hui Woo and Ashlynne Abraham created the set and costume design with junior Bree Harchuck as the stage manager and senior Christine LemMon as the technical director.
Steven Cosson wrote “Gone Missing” in 2003 from interviews by members of the New York City–based investigative theater company, the Civilians. Each song features a different New Yorker singing about his or her experience of the loss of a special object. Throughout the songs, segments of a radio interview play, featuring an expert who explains the psychological impact of loss on the individual.
