October

October is a beautiful time on campus, and a busy one with classes, events, and activities in full swing. Our students continue to amaze us with all they accomplish on campus and off. U.S News & World Report just ranked AU students first in undergraduate internships. Among our 2010 graduates, 85 percent had at least one internship. Students value AU’s internship culture because these opportunities increase their chances for full-time employment after graduation, result in higher salaries compared to students who do not intern, and contribute to students winning national scholarship competitions. 

Be sure to visit our October calendar and join us on campus for a play, lecture, sports event, visit to our museum, or a stop at our farmers’ market.  Special events this month include our Arboretum luncheon, WAMU 88.5’s gala celebrating its 50th anniversary, and our first Halloween “Spooktacular” haunted house.

On Saturday, October 8, bring your family and friends and join us when the AU Arboretum and Gardens welcomes the “Tour des Trees” cyclists as they finish a 500-mile ride that will start in Virginia Beach and run through Skyline Drive. Their ride benefits the Tree Fund. The cyclists are expected at the finish line at AU’s Main Gate at 2 p.m. Join us at 1 p.m. in our outdoor amphitheater for music and refreshments.

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Initiative for Russian Culture Launched at AU

American University and the Embassy of the Russian Federation announced the founding of a new Initiative for Russian Culture (IRC) designed to promote greater understanding of the rich complexity of Russian culture among Americans, young and old, and to build lasting connections between both cultures' youth. The chair of the IRC Advisory committee is Susan E. Lehrman. More than 200 students from universities around the city that are part of the DC Consortium joined guests at the inaugural event at the Library of Congress on September 30. The evening featured an elegant dinner, a screening of the Russian film We Are Jazzmen (1983), Russian desserts, and a performance featuring Russian jazz musicians. Dr. Peter Starr, Dean of AU’s College of Arts and Sciences, said AU is “thrilled to be a partner in this ambitious effort to overcome decades of stereotypes by exposing students to the best that Russian culture has to offer.” The IRC program includes new course offerings at AU as well as film screenings, expert speakers, art exhibits, and musical performances throughout the school year. Events will be held at AU, the Embassy of the Russian Federation, and other locations around the city. For more information about the IRC, the upcoming film schedule, and other events, visit: http://www.american.edu/cas/history/initiative-russian-culture/.

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AU's 2011 All-American Weekend

AU welcomes its alumni, families, students, and friends for a fun-packed weekend filled with events including a welcome reception, campus and neighborhood tours, special programs, sports activities, cultural events, alumni awards, class reunions, an All-American picnic, a treasure hunt for children, and much more. It’s a wonderful time to see friends and family and enjoy all that’s happening at AU. For a full schedule of events for the weekend, plus information on how to register to attend, visit: http://www.american.edu/alumni/allamericanweekend/index.cfm.

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AU Gospel Choir Extravaganza

Bring your family and join us for a delightful free concert featuring AU’s Gospel Choir led by Sylstea Sledge at 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 22. You’ll be clapping your hands and tapping your feet as you hear some of our students’ amazing vocal abilities. The event is open to the public at Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist church across from AU at 3401 Nebraska Avenue, NW. Free parking is available at the church and across the street at AU’s Nebraska Avenue parking lot. You also can listen to past performances of the AU Gospel choir online.

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Kids @ Katzen

Join us on Saturday, October 22 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for our Kids @ Katzen: All-American Weekend program in the Kreeger Lobby of the Katzen Arts Center. AU museum staff, volunteers, and docents will be there to help kids create an art project related to the current exhibition. Alumni and families will tour the exhibition and then create their own art based on what they’ve seen. For more information and to register, visit http://www.american.edu/alumni/allamericanweekend/index.cfm.

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Halloween Science Spooktacular

We invite our neighbors – high school students and older – to join us on campus on Friday, October 28 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for our Spooktacular science-themed haunted house. Created by AU’s science faculty, staff, and students, the haunted house will be located in the basement of the McKinley building and will offer a series of learning stations with exciting, interactive demonstrations to teach science concepts in a Halloween-themed setting. Visitors will see a recreation of Frankenstein’s laboratory, explore the Room of Absolute Darkness, use forensic science to solve a crime, and much more. The College of Arts and Sciences also will host field trips to the Science Spooktacular for students from high schools across the city on Friday, October 28 and Monday, October 31.

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Arboretum Luncheon and Book Signing

We welcome our neighbors and area garden clubs to join us on Thursday, October 13, for a very special Arboretum and Gardens Luncheon. Our guest speaker will be Nancy Clarke, former White House chief floral designer, who will sign copies of her new book My First Ladies, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.The luncheon will follow from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Abramson Family Founders Room in the School of International Service. Tickets: $45. Please RVSP to Katherine Kirlin at kkirlin@american.edu or at 202-885-2431.

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WAMU 88.5 FM Gala Celebrates 50 Years

WAMU 88.5 FM will celebrate its golden anniversary on Saturday, October 29 with a gala black-tie celebration at one of DC’s premiere locations, the National Building Museum.  Master of ceremonies Karl Kasell will join special guests Paula Poundstone and the bluegrass stars, The Gibson Brothers, for an evening featuring a formal dinner, live auction, and dancing to Doc Scantlin and his Imperial Palms Orchestra. The gala evening also will pay tribute to WAMU’s founders, and special awards will be given.  For information and tickets, visit www.wamu.org or call 202-885-3894. We hope you can join us for what promises to be a very special evening.

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October Arts Scene Rocks AU

This is a big month for the Arts at AU with a John Cage 100th Anniversary Festival Preview Concert on October 23; rock musical The Who’s Tommy at the Greenberg Theatre October 20 – 29; and the late fall Exhibition Opening and Artists’ Reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on October 29. For details and tickets to arts events, visit www.american.edu/auarts. Also, our Visiting Writers Series offers a free fiction reading with author Pearl Abraham on Wednesday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m., and a poetry reading with Ross Gay on Wednesday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. For more details on the Visiting Writers series, visit www.american.edu/visitingwriters.

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Filmtastic Fall: Free Film Screenings in October

Join us on campus for an array of free film screenings this month. On October 11 at 7 p.m., the 7th Annual Fall 2011 Film Series will feature Synthetic Sea, Synthetic Me and a discussion with Anna Cummins about the environmental threat to the oceans from plastic. The event will be sponsored by the Center for Environmental Filmmaking in the School of Communication. On October 26 at 7 p.m., filmmaker Dana Flor will show clips and discuss her film The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, in an evening sponsored by The School of Communication and Maryland Public Television. The Human Rights Film Festival offers films on October 6, 13, and 20, sponsored by the Center for Social Media and the Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law. Check out the October calendar for more details about times and screening locations. 

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Fall Sports

Fall is a great time to watch outdoor sports and we invite you and your family and friends to watch our teams play. Our women’s soccer team plays home games against Bucknell (Oct. 16), Holy Cross (Oct. 21), and Army (Oct.23). Our men’s soccer team plays home games against Army (Oct. 8), Lafayette (Oct. 15), and Lehigh (Oct.29). Our field hockey team plays home games against Colgate (Oct. 15), Maryland (Oct.16), and Georgetown (Oct. 23). Indoors, our women’s volleyball team is at home to challenge Howard (Oct. 19) and Navy (Oct. 28). AU’s swimming and diving team faces Catholic and George Washington in events here as well (Oct. 15). For more information on times and locations, visit the AU Athletics Web site.

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October Events

Thursday, October 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The 2011 Human Rights Film Series presents a screening of How to Die in Oregon. Since 1994, Oregonians have had the right to physician-assisted suicide. Filmmaker Peter Richardson examines the emotional, complex decisions through stories of the terminally ill. Free and open to the public at the Katzen Arts Center. Free parking is available under the Katzen building. Sponsored by the School of Communication’s Center for Social Media and the Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law.

Saturday, October 8 at 1 p.m. Enjoy music and refreshments at the AU Amphitheater as the AU Arboretum celebrates bike riders who've completed the 500-mile Tour des Trees. Riders are expected to cross the finish line at AU's main gate at 2 p.m. This bike ride from Virginia Beach, VA to Washington, DC benefits the Tree Fund.

Saturday, October 8 at 1 p.m. AU men’s soccer team plays Army at Reeves Field.

Tuesday, October 11 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) Fall 2011 Speaker Program presents R. Scott Turner’s Update on Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Turner is Director of the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University and Professor of Neurology. Free and open to the public at the Temple Baptist Church at 3850 Nebraska Avenue, N.W.

Tuesday, October 11 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Seventh Annual Fall 2011 Film Series, hosted by the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, presents Synthetic Sea, Synthetic Me with Anna Cummins. She and her husband Dr. Marcus Eriksen have spent the last five years deeply immersed in how our oceans are being trashed with plastic waste. They have sailed across 25,000 miles of ocean in a raft built from 15,000 plastic bottles, and co-founded The 5 Gyres Institute to research plastic at sea. Free and open to the public in the Wechsler Theatre, 3rd floor Mary Graydon Center.

Wednesday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m. AU Visiting Writers Series presents a fiction reading with Pearl Abraham, author of American Taliban, The Romance Reader and The Seventh Beggar. Free and open to the public in the Board Room, Butler Pavilion, sixth floor of Mary Graydon Center. Free parking is available in the Nebraska Avenue parking lot.

Thursday, October 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.  The 2011 Human Rights Film Series presents a screening of The Redemption of General Butt Naked, a chilling portrait of Joshua Milton Blahyi, evangelical preacher who also was formerly one of the most feared warlords of the 14-year Liberian civil war. Free and open to the public at the Katzen Arts Center. Free parking is available under the Katzen building. Sponsored by the School of Communication’s Center for Social Media and the Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law.

Saturday, October 15 at 12 p.m. AU field hockey team plays Colgate at Jacobs Field.

Saturday, October 15 at 1 p.m. AU men’s soccer team plays Lafayette at Reeves Field.

Saturday, October 15 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. AU swimming and diving team versus Catholic University and George Washington University at AU swimming pool.

Sunday, October 16 at 12 p.m. AU women’s soccer team plays Bucknell at Reeves Field.

Wednesday, October 19 at 7 p.m. AU women’s volleyball team play Howard University at Bender Arena.

Friday, October 21 at 3 p.m. AU women’s soccer team plays Holly Cross at Reeves Field.

Thursday, October 20 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The 2011 Human Rights Film Series presents a screening of Not in Our Town: Light in the Darkness that chronicles the journey of the family of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero who was murdered in New York in 2008, as they deal with his death and the wave of anti-immigrant violence in the community. Free and open to the public at the Katzen Arts Center. Free parking is available under the Katzen building. Sponsored by the School of Communication’s Center for Social Media and the Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law.

Thursday, October 20 through Saturday, October 22 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, October 22, at 2 p.m. The Who’s Tommy. Music and lyrics by Pete Townshend; book by Peter Townshend and Des McAnuff. Musical production directed by AU’s Javier Rivera, music director Sariva Goetz, and choreographer Melanie George. Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre, 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW.  Tickets: $15 regular admission; $10 seniors. For tickets, visit www.american.tix.com or call the Greenberg Theatre box office at (202) 885-2587.

Sunday, October 23 at 12 p.m. AU women’s soccer team plays Army at Reeves Field.

Sunday, October 23 at 1 p.m. AU field hockey team plays Georgetown University at Jacobs Field.

Sunday, October 23 at 3 p.m. John Cage 100th Anniversary Festival Preview Concert. American University Museum. Tickets: $10 general admission; $5 AU students.

Tuesday, October 25 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s (OLLI) Fall 2011 Speaker Program presents retired New York Times correspondent Neil Lewis to talk about The New York Times, Israel, and American Jews over the Decades: An Evolving Story. Free and open to the public at the Temple Baptist Church at 3850 Nebraska Avenue, NW.

Wednesday, October 26 at 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker Dana Flor and School of Communication professor John Douglass show clips and discuss Flor’s film The Nine Lives of Marion Barry at the Weschler Theater on the 3rd floor of Mary Graydon Center. Co-sponsored by the School of Communication and Maryland Public Television. Refreshments from Georgetown Cupcake.

Wednesday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. AU Visiting Writers Series presents a poetry reading by Ross Gay, author of poetry collections Against Which and Bringing the Shovel Down. Free and open to the public in the Board Room, Butler Pavilion, sixth floor of Mary Graydon Center.

Thursday, October 27 at 7 p.m.  School of Communication Science in Society Series with Professor Matt Nisbet and David Kirby, author of the new book Lab Coats in Hollywood: Science, Scientists and Cinema. Kirby will show clips and explain how consulting scientists have helped create “plausible” events on the big screen. Free and open to the public in the Weschler Theater on the 3rd floor of Mary Graydon Center. Free parking at the Nebraska Avenue parking lot.

Thursday, October 27 at 6:30 p.m. Roundtable Discussion: The Puerto Rico Status Question. Free and open to the public. Abramson Family Recital Hall in the Katzen Arts Center. Free parking is available under the Katzen building.

Friday, October 28 at 6 p.m. Fall Arts Colloquia presents: Anti-Heroic: Nicole Eisenman. Free and open to the public. Abramson Family Recital Hall in the Katzen Arts Center. Free parking is available under the Katzen building.

Saturday, October 29 at 6:30 p.m. WAMU 88.5 celebrates its 50th anniversary with a gala celebration at the National Building Museum. Master of ceremonies Karl Kasell. Formal dinner, live auction, and dancing to Doc Scantlin and his Imperial Palms Orchestra. Tributes to WAMU founders and special awards will be given. For more information and tickets, visit www.wamu.org or call (202) 885-3894.

Saturday, October 29 from 6 p.m to 9 p.m.  Artists’ reception for opening of late fall exhibitions at the AU Museum in the Katzen Arts Center. Free and open to the public. Enjoy new exhibitions and refreshments. Free parking is available under the Katzen building.

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For event details and a full list of all upcoming events, see the University Events Calendar.