Jerry’s Picks #9: Nov. 17 – Dec. 8

Climate change, fossil fuels and funding; race in the brain, on the gridiron, and beyond; artists working at a certain age – Columbia keeps exploring.

November 20
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Center for Jazz Studies
Acting Homer: A Staged Reading of the Odyssey
Part of Romare Bearden-related events known as “Columbia Explores A Black Odyssey,” “Acting Homer” features prominent actors readings key passages from the Odyssey. With Devyn Tyler ’13CCTy JonesRichard Habersham, and Sean Patrick Thomas. Earl Hall Auditorium. (Reminder)

November 21
8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Columbia Business School | Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management Program and the Healthcare Industry Association (HCIA)
Columbia Business School 11th Annual Healthcare Conference: Using Data and Technology to Innovate, Value, and Reengineer Healthcare
Speakers and panelists explore biopharmaceuticals, medical technologies, payers, providers, HCIT, venture capital/private equity, M&A/financing, and healthcare entrepreneurship, and related topics. Networking opportunities include a lunchtime career fair with healthcare employers and a closing reception. New York Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway. (Reminder)

November 24
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Columbia Law School and the Earth Institute
Should Universities and Pension Funds Divest From Fossil Fuel Stocks?
Mounting scientific evidence of the perils of climate change is bringing growing pressure on universities, pension funds, foundations, religious institutions, and others to divest from the stock of fossil fuel companies. Hear from proponents and opponents of divestment, and from experts on the effect of divestment on portfolio value and its place in the corporate social responsibility movement. With Bennett Freeman, senior vice president, sustainability research and policy, Calvert Investments; Stephen Heintz, president, Rockefeller Brothers Fund; John Willis, portfolio manager, Sustainable Insight Capital Management; Christianna Wood, president and chief executive officer, Gore Creek Capital, Ltd. Moderated by Michael B. Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice and Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School. Jerome Greene Hall, Room 103.

December 2
6:15 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.
Heyman Center for the Humanities, School of the Arts, Columbia University Libraries, the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies
Old Masters: Spiegelman, Feiffer, Melamid
Legendary artists and authors Jules Feiffer and Art Spiegelman and painter and performance artist Alex Melamid will discuss the history and achievements of aging artists, with a focus on artists whose best-known works were completed in the later years of their lives. This event is sold out, but you may be able to get in by arriving early. The event will be first come, first seated at event start time to accommodate attendees without an RSVP. Italian Academy.

December 3
11 a.m. – 12:50 p.m.
Earth Institute
Congress Today: The Role of Campaign Finance on Environmental Legislation
As senior staff members, Leon G. Billings and Thomas C. Jorling led the Senate environment subcommittee that developed major environmental legislation in the 1970s, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Superfund Act, a series of environmental laws that defined the direction and character of environmental policy in the U.S. and globally. Here Billings and Jorling discuss Congress today and why the federal government has not taken substantial action on environmental law for  several decades, with a look at the evolution of campaign finance laws and how campaign finance and fundraising impact policy and legislation. RSVP required. For further information, please contact Hayley Martinez: [email protected]. International Affairs Building, Room 407.

December 3
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Zuckerman Institute and Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Race Matters, but Not How You Think it Does: How Stereotypes Affect How We Live, Work, Play, and Pray with Dr. Valerie Purdie-Vaughns
W.E.B. Du Bois used the term “double consciousness” to describe how societal structures shaped the ways in which African Americans viewed themselves, others, and their relations with American institutions. This talk will use the tools of psychology and neurobiology to show how “double consciousness” is experienced by many groups in American society, with implications for health and cognitive performance. Discussion includes recent findings in brain science that can be used by individuals to reduce stress and improve performance, and that could help bridge racial and gender disparities in the population. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard.

December 8
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Café Columbia
Breaking the Line: Black College Football and the Civil Rights Struggle
Come hear award-winning columnist, book author, and journalism professor Samuel Freedman discuss how student-athletes at historically black colleges and universities like Grambling and Florida A&M used the leverage of football to help crack segregation’s stranglehold – both on the gridiron and well beyond. Columbia Alumni Center.

Highlighted above are general interest campus or NYC events across a range of topics of possible interest to alumni, donors, and prospects.  This listing is highly selective by design – regrettably, much more is omitted than featured. For RSVP, ticket availability and other details, follow the links.

As always, I appreciate hearing from you about future events! Best, Jerry

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