The following is a list of events taking place on the Kean University Campus. For more information, please see the sponsoring group listed with each event.

Kean University Writing Project is a community of teachers working together to improve our craft. Crossing grade levels (K-16) and subject areas, we join with the National Writing Project as "teachers nurturing teachers." Through the four-week Summer Institute participants gain opportunities to dig into some of the challenges that can feel too scary or too hard when taken on alone. Institute staff provide extensive grounding in theory; best practices for teaching writing; protocols for designing, presenting, and reflecting on classroom lessons; models for building and working with collaborative teams; and personalized coaching and one-on-one mentoring. Through writing, talking, sharing, and writing some more, we work to transform the toughest challenges from our classrooms into our best ideas for pedagogical practice.

An informational open house session will be held on Wednesday, February 24th from 3:30-5:30pm in CAS 308. Programming to include: a discussion of "The Summer Institute Experience", led by teacher consultant Kim Kiefer; "Responding to Student Writing", a workshop led by Dr. Mark Sutton; a brief meeting with Dr. Linda Best, Director of the Kean University Writing Project. Admission to the Institute is through application only; necessary forms and other documentation are available at www.kuwp.org. Prospective participants should contact Dr. Linda Best, 908-737-0377, for additional information. 

Celebrate African American History Month at Kean University
Thursday, February 25, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
University Center Little Theatre.

In celebration of African History Month and The Jackie McLean Concert Series, the Office of Africana Studies will host Kamara Kewulay and Bandeya, a performance company of international musicians, dances and spoken word artists from the African world inspired by Mandeng epic traditions of West Africa. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call Africana Studies at 908-737-3915.

A Tribute to a Scholar and Queen: Dr. Barbara Anne Wheeler, Activist, Intellectual, Author and Educator
Friday, February 26, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Graduate Lounge, second floor, Nathan Weiss Graduate College -East Campus.

All members of the Kean community are invited to celebrate the career of Dr. Barbara Wheeler, professor and former longtime director of Africana Studies. Throughout her tenure, Dr. Wheeler has been a unique and fascinating, trailblazing scholar and inspiring teacher and leader. Many notable guests and speakers who have known and worked with Dr. Wheeler throughout her career will be on hand to join in the celebration. Among them, Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-NJ10) and former N.J. Assemblyman William D. Payne, will emcee the event.

In honor of Wheeler’s enduring legacy, all proceeds from this event will be used to establish a scholarship for a deserving Kean student.  Please make contributions payable to The Dr. Barbara Anne Wheeler Scholarship Fund at the Kean University Foundation.

This event is co-sponsored by Africana Studies, Women's Studies, Jewish Studies and Latin American Studies Programs, as well as the Pan African Student Union, the Kean University Foundation and the Human Rights Institute at Kean. For further information, please contact Emily Filardo at 908-737-4091 or 908-737-4020.

Haitian Relief Efforts: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Benefit Performance
Sunday, February 28, 8 p.m. Wilkins Theatre

All proceeds from this performance will support Kean University's Haitian Relief Efforts.

In the musical comedy Spelling Bee, six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grownups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser. This hilarious tale of overachievers’ angst chronicles the account of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime, a quirky yet charming cast of characters for whom a spelling bee is the one place they can stand out and fit in at the same time. Mature audiences. Not recommended for children under 14. Click here for tickets.

Faculty Book Launch Celebrating Women in Theatre
Tuesday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the Maxine and Jack Lane Center for Academic Success, Room 106

Dr. E. Teresa Choate, assistant chair of the Department of Theatre will read from her new book, Electra USA: American Stagings of Sophocles’ Tragedy; and Jan Balakian will read from her new book, Reading the Plays of Wendy Wasserstein. Choate’s work delves into the American productions of Sophocles’ Electra, while Balakian’s examines Wasserstein’s plays in a historical context. Faculty members are invited to bring their classes to the lecture, discussion and book signings, which celebrate women in theatre.

David Hackett Fischer to Present Lecture on New Jersey and American Revolution
Thursday, March 4, at 2 PM, Carriage House at Liberty Hall.

Professor David Hackett Fischer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Washington's Crossing, will give a lecture on New Jersey and the American Revolution. Fischer is the Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University. For further information, please contact Dr. Jonathan Mercantini at 908-737-4262 or via e-mail at jmercant@kean.edu.

One of the nation’s foremost experts on cognitive behavior will appear as a keynote speaker for Educating the Creative Mind: Developing Capacities for the Future, an international conference at Kean University this spring aimed at generating ideas for creativity and innovation in arts education among children. Dr. Howard Gardner, an internationally known professor of cognition and education at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, will also facilitate panel discussions at the conference Gardner, a MacArthur Prize Fellowship winner in 1981, has written more than 20 books and hundreds of articles about the theory of multiple intelligences, which refutes the notion that there’s a single path to human intelligence. The conference represents the first phase of a multi-year project designed to bolster arts-related education in children’s lives and to create a network of educators, policy makers and parents who are advocates for creative arts education. It is being funded through a $15,750 Quality First Initiatives grant, which Kean awards to programs that promote outreach to local communities.

Dr. Lily Chen-Hafteck, director of the Educating the Creative Mind project and a music education professor at Kean, is at the helm. She has led the effort to organize the conference and other arts education projects. “The conference will also spotlight Kean’s leadership role in promoting arts education,’’ said Chen-Hafteck. “I’ve always wanted to do this with my experience in teacher education. My many years of experience in education have led me to understand that public school education needs to be more well-rounded and less focused on testing results. I want to raise awareness about how beneficial it is to children to express their creativity. Children can be very creative---and will learn from that-- if we provide them the appropriate environment."The conference will bring together scholars from 13 states and 11 countries.

A special performance of children’s creative works in dance, music, theatre and visual arts will be presented in Enlow Hall at the conference’s opening ceremonies on March 4. A “Children’s Creative Arts Day,’’ takes place on March 6, the closing day. Children and parents in the tri-state area are invited to participate on a first-come, first –serve basis for a $10-per-child fee. For more information on the conference in March and to register, visit www.kean.edu/~creative.www.kean.edu/~creative

The Big Read: Reading and Talk by Author Tim O'Brien
Wednesday April 14th, Wilkins Theater, 12:30 PM
 
The Big Read is Kean’s semester-long participation in the national program of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. Kean University was awarded this national grant from the NEA to host The Big Read and is one of 268 communities nationwide participating in the initiative.
 
As host of The Big Read, Kean University will carry out an extensive community-based reading program. Participants will read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, and engage in various activities, including discussions, lectures, movie screenings and performing arts events. Complete schedule of events.

Kean to Host Thinking Creatively Design Conference
Friday, April 16 & Saturday, April 17

Held on Friday, April 16, 2010, and Saturday, April 17, 2010, at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, this year's "Thinking Creatively" Conference is a special edition. The Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) will hold their annual, regional conference concurrently with the "Thinking Creatively" Conference.

That means that all "Thinking Creatively" attendees will gain access to IDSA presentations, as well as benefit from IDSA members who will attend the main-stage events, breakout sessions, and networking activities organized by The Design Center at Kean University and the ADCNJ. It also means a significant increase in attendees expected this year.

Other highlights include the following offerings: Pantone is helping to support the networking event on Friday, and the Kean University Alumni Association is making arrangements for a Disney Imagineer to lead an event following the networking event. In addition, a panel discussion on the state of design will include reporters from Fast Company, Business Week, and Metropolis.

"As always, Thinking Creatively hosts and provides world-class speakers and presentations, fun, goodies, and intellectual refreshment," said Rose Gonnella, ADCNJ Board Member and Professor at Kean University who has taken a leadership role in orchestrating this conference. "We believe it's important to provide affordable access to a major event for design professionals and students that is on par with other world-class conferences. We want to deliver an interactive, thoughtfully rich, and professionally focused conference to inspire us all."

"This conference is an excellent opportunity for professional enrichment," added Robert Ryan, ADCNJ President of President of CMYK Printing. "Now in its seventh year, this event has developed a strong reputation for bringing together some of the best and brightest creative professionals in the world of design. THe ADCNJ is delighted to work with The Design Center at Kean University to make this conference a source of inspiration for creative professionals."

To learn more and register for this "Thinking Creatively" Conference, visit www.thinkingcreatively.org or www.adcnj.org or call 201-997-1212. Come and explore the world of design at the "Thinking Creatively" Design Conference!