Artist Enrique Martínez Celaya to Headline Final Public Events This Week as Visiting Presidential Professor

Internationally renowned artist Enrique Martínez Celaya will headline two final public events as University of Nebraska Visiting Presidential Professor during a trip to Nebraska today through Friday, April 19-23, NU President James B. Milliken has announced.

Milliken named Martínez Celaya, an artist and writer, as a Presidential Professor in fall 2007 for a three-year period. Presidential Professors serve as public scholars who enrich the cultural and educational life of the university and the state, and public lectures are a key component of the appointment. Read more.

Malcolm X Festival Under Way at UNO

Well-known figures from the entertainment and literary world will serve as major speakers at this year's Malcolm X Festival and Conference at the UNO. The festival, sponsored and organized by the UNO Department of Black Studies, runs through Tuesday, April 20.

Producer and writer Kevin Arkadie, known for his involvement with "Soul Food" and "CSI," will give a presentation on Tuesday, April 20. His special workshop session begins at 4 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center. He also plans on working with Omaha Public Schools teachers during the conference. Read more.

Volunteers Still Needed for April 24 Global Youth Service Day

The Service Learning Academy needs faculty, staff and student volunteers for Global Youth Service Day on Saturday, April 24. Volunteers will spend the morning cleaning up area parks, including Elmwood and Memorial parks.

Visit http://www.unomaha.edu/slareg/gysd10.php to register online.

Participants will volunteer from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration begins at 8 a.m. at the Milo Bail Student Center. Location assignments will be given at that time. Directions and shuttles to all other sites will be available. T-shirts and lunch are complimentary.

For more information, contact Kathe Oleson Lyons at 554.4083. Read more.

Admissions and Records & Registration Training and Walk-in Help Sessions Offered Today

UNO's Nebraska Student Information System (NeSIS) team will offer walk-in sessions every Monday and Wednesday this month in 106U Eppley Administration Building from 9 to 11 a.m. Individuals do not need to register. Anyone who currently has access to a PeopleSoft SIS account is welcome to attend.

These sessions will give staff and faculty a chance to ask specific questions and receive hands-on assistance.

There will also be training sessions offered for faculty and staff who need a PeopleSoft SIS account. To register, visit the training calendar at http://www.unomaha.edu/nesis/tabpages/facstaff/training/trainingcal.php.

UNL Guest Lecturer to Present Climates of Changes Brown Bag Talk

The UNO Department of Sociology/Anthropology will sponsor a brown bag presentation on "Climates of Change: Prehistoric Human Responses to the Younger Dryas Cold Event and El Ninos in the Americas" today, April 19.

Alan J. Osborn, adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Anthropology and Geography, will present the lecture. It will take place from noon to 12:45 p.m. in 344 Arts and Sciences Hall. Anyone with an interest is welcome to attend.

For more information, contact John Powers at 319.2721.

'How to Help Students with Sentence Structure and Style'

Faculty can attend the "Toward Healthier Sentences: How to Help Students with Sentence Structure and Style" workshop today, April 19, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Council Room

In this workshop, Writing Program Administrator Nora Bacon will discuss the sources of common problems with sentence structure and style and will recommend strategies for helping students achieve better control over their prose. Attendees can also learn how sentence structure is addressed in composition courses and Writing Center consultations, and learn what to do when responding to class papers.

For more information, contact Adam Sempek at 554.3880 or sadamsempek@hotmail.com.

Arts and Sciences Speaker Series Continues Tonight with Geology Lecture

The UNO College of Arts and Sciences Centennial Speaker Series continues tonight, April 19, with a lecture by J. Michael Timmons, geologist and program manager of the Geologic Mapping Program (STATEMAP) at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.

His talk - "Collaborative Geologic Research and the Trail of Time: A Partnership of Research and Geoscience Education at Grand Canyon National Park" - will begin at 7 p.m. in 169 Durham Science Center. The event is free and open to the public. Read more.

Earth Day 2010 at UNO This Thursday

To celebrate Earth Day 2010 at UNO, there will be 20 different sustainability leaders from the Omaha area displaying how they're making a difference in the community and how everyone else can too, on Thursday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Pep Bowl.

Christine Bywater of OPPD's Sustainable Energy Division will speak at 11 a.m. and Skypiper, an Omaha-based band, (http://www.myspace.com/skypipermusic) will play in the Milo Bail Student Center Plaza at noon.

"There will be a picnic space and hooping the whole time, so come on down and celebrate the Earth," said Gillian Cromwell, president of The Environmental Club at UNO.

The participating groups are:
- Sierra Club;
- Green Omaha Coalition;
- College Democrats;
- UNO Nebraskans for Peace;
- HPER Trek to Campus;
- GreenStreet Cycles;
- OPPD Sustainable Energy Division;
- Community Bike Shop;
- Allwine & T.L. Davis Prairies;
- Energy Rescue Inc.;
- Repower NE;
- Habitat for Humanity;
- GreenUNO;
- Milo Bail Student Center; and
- Nebraska Solar Energy Society (NSES).

For more information, contact Cromwell at 533.9989 or gcromwell@unomaha.edu.

The GreenUNO Task Force supports this event. For more information, visit http://www.unomaha.edu/green/.

Student PR Group to Host Organ Donor Awareness Event April 22

Of the 106,000 Americans waiting a lifesaving organ transplant, more than 500 of them are Nebraskans.

To help inform college students about organ donation, Maverick PR, UNO's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), has planned a series of events with the theme "Go Green‐Donate Life" in partnership with UNO's Environmental Club.

The event starts on April 20 with a panel lead by the Nebraska Organ Recovery System (NORS). Read more.

Thursday's Generation Diversity Leadership Series Cancelled

This week's diversity leadership program with well-known speaker and facilitator, Joe Gerstandt, has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. The cancelled event was set for Thursday, April 22, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center. This date will not be rescheduled.

For more information, contact Sharon Ulmar at 554.2321 or sulmar@unomaha.edu.

HPER Pool Closing Notice

The Health, Physical Education and Recreation Pool will be closed starting Friday, April 30, at 1 p.m. and will remain closed for the month of May for routine maintenance and cleaning.

During this closure, all Campus Rec Activity Cardholders and Master's Swimmers will have access to the Brownell-Talbot School Pool for free. All swimmers must show their Mav Card to gain entrance. The dates and times can be found online at http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwocr/aquatics/BTpoolhours.pdf.

Contact Pat Philippi with questions at 554.2223 or pphilippi@unomaha.edu.

Public Screening of Rape Documentary 'The Line' Tomorrow

In an effort to continue an open dialogue about sexual assault and rape, UNO, YWCA Omaha and Methodist Health System have teamed up to host a free public screening of "The Line," a 24-minute documentary about Nancy Schwartzman's experience after being raped.

In the film, Schwartzman, the film's director, confronts her attacker and records the conversation with a hidden camera. In "The Line," sex workers, survivors and activists discuss justice and accountability. The film asks – and attempts to answer – the question: Where is the line defining consent? "The Line" is a personal documentary that explores consent from a sex-positive point of view. Read more.

UNO Library Friends Poetry Reading Tomorrow

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the UNO Library Friends will sponsor a poetry reading in the Criss Library at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20. Matt Mason and Sarah McKinstry-Brown will be the featured readers. The event will be held on the main floor of the library, near the cafe.

McKinstry-Brown has published work in Freedom to Speak: The 2003 National Poetry Slam Anthology, the Great American Road Show, as well as published book collections, Dancing With Statues (Morpo Press) and When You Are Born (Blue Light Press).

Mason's book, Things We Don't Know We Don't Know, was published by The Backwaters Press in 2006. He has also published poems in Prairie Schooner, The Laurel Review and Mid-American Review. Mason actively promotes poetry by organizing readings and discussions across the state of Neb.

For more information, contact Linda Riviera at 554.2640.

UNO Asian-Pacific Heritage Month Celebration Concludes This Week

UNO will host its final campus event to celebrate Asian-Pacific culture this week. This week's featured event is "Slumdog Millionaire" film screening and discussion. The screening is free and open to the public. Read more.

Service-Learning Academy Project Information Session April 20

Learn about the process for service-learning project creation and hear from experienced practitioners about what they've learned through their partnerships with K-12 schools and community partners on Tuesday, April 20, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Council Room.

During "Service-Learning Academy Project Information Session: Learning about K-12 / Higher Ed Partnerships," professors will present about projects that they planned with their classes in prior semesters, as well as answer questions and engage in discussion about the service-learning planning process.

Those attending can bring their lunch. Desserts and drinks will be provided.

For more information, contact Sarah Hanify at shanify@unomaha.edu or 554.3880.

Campus Recreation to Host Spring Open House This Thursday

This event has been designated a Mav-Rec Wellness event.

Campus Recreation will host the Mav-Rec Spring Open House on Thursday, April 22. This event is to celebrate the opening of the beautiful new west addition of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Building. The new area features the 5,700-square-foot North Fitness Center, Campus Recreation offices, personal training offices and 13,000 square feet of new gymnasium space. Student Health Services is also located in the new addition, but will not open until May.

The entire addition and renovation project is scheduled to be completed in August.

Open house schedule of activities:

- Free admission to the UNO community;

- Ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon;

- Free chair massages from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.;

- Fencing demonstration at 12:15 p.m.; and

- Snacks, tours and door prizes.

Editor's note: All UNO and University of Nebraska Medical Center students, faculty, staff, alumni, dependents and spouses are eligible to use the HPER facility for free on Thursday, April 22. Current students and activity cardholders may sign in two guests at no charge. All members of the UNO community without a Mav Card must stop by HPER 100 to sign in.

More information about the HPER/Campus Recreation renovation can be found online at: http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwocr/renovation.php.

The mission of Mav-Rec Wellness, UNO's health promotion program, is to create a culture of health and wellness among all faculty, staff and students. Health goals are encouraged through programming and initiatives that celebrate healthier lifestyle practices within the UNO community. For more information, contact David Daniels at 554.2008, daviddaniels@unomaha.edu or http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwocr/health/stampede.php.

4th Annual 'Trek to Campus' April 22

This event has been designated a Mav-Rec Wellness event.

Want to lose weight, save money and help save the environment? Then join in the 4th annual "Trek to Campus" on Thursday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"Trek to Campus" - an annual event organized by the "Organization and Administration of Physical Education" class at UNO - promotes using alternative methods of transportation. To participate, students, faculty and staff are asked to either ride their bike, walk, carpool or ride the bus to campus. In the case of rain, the event will take place Thursday, April 29, at the same time.

Participants who stop by the "Trek to Campus" booth in the UNO Pep Bowl, directly south of the Eppley Administration Building, are eligible for food and prizes.

For more information, contact Julie Cobos at jcobos@unomaha.edu or visit http://www.unomaha.edu/trektocampus/index.html.

The mission of Mav-Rec Wellness, UNO's health promotion program, is to create a culture of health and wellness among all faculty, staff and students. Health goals are encouraged through programming and initiatives that celebrate healthier lifestyle practices within the UNO community. For more information, contact David Daniels at 554.2008, daviddaniels@unomaha.edu or http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwocr/health/stampede.php.

Campus Eraser Drive for Salvation Army Through May 7

In an effort to assist the Salvation Army's Back-to-School Backpack Program, the UNO Staff Advisory Council (SAC) has launched a campus campaign to collect new pink erasers.

The collection runs through Friday, May 7. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to donate new pink erasers at drop boxes across campus.

UNO has engaged in a friendly competition with Creighton University, which is collecting rulers for the Salvation Army program. UNO's goal is to provide 5,000 pink erasers.

Pink erasers can be purchased at the UNO Bookstore at a cost of four for one dollar.

For more information, contact SAC members Kim Kronschnabel (554.3497) or Kent Lavene (554.3008).

Maverick Watch

Support the Mavericks by attending their home events. To view this week's Omaha's Team schedule, visit http://www.omavs.com/calendar.aspx?.

To catch up on the latest UNO Mavericks news or to keep tabs on favorite teams, players and coaches this season, visit http://www.omavs.com, Twitter at http://twitter.com/omavs or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/omavs.