General News

Four talks comprise the series “Food Production, Marketing and Consumption in the United States – Colonial Era to Present.” The first presentation, scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Denny Building, Room 220, will feature Baldemar Velasquez, founder and president of the Ohio-based Farm Labor Organizing Committee.

Velasquez, a recipient of a “genius” grant from the MacArthur Foundation, earned a bachelor’s degree from Bluffton College; he has dedicated his life to improving the working and living conditions for migrant laborers and their families.

Ellen McIntyre, dean of the College of Education, and Munro Richardson, executive director of Read Charlotte, will be guests on the Oct. 30 edition of “The Live Wire,” Inside UNC Charlotte’s streaming webcast. Starting at noon, they will discuss the multimillion dollar Read Charlotte Initiative and the strategy for reshaping the landscape of early literacy across the city. The initiative’s goal is to double Charlotte -Mecklenburg Schools third-graders’ reading proficiency by 2025.

Global Soap Project founder Derreck Kayongo will speak at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

Now a successful entrepreneur, Kayongo is a renowned expert in environmental sustainability and global health. At the age of 10, Kayongo and his family fled a civil war in Uganda and settled in the United States. CNN International praised Kayongo for his “transition from the tough life of a refugee to become a college graduate, a U.S. citizen and a field coordinator for CARE International, a private humanitarian aid organization.”

A free screening of the documentary “The Hunting Ground” will be at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 9, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

“The Hunting Ground” was created to educate audiences on the widespread issue of campus sexual assault. The title of the documentary was chosen to represent the ideal conditions college campuses offer serial rapists to commit violent acts and escape responsibility.

The UNC Charlotte Shakespeare in Action initiative has entered the final year of a six-year project to address all of Shakespeare’s plays before the 400th anniversary of the bard’s death in April 2016. Tackling six plays a year in formats ranging from lectures to full-blown theatrical productions, the “36 in 6” project has left for this final season the play that many consider to be Shakespeare’s best “The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” The Department of Theatre will present “Hamlet” Wednesday, Nov. 4, through Sunday, Nov. 15, in the Black Box Theater in the Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts.

Susan Funk, a former member of the University’s Counseling Center, will talk about mindfulness at 2 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16, in the Student Union, Room 200.

Funk is a clinical psychologist specializing in providing treatment for trauma, anxiety, depression and spiritual and existential concerns; she integrates mindfulness practices into most of her work. She said her passion is to help people find some peace in their busy and often chaotic lives; get connected to their true, authentic selves; and learn how to listen to the wisdom of their bodies, minds and spirits.

The National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), the national accrediting agency for dance and dance-related activities, has granted full membership to UNC Charlotte, making the University one of its 79 accredited institutions. Gained through an intensive peer review process, membership is granted only to institutions that meet all of the standards of NASD.

Graduating near the top of her class from the University’s School of Nursing, Kailey Filter left campus as one of the most decorated Air Force ROTC cadets in the country. Earlier this month, the second lieutenant was named U.S.A.F. Cadet of the Year, an unrivaled honor in the field, said Lt. Col. Richard Sanders, commander of the AFROTC detachment at UNC Charlotte.

Adult Student Week is Nov. 2-6, and the Office of Adult Students and Evening Services (OASES) is scheduling several events as part of its celebration.

The observance kicks off from 4 to 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 2; adult and nontraditional students are invited to join OASES for pizza and cookies in the Barnard Building, Room 106.

Margaret Spellings, president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas and former U.S. Secretary of Education, was elected president of the 17-campus University of North Carolina during a special meeting of the UNC Board of Governors Oct. 23.