Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 6, 2006|Volume 35, Number 5

Visiting on Campus

'Boston Legal' writer to be guest at master's tea

Michael Reisz, the Peabody Award-winning writer and producer of ABC's "Boston Legal," will be the guest at a Calhoun College master's tea on Friday, Oct. 6.

Reisz will speak at 4:30 p.m. at the master's house, 434 College St. The talk is free and open to the public.

Formerly a banking and finance attorney and bankruptcy litigator, Reisz had a recurring role on "Days of Our Lives." In addition, he voiced several cartoons, appeared on "Star Trek Voyager" and performed in the west coast premiere of Tina Landau's "SPACE" at the Mark Taper Forum.

Reisz is currently in production on two pilots, "The Game of Life," a romantic comedy for ABC, and "Evil," a serialized horror series for the CW.

Harvard minister will present Snead Memorial lecture

The Snead Memorial Lecture will be given by Peter J. Gomes, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard University, on Sunday, Oct. 8.

Gomes will give a sermon as part of University Public Worship at 10:30 a.m. A light lunch and conversation will follow the worship service. At 3 p.m., Gomes will deliver the Snead Lecture on "Athens, Jerusalem and New Haven Christians in the University." Both events will take place in Battell Chapel, corner of College and Elm streets, and are free and open to the public.

An American Baptist minister, Gomes is a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and of the Faculty of Divinity at Harvard.

Gomes is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award from Harvard University and the Preston N. Williams Black Alumni/ae Award from Harvard Divinity School.

His publications include "Strength for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living" and The New York Times best-sellers "The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need" and "The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart."

Gomes is an honorary fellow of Emmanuel College, the University of Cambridge, England, where the Gomes Lectureship is established in his name.

Genocide survivor to speak at Morse College master's tea

Gilbert Tuhabonye, author and national champion runner, will speak at a Morse College master's tea on Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Tuhabonye will speak at 4 p.m. in the master's house, 99 Tower Parkway. Sponsored by the Hoyt Fund, the talk is free and open to the public.

Tuhabonye is the author of "This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor's Story of Escape, Faith and Forgiveness," an autobiography that recounts Gilbert's journey from the holocaust in his native Burundi.

He began running competitively while attending school in Kibimba. Running barefoot, he won an 8K race while only a freshman. Tuhabonye became a national champion in the 400 and 800 meters as an 11th grader. As a senior, his goal was to earn a scholarship to an American school, get an education and return home to Burundi.

In 1993, the centuries-old war between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes erupted one afternoon as Tuhabonye and his classmates were in school. The Hutu classmates at the Kibimba school, their parents, some teachers and other Hutu tribesmen, forced more than 100 Tutsi children and teachers into a room where they beat and burned them to death. Tuhabonye was the sole survivor.

Tuhabonye went on to graduate from Abilene Christian University where, despite being covered with scar tissue from his burns, he was a national champion runner.

He is currently a running coach at Run Tex in Austin, Texas, where his team calls themselves Gilbert's Gazelles.

ISS talk will examine 19th-century Prussian Army

International Security Studies will host a talk by Frederick W. Kagan, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), on Thursday, Oct. 12.

Titled "The Permanent Revolution: Institutionalizing Military Transformation Lessons from Gerhard von Scharnhorst and the 19th-Century Prussian Army," Kagan's talk will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Rm. 119, William L. Harkness Hall, 100 Wall St. The talk is open to the public free of charge.

Kagan is a military historian who specializes in defense issues and the American military. In particular he studies defense transformation, the defense budget, and defense strategy and warfare. He has also written about Russian and European military history.

The author of "The End of the Old Order," Kagan received his Ph.D. from Yale. He was assistant professor of military history at the United States Military Academy (West Point) from 1995 to 2001 and served as associate professor of military history from 2001 to 2005.

Calhoun College will host talk by award-winning author

Rachel Shteir, associate professor and director of the criticism program at the Theatre School at DePaul University, will visit the campus on Thursday, Oct. 12.

Shteir will speak at 4:30 p.m. at the Calhoun College master's house, 434 College St. The talk is free and the public is invited to attend.

Before going to Chicago to found the criticism program five years ago, she taught at universities including Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Tisch School of the Arts, Columbia University and the National Theatre Institute.

Shteir's first book, "Striptease: the Untold History of the Girlie Show," won the 2004 George Freedley Award for "the best book on live theatre published in the United States." Her second book, "Gypsy Rose Lee: the Art of the Tease," which is forthcoming, is part of the prestigious American Icons series.

"Striptease" received critical acclaim in national publications. In the New Yorker, Francine du Plessix Gray called it a "landmark," and in the Washington Post, Elaine Showalter wrote that "Striptease" was both "scholarly" and "entertaining."

Shteir, who holds an M.F.A. and a D.F.A. in criticism from the Yale School of Drama, has published in magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Magazine and the Nation.

She has received many awards for her writing, including numerous MacDowell and Yaddo residencies and a Yaddo writer's fellowship. She has also served as a nominator for the MacArthur "Genius Grant" Awards, the Alpert Awards in the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Inspiration for 'Judging Amy' series to speak on campus

The Honorable Frederica Brenneman, judge trial referee in the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District, will speak in the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy lecture series on Friday, Oct. 13.

Her talk, titled "Impact Thinking in Making Child Placement Decisions," will be held at 11:30 a.m. in Rm. 116, William L. Harkness Hall, 100 Wall St. The event is free and open to the public. For further information, e-mail sandra.bishop@yale.edu or call (203) 432-9935.

In 1967 Brenneman became only the second woman appointed to the bench in Connecticut history. Throughout her career, she has specialized in child abuse and neglect cases, and has advocated for stronger legal protections for children. She has also trained judges, social workers, lawyers and laypersons in understanding the legal response to child abuse.

She has won numerous awards, including the first Albert J. Solnit Child Advocacy Award from Lawyers for Children America. Brenneman has also been honored by various organizations, including the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Prevent Child Abuse Connecticut and Big Brothers of Greater Hartford.

Brenneman graduated from Harvard Law School in 1953, in the first class to admit women.

She was the inspiration for the television series "Judging Amy," which starred her daughter, Amy Brenneman.

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Memorial service for Robert Wokler

Campus Notes

Correction