Monthly Archives: April 2015

Jerry’s Picks 15.15

Finals are coming, but the programming never ends….

April 28
6 p.m.
Graduate School of Journalism | Brown Institute for Media Innovation
Photography, Expanded: Digital Interventions
With the widespread popularity of photo-sharing platforms like Instagram, how can image-based interventions inform, activate, and strengthen communities, not only on social media, but also in the physical world? Such questions will be explored by Lance Weiler, co-founder of the Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab and director of Experiential Learning and Applied Creativity; Lina Srivastava, co-founder of Regarding Humanity; Jonathan Harris, founder of Cowbird; Christopher Allen, founder of UnionDocs Center for Documentary Arts; and moderator Chris Boot, executive director of Aperture Foundation. RSVP here. 547 W. 27th Street, Aperture Gallery and Bookstore.

Also see the April 30 event on Curating Digital Photography with Susan Meiselas, Magnum photographer and president of the Magnum Foundation, and Yukiko Yamagata, associate director of the Open Society Foundation’s Documentary Photography Project. RSVP here.

May 1–7
School of the Arts
Columbia University Film Festival
A week of screenings, screenplay and teleplay readings, and special panels. Panel topics include film studies past, present, and future; DIY comedy; and a live creative pitch competition. Purchase tickets here. 165 West 65th Street, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater. (Reminder)

May 5
4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Mailman School of Public Health
Precision Medicine or Population Health
This discussion explores the meaning of precision medicine and population health and their roles in the well-being of people around the world. Speakers include Tom Maniatis, Isidore S. Edelman Professor of Biochemistry and director of the Columbia Precision Medicine Initiative; David Goldstein, professor and director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine; Ronald Bayer, professor and co-director of the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health; Wendy K. Chung, Herbert Irving Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Jessica Justman, associate professor of medicine in epidemiology; Ezra Susser, professor and director of the Imprints Center for Genetic and Environmental Lifecourse Studies. Moderated by Wafaa El-Sadr, director of the Global Health Initiative. CUMC, Allan Rosenfield Building, Hess Commons.

5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
The Heyman Center for the Humanities |Center for Contemporary Critical Thought
Digits and Treasuries: How to Address the Fiscal Challenges of the Digital Economy
The digital revolution has given rise to a digital economy that challenges our concept of value creation. Startups and global companies are bringing radical transformation to all sectors of the economy. Pierre Collin, former chief adviser of the French minister for economy and finance; Martin Collet, former French minister of justice and former president of the French Constitutional Counsel; and François Ewald, professor emeritus at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers will discuss how countries might regain the power to tax profits earned by digital economy companies. Maison Française, Buell Hall, East Gallery.

May 6
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Earth Institute
Extreme Weather and Climate: Hazards, Impacts, Actions
Speakers from across the University will provide an interdisciplinary perspective on extreme weather and climate. Discussions will range in topics, including hurricanes, droughts, disease transmission, and energy resilience. Introduction by Adam Sobel, professor of applied physics and applied mathematics and of earth and environmental sciences. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration required. Lerner Hall, Room 555. (Reminder)

May 14 – 15
8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
School of International and Public Affairs
Conference on Internet Governance and Cyber-security
Academics, policy makers, entrepreneurs, technologists, and corporate executives will discuss the critical internet policy issues both within nations and globally. Research by the Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG) as well as Columbia faculty will be displayed. Register here. 1161 Amsterdam Avenue, The Italian Academy.

Picks are campus or NYC events of high general interest to alumni, donors, and prospects. By design, regrettably, much more is omitted than featured. For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. I always appreciate hearing from you about future events!

Jerry’s Picks 15.14

James Baldwin’s essays, Columbians in film, fighting corruption, guiding energy policy, grasping climate change, and what marshmallows tell us about self-control and the brain—such is the bounty of a Columbia spring!

This week, especially for us: Picking Partner Susan Woolhandler enlightened us about the Rabi-Warner Concert Series, a noon-hour classical music series at the Faculty House sponsored by the Office of the Provost. The last spring concert takes place on April 29 with members of the Juilliard School of Music Chamber Music program. Interested in being a Picking Partner? E-mail [email protected].

April 23
6:30 p.m.
School of the Arts
Phillip Lopate and Kiese Laymon in Conversation: Notes of a Native Son
James Baldwin’s debut collection of essays, Notes of a Native Son, announced him as a major force in the genre of the American essay. The volume remains a resonant analysis of subjects at once literary and political. Phillip Lopate, essayist and School of the Arts professor, and Kiese Laymon, novelist and Vassar College professor, will discuss the significance of Notes and Baldwin’s exceptional career as a non-fiction writer. Introduction by Imani Perry, professor at the Center for African American Studies, Princeton University. RSVP here. Teachers College,125 Zankel Building, Milbank Chapel.

April 23–25
Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity
Global Cities: Joining Forces Against Corruption
High-level officials from cities around the world discuss the challenges of fighting municipal corruption and share successful strategies. Speakers include Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa, mayor of Mexico City; Georgios Kaminis, mayor of Athens; Lev Pidlisetskyy, member of the Ukrainian Parliament; and Mark Peters, commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation. Register here. Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 106.

April 28
1:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The Center on Global Energy Policy
2015 Columbia Global Energy Summit
Plenary conversations with senior energy sector leaders focused on key issues and questions at the intersection of energy policy, financial markets, the environment, and geopolitics. Speakers include Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper; Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers at the White House; Sheikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah, CEO at Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company; Jason Bordoff, director of the Center on Global Energy Policy; Peter Kagan, managing director of energy at Warburg Pincus; and Charif Souki, CEO at Cheniere Energy. Register here. Low Memorial Library. (Reminder)

April 30
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The Earth Institute
Writing about Global Science for the International Media
Naomi Oreskes, co-author of Merchants of Doubt, will discuss how advertising, marketing, and economics have come to dominate public policy debates on science matters such as climate change, ozone depletion, acid rain, and even tobacco use. Oreskes is one of more than a dozen scientists working on climate change issuesinterviewed for the May edition of More magazine. Introduction by Lesley Jane Seymour, editor in chief of More magazine. Registration required. Hamilton Hall, Room 516.

May 1–7
School of the Arts
Columbia University Film Festival
A week-long program of screenings, screenplay and teleplay readings, and special panels. Panel topics include film studies in the past, present, and future; DIY comedy; and a live creative pitch competition. Program and schedule here. Tickets available Tuesday, April 21. Purchase here. 165 West 65th Street, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater.

May 5
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Zuckerman Institute
How Mind and Brain Enable Self-Control: The Marshmallow Test and Beyond
Why is it so hard to resist temptation? What makes it easier? Psychologist Walter Mischel’s research on how preschoolers manage to wait for two marshmallows later rather than settle for just one immediately has illuminated the mechanisms that enable willpower. Mischel will examine the personal and public policy implications of the marshmallow experiments and the mind and brain mechanisms that allow us to overcome “the weakness of the will.” RSVP here. 515 Malcolm X Boulevard, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

May 6
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Earth Institute
Extreme Weather and Climate: Hazards, Impacts, Actions
Speakers from across the University will provide an interdisciplinary perspective on extreme weather and climate. Discussions will range in topics, including hurricanes, droughts, disease transmission, and energy resilience. Introduction by Adam Sobel, professor of applied physics and applied mathematics and of Earth and environmental sciences. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration required. Lerner Hall, Room 555.

Picks are campus or NYC events of high general interest to alumni, donors, and prospects. By design, regrettably, much more is omitted than featured. For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. 

Jerry’s Picks 15.13

A Lion’s dozen in our high season. And many more this week—check out Picks 15.12.

April 14
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Columbia Journalism School
Is Freedom a Mental State?
Tim Wu, the Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, discusses cognitive liberty with Nita A. Farahany, director of Duke University’s Science and Society program; Michael Shadlen, professor of neuroscience; and an introduction by Steve Coll, dean of Columbia Journalism School. Reception to follow. RSVP is required at [email protected]. Pulitzer Hall, Lecture Hall.

April 15
6 p.m.7:30 p.m.
University Programs and Events | Center on Global Economic Governance
Europe: The Current Situation and the Way Forward
This World Leaders Forum program features an address by Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s federal minister of finance; SIPA Dean Merit E. Janow; and Provost John Coatsworth. Followed by a panel discussion with Alessandra Casella, professor of economics; Edmund S. Phelps, 2006 Nobel laureate in economics and director of center on capitalism and society; and Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor. International Affairs Building, The Kellogg Center.

April 17
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Center on Global Economic Governance
Inequality and Polarization
The past 50 years have witnessed continuing increases in economic inequality and in political polarization. Howard Rosenthal, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Sharyn O’Halloran, Wojciech Kopczuk, and Jan Svejnar address related factors including ideology, immigration, changing labor markets, technology, finance, the media, gerrymandering, and the electoral process. RSVP here. International Affairs Building, Room 1501.

April 19
8 p.m.
Columbia Music Performance Program
Jazz Ensembles Performance Featuring Armen Donelian
Armen Donelian ’72CC, pianist, Fulbright Scholar, and leader of master classes at international conservatories will perform. Directed by Chris Washburne, associate professor of music and director of Columbia’s Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program. 1161 Amsterdam Ave, The Italian Academy.

April 22 
11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Engineering
The Engineering in Medicine
This symposium will address four key areas of discovery and innovation where engineering meets medicine: data and health; imaging and health; regenerative medicine; and neuroengineering. Discussants include: School of Engineering Dean Mary C. BoyceJingyue Ju, Samuel Ruben-Peter G. Viele Professor of Engineering; Andrew Laine, Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of radiology; and Matthew Bacchetta, director of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program. Register here. Low Memorial Library, Rotunda. (Reminder)

April 23
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
School of Continuing Education
An Inside Look at Columbia’s Endowment
N.P. Narvekar, president and CEO of Columbia Investment Management Company (IMC), discusses Columbia University’s $9.2 billion endowment during this course lecture for the Master of Science in Fundraising Management program. RSVP here. Hamilton Hall, Room 516.

April 24
8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Columbia Entrepreneurship
#StartupColumbia Festival
An entrepreneurship conference that brings together the Columbia, Barnard, and Manhattan entrepreneurial community in celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship, and the creation of new ventures. This year’s theme is “New York Innovation,” highlighting the industries that New York City is famous for in finance, advertising, media, real estate, and fashion.Keynote by Gotham Gal Ventures Founder Joanne Wilson. Visit here for a list of speakers. Register here. Barnard Hall, Diana Center, Oval Auditorium. (Reminder)

6:30 p.m.
The Italian Academy
Music of Sergei Prokofiev
This recital of rare works by Sergei Prokofiev, featuring soprano Erika Baikoff, pianists Sergei Dreznin and Barbara Nissman, celebrates the opening of the Prokofiev Archive at Columbia’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The musicians will be joined by members of the Prokofiev family. Pre-concert talk on the history of Prokofiev’s musical archives by Simon Morrison, Serge Prokofiev Foundation president and professor of music, Princeton University. Co-sponsored by the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Serge Prokofiev Foundation, the Italian Academy, and the Columbia Department of Music. 1161 Amsterdam Avenue, The Italian Academy.

April 24
5 p.m.
Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture
Experiencing the World of Japanese Noh Theater Dance
A pioneering woman in Noh theater, Hisa Uzawa has been named a “cultural treasure” by the Japanese government. In their New York debut, she and her daughter Hikaru will introduce the dynamics and techniques of the six-hundred-fifty year tradition of dance that lies at the heart of the Noh Theater. They will perform climactic dance sequences from four plays and present behind-the-scenes details of costume and choreography. Miller Theatre.

April 28
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Mailman School of Public Health
Transforming Health in America: Policies, Communications, and Social Change
Making major improvements in health in this country requires changing the culture. Thomas A. Farley, former commissioner of health for New York City, will discuss how a transformation of this magnitude can take place through mass communications, policy changes, and the interaction among them. 722 West 168th Street, Allan Rosenfield Building, Room 532 A/B.

1:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The Center on Global Energy Policy
2015 Columbia Global Energy Summit
The Summit will include keynote remarks and plenary conversations with senior energy sector leaders focused on key issues and questions at the intersection of energy policy, financial markets, the environment, and geopolitics. Speakers include Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers at the White House; Sheikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah, CEO, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company; Jason Bordoff, director of the Center on Global Energy Policy; Peter Kagan, managing director of energy at Warburg Pincus; and Charif Souki, CEO at Cheniere Energy. Register here. Low Memorial Library.

April 29
5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Oral History Master of Arts Program
Then, Now, Next: Oral History and Social Change
A multimedia interactive pop-up exhibition of stories in step with the city. Audience members will be invited to don headphones and dip into immersive community spaces. Among the exhibits: Church as Community: St. Augustine’s on the Lower East Side, a look at the vibrant African American community around St. Augustine’s Church on the Lower East Side; Word Up Community Bookshop Oral History Project, a pop-up recreation of Washington Heights’ volunteer-run bookstore allows you to browse books, enjoy music, writing, and photography from local artists, and consider the cultural significance of community bookstores in 2015; The Neighborhood Hair Salon, a simulation of the hair salon experience, with cloak, mirror, and comb. Refreshments will be served.Union Theological Seminary.

Picks are campus or NYC events of high general interest to alumni, donors, and prospects. By design, regrettably, much more is omitted than featured. For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. I always appreciate hearing from you about future events!

Jerry’s Picks 15.12

April is the fullest month….Check all calendars, and alert your volunteers, prospects, donors, and friends! Here are 10 brutally selective picks for the next few weeks.

April 10
12 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Conference: Housing the Majority
This symposium will explore the meaning of slums, the political agency of the constituents in informal housing arrangements, the future of urban life, and new processes of design in housing solutions for the majority. Participants include Amale Andraos, dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; Tatiana Bilbao, architect; Ramin Bahrani, filmmaker and SoA professor; Mamadou Diouf, Leitner Professor of African Studies; Safwan Masri, EVP for Global Centers and Global Development; University Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak; and keynote speaker David Sims, political economist and author of Understanding Cairo: The Logic of a City Out of Control. Avery Hall, Wood Auditorium.

April 13
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. 
Columbia University Medical Center
Transforming the Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Illness
Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, will share his knowledge of mental disorders and treatment. Insel is one of the leaders of the NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) effort, a presidential initiative focused on developing new tools for understanding the brain. Reception to follow. CUMC Alumni Auditorium, 650 West 168th Street, 1st Floor.

April 14
6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Columbia University Libraries
From Single Vision to Four-Fold Vision: The Ever-Unfolding Merton
A lecture by Michael Higgins, vice president for mission and Catholic identity, Sacred Heart University. Followed by a viewing of the exhibition, Seasons of Celebration, on the life and legacy of the highly influential essayist, poet, and Trappist monk Thomas Merton ’38CC, ’39GSAS  drawn from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library’s Thomas Merton holdings. Butler Library, Room 523.

6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Barnard College
Beauty and Aging
In magazines, newspapers, and throughout social media, there is seemingly endless discussion about women’s response to aging. Often this response is categorized as a battle over cosmetics, diets, and surgery, but how do ideas of beauty and aging intersect and coexist? This discussion features Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan; Dayle Haddon, former supermodel and founder and CEO of WomenOne; Dr. Rhoda Narins, cosmetic dermatologist and clinical professor at NYU Langone Medical Center; and Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth. Moderated by Debora Spar, president of Barnard College. Barnard Hall, Diana Center, Oval Auditorium.

April 15
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Columbia University Medical Center
Bringing a Public Health Lens to Health Care Delivery
Mary Bassett, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and associate professor of clinical epidemiology, will speak as part of the Department of Medicine Special Grand Rounds Lecture series. RSVP here. CUMC Alumni Auditorium, 650 West 168th Street, 1st Floor.

April 20
6:15 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The Heyman Center
The Writing Lives Series Artist at the Center: Maxine Hong Kingston
Author Maxine Hong Kingston, best known for The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood, will read from her work and discuss her writing. Kingston has received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature and the National Humanities Medal awarded by President Bill Clinton. Dorothy Ko, professor of history at Barnard College, and Marie Myung-Ok Lee, founder of the Asian American Writers Workshop, will serve as discussants. Pulitzer Hall, Room 301.

April 21
2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Center on Global Economic Governance
Book Talk: Whither the World: The Political Economy of the Future
Grzegorz W. Kolodko, professor of economics at Kozminski University in Warsaw and former
Polish deputy prime minister, will discuss his new book, Whither the World: The Political Economy of the Future, on mankind’s long-term future and the global economy. Kolodko will be in discussion with Edmund S. Phelps, director of Center on Capitalism and Society and a 2006 Nobel Prize winner in economics; Joseph E. Stiglitz, professor and author; and Jan Svejnar, director of the Center on Global Economic Governance. Register here. International Affairs Building, Room 1512.

April 22 
11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Engineering
The Engineering in Medicine
This symposium will address four key areas of discovery and innovation where engineering meets medicine: data and health; imaging and health; regenerative medicine; and neuroengineering. Discussants include: Mary C. Boyce, dean of engineering; Jingyue Ju, Samuel Ruben-Peter G. Viele Professor of Engineering; Andrew Laine, Percy K. and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of radiology; and Matthew Bacchetta, director of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program. Register here. Low Memorial Library, Rotunda.

April 24
8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Columbia Entrepreneurship
#StartupColumbia Festival
A two-day entrepreneurship conference that brings together the Columbia, Barnard, and Manhattan entrepreneurial community in celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship, and the creation of new ventures. This year’s theme is “New York Innovation,” highlighting the industries that New York City is famous for in finance, advertising, media, real estate, and fashion. Keynote by Gotham Gal Ventures Founder Joanne Wilson. Visit here for a list of speakers. Purchase tickets here. Barnard Hall, Diana Center, Oval Auditorium.

Picks are campus or NYC events of high general interest to alumni, donors, and prospects. By design, regrettably, much more is omitted than featured. For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. I always appreciate hearing from you about future events!