Spring Enrichment Week > Schedule of Events
Schedule of All Events
Please note location and RSVP contact for each event, thank you!
Sunday, April 26th
As part of WUMB 91.9 FM's Big Read initiative in celebration of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, you can hear these two special programs on Sunday, April 26:
7:00pm – Commonwealth Journal
An interview with Katherine Butler Jones, who lived in Harlem in the 1930’s at 409 Edgecombe Ave. This address was given landmark status in 1993. She was neighbors with Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, Walter White (executive secretary of the NAACP), and Eunice Carter, who became the first black woman assistant district attorney in the state of New York.
7:30pm – A Music Tribute to the Harlem Renaissance
Featuring music of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and others
Monday, April 27th
4pm – 6pm: “Life by Design” with Nancy H. Denney sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly. This workshop will challenge graduate students to "dump the drawer!" That's right. Just empty it into the trash. Nancy relatively compares making life improvements to making home improvements. She offers a five-phase model for identifying what needs to be cleaned up, remodeled, renovated, or complete rebuilt in all aspects of a person's life and then inspires audience members to put on their overalls and get to work! Campus Center, Room 3545. To attend please contact gsassembly@umb.edu
5pm – 7pm Graduate Appreciation Week Kick-off Pizza Party sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly. Come and celebrate our First Annual Graduate Student Appreciation Week and meet other fellow graduate students from UMass Boston. There will be FREE pizza and refreshments. Campus Center, Room 3540. To attend, please contact gsassembly@umb.edu
7:00pm – Wicked Mentalist Alain Nu
Enter the mysterious world of Alain Nu, the mind guy from The Learning Channel. His "ESP" performance combines the uncanny abilities of the mind with powerful messages of what we can achieve. He performs intriguing and visually captivating mind-power feats, leaving his onlookers spellbound and amazed. Tickets will be available at the door and are free with UMass Boston ID; others $5. Campus Center Ballroom.
Tuesday, April 28th
4:00pm – 6:00pm Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself: an Essential Core Competency sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly. This workshop with Rita B. Allen will teach graduate students how to market their talents, accomplishments, and values using the “3 P’s” technique: Preparation, Packaging, and Presentation. Campus Center Room 3545. To attend, please contact gsassembly@umb.edu
5:00pm – Acknowledging Violence, Embracing Families, Investing in Peace
The School Counseling Student Association and Graduate College of Education host a presentation on violence-prevention by Clementina Chery, the founder of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, which supports families of homicide victims and helps youth build non-violent conflict resolution skills. Reception to follow. Campus Center Ballroom A. To attend, please contact Laura Fratangelo.
5:00pm – 7:00pm – Let’s Sit Down for Coffee & Tea
Sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly. In continuing our week of graduate student appreciation, come join us for coffee and/or tea. Here you will have the opportunity to mingle with your other fellow graduate students. Campus Center Room 3540. To attend, please contact gsassembly@umb.edu
6:00pm – Building Social Capital in Divided Societies
The McCormack Graduate School is honored to have Barbara Nelson, professor of public policy at UCLA, as this year's Robert C. Wood Professor. Ms. Nelson is a specialist in international and domestic conflict mediation, leadership, organizational behavior, and social movements, including women's, labor, ethnic, and religious social movements. Campus Center Ballroom C. To attend, please contact Michael MacPhee.
Wednesday, April 29th
2:00pm – Breaking the Cycle of Violence
Join community leaders, practitioners, and faculty at UMass Boston in an open dialogue about how we can come together to reduce youth violence in our communities. The program will include a showing of Jahmol’s Plan for Youth Peace, a documentary featuring Jahmol Norfleet, former gang leader turned peace advocate; roundtable discussions and reporting back; and a networking reception. Campus Center Ballroom C. To attend, please contact the Office of Special Events or call 617-287-5312 by April 15 (space is limited).
4:00pm-6:00pm Keys to Writing a Successful Thesis or Dissertation
A workshop with Joan Liem sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly. This workshop is designed to help students that are writing their master’s theses or doctoral dissertations address their tendencies to procrastinate, get over immobilizing perfectionism, work more effectively with their thesis or dissertation supervisors (and committee members), write more regularly and productively, avoid distractions, get help when they need it, and avoid the sense of isolation that can often accompany thesis and dissertation writing. Campus Center Room 3545. To attend, please contact gsassembly@umb.edu
5:00pm–7:00pm Inter-departmental Game Show Night sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly. This will be a two-hour game show extravaganza complete with refreshments, free food, and prizes for the team and individual winners. Come test your skills against your fellow graduate school classmates. Campus Center Room 3540. Space is limited, so please reply to gsassembly@umb.edu
5:30pm – Their Eyes Were Watching God
Come listen to high school students from BC High and Elizabeth Seton Academy give their opinions and impressions of this vibrant novel. This program is part of "The Big Read," an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to revitalize the role of reading in American popular culture. Campus Center Ballroom A. To attend, please contact the Office of Special Events.
Thursday, April 30th
1:00pm – Steppingstones to Leadership, Featuring Chancellor Motley
Leadership is an acquired skill. Hear about the journey of Chancellor J. Keith Motley to his position of leadership. Lecture in the Alumni Lounge followed by lunch. Please reply to the Office of Special Events.
3:00pm – A Tale of Two Cities: Scholars in Berlin and New Orleans
Prof. Mary Oleskiewicz has spent long periods in Berlin, working with 18th-century manuscripts, and Prof. Lynnell Thomas came from New Orleans to UMass Boston just as the Katrina disaster struck. Join us as these faculty members from Performing Arts and American Studies, respectively, explore the histories and cultures of two cities through three centuries of images and music. Their presentation is part of the “Six Degrees of Separation” series, a lively celebration of UMass Boston scholarship, teaching, and the connectedness of all things intellectual. Beverages and a high tea menu provided. Healey Library 11th floor. To attend, please contact the Office of Special Events or call 617-287-5312 by April 16 (space is limited).
5:00pm – 7:00pm – Screening of Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 2009 and won eight, the most for any film of 2008, including Best Picture and Best Director. Come see for yourself why this film has had so much acclaim. Popcorn and refreshments will be provided. Sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly. Campus Center Ballroom. Space is limited, so please reply to gsassembly@umb.edu
7:00pm – "Music in the Spirit of Zora"
A program of piano music inspired by the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston
A California native and long-time Boston resident, Virginia Eskin is an extremely versatile solo pianist, chamber player, and lecturer. Her performance will include works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Fats Waller, and an exploration of James P. Johnson's "YAMEKRAW, a Negro Rhapsody." These African American musicians explored spirituals, jazz, and folk melodies much as Hurston sought out folk tales and lore in her role as an anthropologist. Eskin will be accompanied by Elisa Birdseye on viola. Campus Center Alumni Lounge. To attend, please contact the Office of Special Events.
Friday, May 1st
2:00pm-5:00pm – VDC Open House
Come tour the new Venture Development Center! This state-of-the-art research facility will impress students, faculty, and staff. Come learn more about how you can be involved in the innovation that's sweeping the campus and the Boston community. Wheatley, 3rd Floor. For more information about the center, click here .
12:00pm-3:00pm – Interdisciplinary Perspectives: a Graduate Student Research Showcase sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly. As part of Graduate Student Appreciation Week, the GSA will host its first Research Showcase, where graduate students can present their research work in a form of a poster. Come on by for a free lunch and learn about the different disciplines represented here at UMass Boston. Campus Center University Terrace. For more information please contact gsassembly@umb.edu
Saturday, May 2nd
6:30pm - Scholarship Celebration
The Annual Scholarship event, highlighting the 25th anniversary of Urban Scholars, with a cocktail reception, a silent auction, and musical entertainment by Walter Beasley. Charles Desmond, former associate chancellor at UMass Boston and currently chair of the Massachusetts Board of High Education, will receive the Chancellor's Medal for his outstanding leadership in higher education. Proceeds benefit the Urban Scholars Program and the J. Keith Motley Scholarship. For sponsorship and ticket information, please click here or call 617-287-5320.
Sunday, May 3rd
4:00pm– UMass Boston Chamber Orchestra Concert
Annual concert featuring the UMass Boston Chamber Singers performing the Haydn Mass in Time of War with the UMass Boston Chamber Orchestra. The program also includes Haydn’s Symphony No. 99 and a rarity re-orchestrated by Prof. Jon Mitchell, the Lincoln Centennial Grand March. Campus Center Ballroom.
Monday, May 4th
4:00pm – "The Challenges of Urban Life"
The College of Liberal Arts hosts Elijah Anderson, author and professor of sociology at Yale University, as he speaks about the challenges young urban black males face in today's society. Campus Center Alumni Lounge. To attend, please contact the Office of Special Events