Posted February 24, 1999

Academic Policy Changes Proposed

Several policy changes for academic appointees are currently under review.

One proposal is that an additional step (Step IX) be added to the professorial and professional research scales, effective July 1, 2000. The other involves revisions to the Academic Personnel Manual leave policies in order to clarify the use of leave for domestic partners and the period of eligibility for active service-modified duties.

The proposals may be accessed online at www.chance.berkeley.edu/apo. Comments should be sent by March 16 to Patti Owen, Office of Academic Personnel, 200 California Hall or via email to APpolicy@uclink4.berkeley.edu.

Shakespeare Scholars Discuss Coriolanus March 3

An illustrious panel of Shakespeare scholars will discuss "Coriolanus: Text, Performance, Gender and Power" on March 3 at 3:30 p.m. in Zellerbach Playhouse. The dialogue will be held in conjunction with the Center for Theater Arts (CTA) production of Coriolanus.

Panelists will include Janet Adelman, professor of English, whose gender-based psychoanalytic criticism inspired the current CTA production; Don Weingust, director of the production and a doctoral candidate in dramatic art at Berkeley; Stephen Booth, professor of English; Marvin Rosenberg, professor emeritus of dramatic art; and W.B. Worthen, professor of drama and English at UC Davis.

International and Area Studies Books for Sale

In preparation for its closing, International and Area Studies' Rosberg Library is selling its books for $2 each.

Current journals will be incorporated into the new Humanities and International and Area Studies reading room now being prepared in Doe Library. Rosberg Library's space will become part of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, which will keep Rosberg books on that subject.

About 1,000 books are selling quickly, says library manager Linda Blum, who describes the books as "oldies and goodies."

Rosberg Library, in 340 Stephens Hall, is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Proceeds will go to the Rosberg Library Fund.

For information phone 642-3633.

Erogonimic Spring Training for Weekend Gardeners

After a long, cold winter, most gardens are in desperate need of attention. Eager to clean up the mess, green thumbs jump right into the strenuous tasks of weeding, pruning and planting without paying much attention to how it will affect their bodies.

Gardeners can learn to avoid the sore muscles and stiff backs often associated with a weekend of gardening at a noon-time class to be offered Friday, March 5.

Mallory Lynch, the campus ergonomics specialist, will demonstrate proper posture and body mechanics and take the class outdoors to practice sound weeding and planting techniques.

To register for the class, sponsored by Health*Matters, call 643-4646.

Our Grisly Past: A Correction

The date for the lecture "Decapitations, Scalpings and Throat Cuttings among Ancient Eurasian Nomads: Evidence from a Cemetery in Tuva, South Siberia" is Sunday, Feb. 28. The talk will be held in the Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall, at 3 p.m.

For information contact the Center for Slavic and East European Studies, at csees@uclink4.berkeley.edu, or jkimball@csen.org.

Exploring the Ins and Outs of "Peony Pavilion"

The new Consortium for the Arts inaugurates its first season with the American premiere of "Peony Pavilion," Peter Sellars' inventive staging of a Ming Dynasty opera.

In conjunction with the performance of Tang Xianzu's classic, March 5 through 7 at Zellerbach Hall, the Consortium is offering a series of related events, including several to be held in advance of the performance.

On Saturday, Feb. 27, artists and scholars involved in the production will present a lecture/demonstration to introduce the public to Chinese opera, the kunqu genre and the opera's metamorphosis in the current production. The event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in Wheeler Auditorium.

On Monday, March 1, kun opera legend Hua Wenyi, star of "Peony Pavilion," will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Sellars' contemporary production. The event will be held in Zellerbach Playhouse from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

Recipient of the prestigious Plum Blossom Award and former director of the Shanghai Kun Opera Company, she will speak in Mandarin, with English translation.

More details on the opera and related events will be carried in next week's Berkeleyan. For tickets to the opera, call 642-9988.

March 13 Symposium: Biotechnology at 25

Seats are going fast for a March 13 event that will bring James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, and a number of Nobel Laureates and important figures in the biotechnology revolution to campus.

"Biotechnology at 25: Perspectives on History, Science, and Society" is a reunion of key players from the creation of the biotechnology industry. It will explore the past and future of biotechnology, and was organized by The Bancroft Library to inaugurate its Program in the History of the Biological Sciences and Biotechnology.

Many activities are planned, including an afternoon symposium with Watson as the keynote speaker, and panel discussions on biotechnology led by Berkeley's distinguished scientists Daniel Koshland and Edward Penhoet. A public reception will follow the symposium.

Other events will include the March 12 opening of a new Bancroft Library exhibit, "Bioscience at Berkeley: Rare Books, Manuscripts and Oral Histories from the Bancroft Library Collections," and a UC Berkeley Extension course, the morning of March 13, on "DNA in Plain English: A Biotechnology Primer."

The symposium will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, in Wheeler Auditorium and telecast in Dwinelle Hall. Free seats for the telecast are currently available through UC Extension. Note that at the time of registration, faculty members should provide their campus affiliation so that they can be moved into the main Wheeler Hall venue on a space-available basis.

To register, call 642-4111 and provide the event registration code, EDP056614. For further information, contact David Farrell of The Bancroft Library at 643-9498.

Time to Sign Up for Children's Summer Activities

Now is the time to plan for your children's summer vacations. In case you missed the Feb. 10 Berkeleyan, the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Dependent Care has compiled a list of UC Berkeley summer 1999 programs for children.

For easy viewing, go to the committee's web page -- at campus.chance.berkeley.edu/depcare/ -- and select summer children's programs.

February 24 - March 2, 1999 (Volume 27, Number 24)
Copyright 1999, The Regents of the University of California.
Produced and maintained by the Office of Public Affairs at UC Berkeley.
Comments? E-mail berkeleyan@pa.urel.berkeley.edu.