Brown University

Granted: The Education Alliance at the university was granted a $1.7-million three-year award from the U.S. Department of Education to operate the New England Equity Assistance Center (NEEAC). The NEEAC, formerly known as Desegregation Assistance Centers, created under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, has a 15-year history at Brown of responding to discrimination-related requests from federal, state and local government agencies, and technical assistance providers.

Brown’s NEEAC — 1 of 10 centers in the country — provides services to school districts and students in the six New England states. The main objective is to provide high-quality, useful products and services that address equity issues related to race, gender and national origin. The NEEAC will meet this objective by offering services that promote policies and practices ensuring that all children have equal access to quality education and equitable opportunity for excellent instruction.

Community College of Rhode Island

Transfer fairs: Students can learn about transferring to four-year schools at a series of fairs this week featuring representatives from more than 40 colleges and universities. Events will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Newport County Campus, 1 John H. Chafee Blvd., Newport; on Tuesday at the Knight Campus, 400 East Ave., Warwick; on Wednesday at the Flanagan Campus, 1762 Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln; and on Thursday at the Liston Campus, 1 Hilton St., Providence.

Appointed to committees: Assistant women’s basketball coach Nicholas DiOrio has been appointed to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association State Farms Coaches All American Committee and the Russell Athletics/WBCA National Coach of the Year Committee. DiOrio, of Cranston, has been a member of the organization since 2006 and will represent the Junior College Region 1, which includes all of the New England states.

Johnson & Wales University

“Culinary Superman" returns to Providence: Beau MacMillan, once described by Phoenix (Ariz.) New Times writer Stephen Lemons as “Arizona’s new culinary Superman,” flies back to his alma mater, the College of Culinary Arts at the Providence campus, to showcase his skills as the 154th Distinguished Visiting Chef on Wednesday.

MacMillan’s culinary career has included a rare Bobby Flay knockdown that took place in 2006 when MacMillan beat the famed Food Network chef at his own game during an episode of Iron Chef.

MacMillan is a 1991 graduate of the university. Today, he is the executive chef at Elements, the signature restaurant at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain. Chef MacMillan has cooked in some of America’s most distinguished kitchens. He hails from Plymouth, Mass., and began his culinary career at age 16 when he secured a position at Crane Brook Tea Room in Carver, Mass.

The Focus on Green Committee: Gary Hirshberg, president and CEO of Stonyfield Farm, will be the guest speaker on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in the university’s Xavier Auditorium. He is the author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, in which he describes how companies can work to save the planet, while achieving greater profits. Due to the overwhelming response, there are no seats available for his talk, but the public is invited to the book signing after the presentation. For more information, contact Pat Overdeep (401) 598-1883.

School of Technology: The university’s School of Technology hosted the kick-off of the Rhode Island Nexus College Tour. The event took place on Thursday, Sept. 25, at JWU’s Westminster Technology Conference Center. The goal of R.I. Nexus is to connect Rhode Island’s technology-minded college students with internships, jobs, mentors and entrepreneurial opportunities to encourage these students to remain in Rhode Island to fill jobs in this skilled sector. Students were given the opportunity to speak with technology professionals to discuss industry trends and recent developments in the field.

Staff Recognition Day: On Friday, the university will thank its staff for all their hard work throughout the year with a morning ceremony and lunch. In return, staff is encouraged to provide donations for those affected by Hurricane Ike.

Providence College

Lecture: Harvard University scholar Dr. Robert Kiely will present his first public lecture as the 2008-’09 Rev. Robert J. Randall Distinguished Professor in Christian Culture at the college on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Moore Hall III on campus.

His lecture, “Mary Magdalene and the Dignity of Woman,” will strive to “rescue” a believable and important disciple of Jesus from stereotypes attached to her by popular mythology and Church tradition. In doing so, he will refer to scripture, Church teachings and artistic representations.

Kiely is the Loker Research Professor of English at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1963. The scholar has held visiting fellow or visiting professor posts at Cambridge University (England), Sichuan University (China), Hebrew University (Israel), Stanford University (California), and Villa I Tati (Italy), and has lectured at institutions throughout the world.

Serving this fall as Randall Professor, Kiely will offer two public lectures and is teaching a seminar, Beauty and Christianity, in the liberal arts honors program.

Kiely is the fifth scholar to be appointed to the Rev. Robert J. Randall Distinguished Professorship in Christian Culture. The chair is named for the scholar, priest, artist and longtime Providence College faculty member who taught in the department of English, the development of Western civilization program and the liberal arts honors program.

Kiely’s lecture is free and open to the public.

Jazz concert: The department of music will present a jazz concert by the Brubeck Brothers Quartet tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Ryan Concert Hall of the Smith Center for the Arts on campus. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (401) 865-2183.

Web news page: Providence College launched a new, one-stop online news page last Wednesday. PC Now is at www.providence.edu/pcnow and can also be accessed through the college’s homepage. It will be updated weekly each Monday and more frequently as breaking news happens. PC Now will present timely news relating to developments, events, and people at the college; alumni and student news features; profiles on students, faculty and alumni; selected athletics and campus event listings; and links to other online sources with PC-related information.

Co-sponsor concert: The department of music and the Turkish American Cultural Society of Rhode Island will co-sponsor a concert, “Like a Reckless Wonder” by DÜNYA, the Turkish/World organization, on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Ryan Concert Hall of the Smith Center for the Arts on campus.

The focus will be Turkish folk music, specifically the traditional song form Deyis. Over the last 10 years, the duo Erkan Ogur and Ismail Hakki Demircioglu have created a new contemporary standard for the performance of this repertoire, bringing the distinctive range of the ethno-religious group from Anatolia known as Alevi and the music of the Turkish folk singer-poets to a wider audience outside of Turkey.

DÜNYA, an ensemble whose goal is to offer a contemporary view of Turkish traditions, will supplement the duo’s unique sound in an interactive musical dialogue culminating in a collective performance.

The concert will be directed by Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, president of DÜNYA and a professor at Emerson College. Sanlikol came to Boston from Turkey in 1993. In 1997, he received Berklee’s Clare Fischer Award and completed his degree in jazz composition and film scoring. He holds a master’s degree in jazz composition and a doctoral degree in composition from New England Conservatory.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call (401) 865-2183.

Rhode Island College

Concerts: The RIC Chamber Orchestra and String Chamber Ensembles will collaborate with student soloists under the direction of John Sumerlin, RIC professor of music, in a concert tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Nazarian Center’s Sapinsley Hall.

The RIC Wind Ensemble’s first concert of the season — Black and Blue — will be held Friday. The performance, led by ensemble conductor Robert Franzblau, will begin at 8 p.m. in the Nazarian Center’s Sapinsley Hall. Featured guests include Ian Greitzer, principal clarinetist of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and 2003 RIC grad Jason Thomson, a Chicago-based clarinetist and teacher.

For more information, call (401) 456-8144 or visit www.ric.edu/pfa.

Art: Bannister Gallery will feature Eva Sutton’s exhibit, Dark Dream, from tomorrow through Oct. 30. A reception and artist lecture will be held Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.

The show will display Sutton’s photographs taken in Cambodia from 2004 to 2006. The images focus on inhabited and abandoned spaces, both rural and urban, and include deserted prisons and training camps, the remnants of mass graves, squatter communities and temple ruins.

Gallery hours during exhibits are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursdays, noon to 9 p.m. It will be closed weekends and holidays. Exhibits and events are free and open to the public, and they are accessible to those with disabilities.

For information on event dates and exhibit opening receptions, check the Web site at www.ric.edu/Bannister/ or call (401) 456-9765.

Roger Williams University

Administrative promotions: The school of law announces administrative promotions for Laurie Barron, Elizabeth Colt, Chelsie Horne and Kathy Massa.

Laurie Barron has been promoted to executive director of the Feinstein Institute for Legal Service. She has recently been selected as a member of the National Advisory Committee to Equal Justice Works, a national organization dedicated to improving social justice by working with law schools, law students, and law firms. Barron earned a juris doctor degree from New York University School of Law, a master of social work degree from New York University School of Social Work, and a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University.

Elizabeth Colt has been promoted to director of legal writing. Colt is a past member of the Georgia Bar and is a member of both the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Bars. She is also admitted to practice in U.S. District Court as well as the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Colt graduated from Barnard College, with a bachelor of arts degree in urban studies and political science, and she received her juris doctor degree from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta. Colt grew up in Rhode Island and practiced law here for almost eight year, prior to joining the faculty at RWU.

Chelsie L. Horne has been promoted to executive director for the Office of Alumni, Programs and Events. Horne has been a member of the Meeting Professionals International/New England Chapter since 1996 and is serving a three-year term as a board of director. Horne is a Certified Meeting Professional and earned master of business administration and bachelor of arts degrees in hospitality sales meeting management from Johnson & Wales University.

Kathy Massa has been promoted to assistant dean for business affairs. Massa graduated from Roger Williams University with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. She is a member of the National Network of Law School Officers, the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Rhode Island Women in Higher Education.

University of Rhode Island

Workforce Development Award: The Providence Biotechnology Center at the Providence Campus was honored last month with the 2008 Workforce Development Award from the Tech Collective, a technology industry association in the state.

The award recognizes the URI center for its “efforts and commitment to attract, develop and retain skilled technology workers in Rhode Island through providing and supporting education and training.” Launched in 2003, the Providence Biotechnology Center is a partnership between URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences and the College of Continuing Education, along with the Community College of Rhode Island.

It has become the base of operations for a number of workforce development programs for the biotechnology industry in Rhode Island. Through its Biotechnology Training Initiative, it works with local and regional companies to provide workers with short course lectures and hands-on workshops either at URI or onsite at a company facility. The Providence Biotechnology Center’s degree programs train Rhode Island’s future workforce and also provide educational programs to teachers and high school students to increase awareness and promote careers in the biotechnology and life science industries.

The center has received more than $2 million in grants from federal and state agencies, as well as program support, tuition assistance and laboratory equipment from industry companies.

Freshwater plants in local ponds and lakes: Rhode Islanders who are curious about the aquatic plants growing in local ponds and lakes and who are concerned about the impact of invasive species are encouraged to attend a workshop at URI called “What’s in the Pond? A Look at Freshwater Plants and their Management” on Tuesday from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Sponsored by the URI Watershed Watch Program, the Rhode Island Natural History Survey and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the program will be held in Weaver Auditorium in the Coastal Institute building, 1 Greenhouse Rd., on URI’s Kingston campus.

The event is open to the public, but advance registration is required as seating is limited. A $5 fee will be charged at the door. The workshop will focus on the ecology of aquatic plants and the invasive species known to be in Rhode Island waters, as well as some in neighboring states. Management techniques will be presented along with a discussion of Rhode Island’s new aquatic herbicide application process.

To register, call the URI Watershed Watch office at (401) 874-2905 or (401) 874-4552. For additional information, visit www.uri.edu/ce/wq/ww. As part of the event, the Rhode Island Natural History Survey will accept freshwater aquatic plants for identification (up to five per participant).

Plants submitted for identification should include all representative leaf types from both above and below water and any flowering or seed structures. Debris and dirt should be rinsed from the plant and its root structure, and the specimen should be placed in a sealed plastic bag with enough tap water to keep the plant moist. Keep the bagged plant refrigerated until the program.