PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 20, No. 6, Sept. 21, 2000

brief notes

YOU'RE INVITED
CommWest becomes Wohlers Hall at dedication
Albert H. Wohlers will speak today (Sept. 21) at the dedication of Wohlers Hall, the former Commerce West Building that has been renovated as a result of a $6 million gift from the retired insurance executive and Jane Wohlers, his wife. The ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the new entranceway on South Sixth Street, above, and be followed by a reception on the Commerce Quad.

New features in Wohlers Hall include technology-upgraded classrooms, a dean’s suite, a laboratory research suite, student lounge, main lecture hall and improved mechanical systems.

OFFICE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
National security issues featured
"National Security Challenges for the 21st Century" will be the focus of a town meeting Sept. 26 at the UI.

The public forum beginning at 2 p.m. in Foellinger Auditorium is co-sponsored by the UI Office of Continuing Education and the U.S. Department of State. The keynote speaker will be Michael Lekson of the State Department. He is the deputy assistant secretary for multilateral and conventional arms control.

State Department town meetings, held throughout the United States, provide a forum to increase understanding of foreign policy issues, encourage public engagement in the policy process and provide an opportunity to exchange views with State Department officials.

The program also includes a 3:15 p.m. panel discussion, "Pillars of a Strategy," moderated by UI political science professor Paul Diehl. Featured topics and speakers include "Freedom Versus Fair Market Share," Marvin Weinbaum, analyst, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, and UI professor emeritus; "Food Security: Its Role in National Security," Earl Kellogg, UI associate provost for international affairs; and "The Technology of National Security," Jeremiah Sullivan, UI professor of physics and chair of the U.S. Department of Energy’s advisory committee on nonproliferation and national security.

A closing address on "Transnational Security" will be given at 4:50 p.m. by Richard Jaehne, an adjunct professor in the UI’s Russian and East European Center, and former NATO commander. A question-and-answer session will follow.

The town meeting is free and open to the public, but participants should register from 1 to 2 p.m. the day of the event at the auditorium.

UI PRESS
Book show runs through 29
The 2000 Book, Jacket and Journal Show of the Association of American University Presses will be on view at the UI Press, 1325 S. Oak St., through Sept. 29. The show features 50 books and 30 jackets selected by some of the best designers in the country.

Featured in the show is the UI’s winning entry for text design: "Juilliard: A History," by Andrea Olmstead, designed by Copenhaver Cumpston.

The show is available for viewing from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. There will be a reception on Sept. 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, call 333-9227.

CENTER FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC STUDIES
Panel deadline is Sept. 29
The Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies will present an international conference on "The United States and Cross-Straits Relations Since the Taiwan Elections," Oct. 6 -7 at the Quality Hotel-University Center, 302 E. John St., Champaign. Registration deadline, for panel presentation only, is Sept. 29. To register, call 333-7273 or 333-4850.

CAMPUS REC
Free group fitness sessions offered
Campus Recreation offers free group fitness sessions throughout the fall semester. UI students and campus recreation members can choose from more than a dozen different free group fitness sessions, including Hip Hop Party, Yoga Lite, Step Express and Aqua Sport.

No advance registration is required. Participants should simply show up at the class they are interested in attending. They will need to sign a waiver to participate. Classes will be offered at the Intramural Physical Education Building (IMPE) and at the East Rec Center (WIMPE).

Some additional classes will still be offered for a small fee. For a complete schedule of classes visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu or 172 IMPE.

BESCHLOSS FAMILY MEDIA DESIGN CENTER
Media center dedication is Sept. 22
The new Beschloss Family Media Design Center at the UI College of Communications will be dedicated Sept. 22.

The dedication, which includes a tour of the state-of-the-art center, begins at 2 p.m. in 213 Gregory Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

According to journalism professor Eric Meyer, the center is "a state-of-the-art facility for teaching and practicing online print design and for exploring the new frontiers of media convergence." College of Communications faculty members will teach in the new facility, which will be maintained by technical staff.

Included in the extensively remodeled laboratory/classroom in Gregory Hall’s lower level are 25 professional quality workstations "loaded with an impressive array of the latest industry-standard software for newspaper and magazine page design, infographic research and design, creative advertising design, digital audio-video editing for the World Wide Web and online site design," Meyer said.

The center also contains six digital still cameras, two digital video cameras, six reflective scanners, a video presentation system, two high-speed laser printers, a large-format color printer, dedicated broadband Internet access and ergonomically designed lighting, seating, window treatments and work tables.

Funds for the center came from Morris R. Beschloss and his family. Beschloss earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Illinois in 1952. After two years in the armed forces, Beschloss turned to advertising and public relations, and built a highly successful career as an executive in the manufacturing of metal parts -- first of industrial fasteners (Chicago Screw Co. and Standard Screw) and later, of domestic and light commercial valves (Hammond Brass and Condec Corp.). He is widely regarded as the father of the modern valve industry.

CAMPUSTOWN 2000
Volunteers needed to ‘Clean Green’
Campustown 2000 hosts "Operation: Clean Green!" from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 30. Volunteers should contact Jill Guth at 531-0003 or jguth@campustown.org. Participants should meet in the parking lot at the corner of Sixth and Green streets. "Operation: Clean Green!" is sponsored by Central Waste Services.

DADS ASSOCIATION
Nomination forms due Oct. 6
Each year the UI Dads Association recognizes excellence in four categories at its annual banquet during Dads Weekend in November. Nominating forms for the categories of faculty member, staff member, student and student organization are due Oct. 6. Recipients are honored for how they make a difference in the life of UI students.

For more information about the nominating process or for nomination forms call Nancy Rotzoll at 333-7063.

‘'ARE WE ALONE?'
Astronomy lecture is Oct. 4
Steven Beckwith, the director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, will present the third talk in the department of astronomy’s Icko Iben Jr. Distinguished Lectureship at 4 p.m. Oct. 4 in Foellinger Auditorium. The talk, "Are We Alone?," is free and open to the public.

Each year the Iben lectureship brings a noted astronomer to campus to highlight some of the latest developments in astronomy. In addition to giving a public lecture, the invited speaker also will give a technical colloquium and meet informally with faculty members and students.

In his public talk, Beckwith will discuss how recent advances in astronomy may point to potential sites for life in other planetary systems; how the discovery of life in harsh environments and the potential for life on Mars and on Europa – the fourth largest moon of Jupiter – indicate an optimism about the robustness of life; and how an understanding of Earth’s history shows the difficulties encountered by intelligent life in evolution.

More than 40 planets already have been discovered around stars other than the sun. The search for these "extrasolar" planets requires large telescopes and extremely sensitive instruments. Oftentimes, the planet’s presence is detected by monitoring slight wobbles in the motion of the host star. As more planets are found, astronomers hope to better understand the planet-formation process.

In addition to serving as director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, Beckwith also is a professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. His principal research interests are the formation and early evolution of planets, including those outside the Solar System, and the birth of galaxies in the early universe.

WILL-TV AND WILL-AM (580)
Election 2000 debates featured
WILL-TV’s Election 2000 coverage includes several debates between candidates for Illinois House and Senate races throughout the next month.

At 8 p.m. Sept. 21, a group of Central Illinois reporters discusses the national and local races with WILL-TV’s Carl Caldwell, who will moderate all the candidate debates. Then at 8 p.m. Sept. 28, Caldwell questions the candidates in the 99th District Illinois House race – Republican Raymond Poe and Democrat Jerome Robinson, both of Springfield.

Other televised candidate debates (beginning at 8 p.m.):

An Oct. 15 Debate Night will feature:

• 5 p.m. -- 20th Congressional District: Democrat Jeffrey Cooper and Republican John Shimkus (taped).
  
  
• 7 p.m. -- 15th Congressional District: Republican Tim Johnson and Democrat Mike Kelleher, live town meeting, simulcast on WILL-AM.
  
  
• 10 p.m. -- 19th Congressional District: Democrat David Phelps and Republican Jim Eatherly (taped by WSIU-TV).
  
  
• 11 p.m. -- 18th Congressional District: Republican Ray LaHood and Democrat Joyce Harant (taped by WTVP-TV).

The audio of all the debates will be streamed live and archived on the WILL Web site (www.will.uiuc.edu). In addition, WILL-AM plans to broadcast candidate interviews with Winkel and Satterthwaite at 3 p.m. Sept. 30; Conner and Berns at 3 p.m. Oct. 7; Johnson and Kelleher at 3 p.m. Oct. 14; and Eatherly and Phelps at 3 p.m. Oct. 21. Those interviews also will be archived on the WILL Web site.

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Non-credit courses offered
People who want to learn to write for magazines, learn to canoe, or explore "The Creation" will have opportunities this fall through the UI. So will would-be photographers, those wanting to learn how to handle holiday stress, and people who’d like to explore Allerton Park, near Monticello.

Those are among some of the topics of personal and professional enrichment programs based in the UI Office of Continuing Education. Some courses begin as soon as next week.

Among the courses offered:

• Introduction to Photography, which will concentrate on the basics of black and white 35mm photography. Thursday evenings, Sept. 28 to Dec. 7, $186.
  
  
• Successful Magazine Writing, which will be taught by a widely published freelance writer and will deal with all aspects of writing and getting published. Saturday, Oct. 28, $66.
  
  
• Haydn’s "The Creation," which will explore the oratorio, the composer and his body of work as preparation for a performance of "The Creation" by the Sinfonia da Camera, UI Chorale and Oratorio Society. Monday evenings, Nov. 6, 13 and 27, with the performance on Dec. 2.; $39 for the course, $27 for the performance.
  
  
• Seasons of Allerton (Part II), which will include a Holiday Showcase in the Allerton mansion and a naturalist’s tour of Allerton Park. Monday, Nov. 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; $14, optional lunch for $13.50.
  
  
• Canoeing for Beginners, which will provide an opportunity to learn techniques in flat-water canoeing, as well as canoe safety. Friday, Sept. 29, 1 to 4 p.m., $22; one-day canoe trip on Saturday, Oct. 7, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., $62.
  
  
• Stress Reduction for Everyday Life and the Holidays, which will utilize principles and techniques of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program developed at the University of Massachusetts, and featured on the Bill Moyers PBS special "Healing and the Mind." Saturdays, Oct. 21 to Nov. 18, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., $75.
  

The personal and professional enrichment programs are presented in a noncompetitive, informal atmosphere. There are no exams or grades. Instructors are selected primarily from the university faculty, and classes meet at locations on campus or in the Central Illinois community. Prospective students are encouraged to enroll early since some classes may fill quickly. For more information, registration or to receive a brochure that lists all personal and professional enrichment programs, as well as programs for older adults, call 333-7369. Information also is available through the Office of Continuing Education Web site, at www.conted.uiuc.edu/noncredit/html/general.html.