• Town Hall with President Burwell & Reception Rescheduled
• AU Athletics to Celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day Sat. Feb. 3
• Winter Doesn't Stop AU's Farmers' Market
• AU is Recognized as Pollinator Friendly
• Citizen Science and the Flint Water Crisis: Triumph, Tragedy, and Misconduct
• Explore The Artist Within, Sign Up For Classes at The Alper Initiative
• Calendar and Events

American University invites its neighbors to the rescheduled annual Town Hall meeting and reception with President Sylvia Burwell on Monday, February 26.

The Town Hall will begin at 7 p.m., followed by the reception at 8 p.m. Both events will take place in Rooms 1-3 of Constitution Hall on AU's East Campus and are open to the entire community.

Parking for the event will be available in the East Campus surface lot, accessible from Nebraska Avenue. Please RSVP to communityrelations@american.edu.

On Saturday, February 3, the American University Department of Athletics and Recreation will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day during the women's basketball game versus Army West Point. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Following the game, each of American's seven varsity women's teams - basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, and volleyball - along with the cheer and dance squads will lead skills clinics and sign autographs for kids of all ages in attendance on the floor of Bender Arena. The clinic is free for everyone with a game ticket. Children are asked to wear athletic shoes for the clinic.

Purchase tickets in advance online for just $4 by using the coupon code "NGWSD18" at checkout. Call (202) 885-TIXX for more information.

Click here to watch a video from a past National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration at AU, featured on Eye on the Eagles.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day is celebrated in all states, with community-based events, award ceremonies, and activities honoring achievement and encouraging the participation of girls and women in sports. The celebration began in 1987 as a day to remember Olympian volleyball player Flo Hyman for her athletic achievements and her work to assure equality for women's sports.

Rain, snow, or sun, every Wednesday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., the quad space around the Mary Graydon building buzzes with activity as students, faculty, staff, and neighbors browse goods ranging from farm fresh vegetables to homemade breads and desserts at the AU farmers' market.

The market is a coordinated effort between AU and Pennsylvania-based Agora Farms, an intermediary for bringing Amish and Mennonite and "English" farm goods to American University's campus, as well as to D.C.'s historic Eastern Market on Saturdays and Sundays. Girardot's Crumbs Bakery also offers a variety of fresh breads as well as chocolate chip cookies, mini pies, and cobblers.

In addition to supporting locally-grown food, the convenience of having fresh food right on campus makes it a great benefit not only to the campus community but to the surrounding neighborhood as well.

American University now is a recognized "Pollinator Member" by the National Pollinator Garden Network. The distinction means that AU has demonstrated that it protects a wide range of pollinators found on campus through conservation, education, and research.

Pollinators - including bees, butterflies, birds, and bats - are an essential part of ecosystems and the global food system. In fact, it is estimated that pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we take every day. Yet many pollinators are at a critical point in their own survival with some species in danger of extinction. Their decline could pose a significant threat to the biodiversity, global food webs, and human health. Reversing this trend requires more nectar and pollen sources such as flowering plants and trees.

To demonstrate AU's support of pollinators, a student team comprising Xena Itzkowitz, Jenna Weigand, and Carly LaRoche, part of Environmental Studies Professor Kiho Kim's capstone class, pursued the "Pollinator Member" certification on behalf of the university. To earn the certification, the students showed that AU selects native plant species that support local pollinator species, minimizes the use of harmful pesticides, and provides a positive habit for pollinators. The students were assisted in their endeavor by the university's facilities management staff.

The National Pollinator Garden Network is a partnership between conservation organizations, gardening groups, volunteer civic associations, and participating federal agencies whose aim is to inspire people and organizations to create more pollinator habitats.

American University invites its neighbors to the Katzen Arts Center's Abramson Family Recital Hall from 7 - 8:30 p.m. on February 8 for a discussion about the Flint, MI water crisis and its parallels to a similar crisis Washington, DC faced between 2001 and 2004.

The discussion will be led by Marc Edwards, a civil engineering/environmental engineer and the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. An expert on water treatment and corrosion, Edwards collaborated with members of the DC public, the press, and Congress for more than a decade to expose some of the wrongdoings by agencies and "hired gun" consultants who twisted science brazenly to obfuscate the truth. His research on elevated lead levels in DC's municipal water supply gained national attention, changed the city's recommendations on water use in homes with lead service pipes, and caused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to admit to publishing a report so rife with errors that a congressional investigation called it "scientifically indefensible."

More than a decade later, the lessons learned from DC's experience were applied to the Flint water crisis with mixed results. An unprecedented environmental injustice was exposed, leading to public apologies, indictments, and hundreds of millions in relief funding. Yet after the water crisis was acknowledged officially, a few reporters, academics, actors, activists, and pseudo-scientists came to Flint and exploited the tragedy to promote their own agendas and created yet another human tragedy in the process.

Edwards will discuss his experiences, raise concerns about the veracity of research conducted and funded by government agencies - especially in crisis situations when public harm has occurred - as well as stress the need for checks on agency power.

The event will be a first-come, first-seated event. Please arrive early, as seats will be given to walk-in guests 5-10 minutes before the event begins.

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art at the Katzen AU Museum invites neighbors to take advantage of the art classes being offered. Bring out the artist within you by signing up for one of the artist-led classes and explore and develop your creativity.

Classes include:

Drawing Tools You Can Use

February 4, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Katzen Museum First Floor Exhibition

Drawing Tools You Can Use with Beverly Ress returns for another six-week session where participants learn the fundamentals of drawing representationally. The class will be held in the AU Museum Sunday afternoons on Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, and March 4. This class offers the same instructions as the fall sessions and is recommended for novices. Cost: $200 for the six-week session. Registration and more details are online at www.tinyurl.com/AUMtix.

The Sustainable Clothed Body: Embroidery on Garments for Mending and Embellishment

February 6, 13, 20, 27, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Katzen AU Museum

Join artist Kate Kretz as she teaches a four-week class on clothing embroidery and embellishment on Tuesday evenings from February 6 through February 27. Kretz's work has appeared in more than 95 international newspapers and has been featured in the New York Times, Vanity Fair Italy, ELLE Japan, and Esquire among other publications. Her work has been shown at exhibitions at The Museum of Arts & Design (New York), Van Gijn Museum (The Netherlands), Kunstraum Kreuzberg (Berlin), and other museums internationally.

She was recently granted the SECAC Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement, and is on the Fulbright Specialist Roster until 2021. After working as an Associate Professor and BFA Director at Florida International University for ten years, she relocated to the DC area, where she works in her studio while teaching part-time, giving workshops and lectures at various universities. Her work can be seen at www.katekretz.com. Cost: $200. Materials are provided.

Registration and more information are online at www.tinyurl.com/AUMtix

Details about both classes also are listed at: https://www.american.edu/cas/museum/alper/index.cfm

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art is dedicated to preserving, presenting, and creating the art history of Washington, DC through our book collection, database, events, and exhibitions. It is made possible through a generous grant by American University alumna and art advocate Carolyn Alper.

Frank DiPerna Retrospective

February 1 - March 11, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Katzen Museum First Floor Exhibition

This retrospective is a comprehensive survey of the artist's photographic work over more than forty years. Comprising multiple bodies of work beginning in 1974 continuing through today, each project was accomplished by using the most advanced technology of the time - from black and white to color film to the classic Polaroid SX-70 to digital color photography. The flow of work over decades reveals a careful eye that recorded - and at times choreographed - a changing yet consistent world transcending both time and place.

Katerina Vincourova: Arteria

February 1 - March 11, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Katzen Museum Third Floor Exhibition

Czech artist Katerina Vincourová focuses on the fragile nuances of interpersonal relations and at the same time abstracts such notions into an examination of networks and shifts in time and space. The exhibition Arteria becomes a holistic system, a large-scale spatial drawing, rather than a collection of individual art works. Vincourová intersects her minimalistic compositions with textiles or household objects, and plays out the notions of specificity, privacy, and emotional charge of individual components on one side, and the ability to observe them from a distance on the other.

Thomas Downing and the Sublime Decorative

February 1 - March 11, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Katzen Museum Third Floor Exhibition

Downing's distinctive geometrically organized canvases, executed during the height of the "Washington Color School" in the late 1950s and 1960s, constitute a singular and important body of work in twentieth century art. With the perspective of hindsight, Downing's elegant "circle/dot" compositions are seen to rival those of his great teacher, Morris Louis, and his better-known peer, Kenneth Noland. This presentation offers an opportunity to rediscover and savor the gorgeous and challenging work of this artist whose reputation is undergoing a major revision.

Vital Signs

February 1 - March 11, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Katzen Museum First Floor Exhibition

Abel Tilahun, a multidisciplinary artist from Ethiopia, explores universal human experience through the manifold meanings we associate with the human body, its parts, its sustenance, and its loftiest ambitions. The exhibition reflects the artist's skill in sculptural installation, video art, painting, and drawing.

WORDS

February 1 - March 11, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Katzen Museum First Floor Exhibition

Brian Dailey's multiscreen video installation is the artist's investigation into the relationship between language, culture, and national identity and the challenges we face in our efforts to communicate key concepts across linguistic boundaries and national borders in the age of globalization. WORDS is the artist's creative summation of his global experiences, compelling viewers to come to terms with the fluid relationship between language and concept, between interpretation and meaning.

Gallery Talk with Erik Sandberg

February 1, 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Katzen AU Museum

Join Vesela Sretenovi"á in conversation with Erik Sandberg about the artist's latest works in his solo exhibition. Free and open to all.

Friday Gallery Tours

February 2, 9, 16, 23, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Katzen AU Museum

Free, docent-led tours of the Spring Exhibitions are held every Friday. Tours highlight themes of the current exhibitions and last 45 minutes to one hour. Tours meet at the museum front desk at 11:30 a.m. No RSVP required. For more information, visit http://www.american.edu/cas/museum/events.cfm.

Women's Basketball vs. Army West Point

February 3, 2 - 4 p.m.
Bender Arena

Movement Speaks: Cynthia Gutierrez-Garcia

February 3, 8 - 9:30 p.m.
Katzen Dance Studio

Movement Speaks is a discussion series featuring professional dance artists speaking about their work as choreographers, researchers, scholars, and performers. As the culmination of a week-long residency with AU's Dance Program, guest artist Cynthia Gutierrez-Garner discusses the choreographic process and gives a sneak peek of new works with the AU Dance Company. Free and open to the public.

Wrestling vs. Bucknell University

February 4, 12 - 2 p.m.
Bender Arena

Kids@Katzen

February 4, 1 - 3 p.m.
Katzen Museum

Join us for an age-appropriate tour and hands-on art-making workshop inspired by one of the current exhibitions. Recommended for ages 5-12. Cost is $10 per child. Registration and additional information: www.tinyurl.com/AUMtix

Drawing Tools You Can Use

February 4, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Katzen Museum First Floor Exhibition

Drawing Tools You Can Use with Beverly Ress returns for another six-week session where participants learn the fundamentals of drawing representationally. The class will be held in the AU Museum Sunday afternoons on Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, and March 4. This class offers the same instructions as the fall sessions and is recommended for novices. Cost: $200 for the six-week session. Registration and more details online: www.tinyurl.com/AUMtix.

Yoga in the Galleries

February 7, 14, 21, 28, 10 a.m.

American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center

Led by certified Kripalu Yoga teacher Eva Blutinger, this yoga class provides mental clarity and relaxation in the peaceful surroundings of our art galleries. Please bring a mat. Cost is $10 for non-members, $5 for museum members, and free for members at the Associates level and above. www.tinyurl.com/ aumtickets.

AU Farmers' Market

February 7, 14, 21, 28, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Quad by Mary Graydon

Every Wednesday, the quad space around the Mary Graydon building buzzes with activity as students, faculty, staff, and neighbors browse goods ranging from farm-fresh vegetables to homemade breads and desserts at the AU Farmers' Market. The market is a coordinated effort between AU and Pennsylvania-based Agora Farms. Girardot's Crumbs Bakery also offers a variety of fresh breads as well as chocolate chip cookies, mini pies, and cobblers.

Thank You for Your Service Film Clips and Discussion

February 7, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater, McKinley Building

Featured guest David Finkel, author of the book Thank You For Your Service, Washington Post reporter and editor, and MacArthur grant recipient, discusses the film adaptation of his book. Finkel was a consultant to the film, which follows soldiers from their unit in Iraq to their reintroduction to their families and American life. Investigative Reporting Workshop's Lynne Perri will moderate. The discussion is co-sponsored by School of Communication and Investigative Reporting Workshop. Free and open to the public. First come, first seated.

Women's Basketball vs. Loyola (MD)

February 7, 7 - 9 p.m.
Bender Arena

Men's Basketball vs. Lehigh University

February 9, 2 - 4 p.m.
Bender Arena

Concerto and Aria Competition

February 9, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Abramson Recital Hall

The AU Symphony Orchestra hosts the annual competition open to all AU undergraduate students. Held in two rounds, the winner will perform as a soloist with the AU Symphony Orchestra at a future public concert. Free and open to the public.

Men's Basketball vs. Lehigh University

February 10, 2 - 4 p.m.
Bender Arena

Gallery Talk: Thomas Downing and the Sublime Decorative

February 10, 4 - 5 p.m.
Katzen AU Museum

Join Jane Livingston, chief curator of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and E.A. Carmean, Jr., curator of Twentieth-Century Art at the National Gallery of Art, for a comprehensive look at Downing's career. Free and open to all.

Wrestling vs. Drexel University

February 11, 2 - 4 p.m.
Bender Arena

"The Arab Population in Israel 1948 to Today" Conference

February 11, 1 - 5 p.m.
Washington College of Law

The conference will feature keynote speakers Tamir Sorek from the University of Florida and Mohammed Wattad from Zefat Academic College of Law. It is co-sponsored by American University's Center for Israel Studies, Arab World Studies Program, Washington College of Law Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and Greater Washington Forum on Israeli Arab Issues. Attendance is Free with RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/ArabsinIsraelSchedule

Men's Basketball vs. Boston University

February 14, 7 - 9 p.m.
Bender Arena

An Inconvenient Truth: The Sequel, Film and Discussion

February 13, 7 - 9:15 p.m.
Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater, McKinley Building

Former Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world to train an army of activists and influence climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes - during moments both private and public, funny, and poignant - as he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion. Free and open to the public. First come, first seated. Reception at 6:30 p.m. (light refreshments).

The Kerner Report - 50 Years Later

February 15, 6:30 p.m.
Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater, McKinley Building

Fifty years after the Kerner Commission studied the causes of deadly riots in America's cities, Dr. Sherri Williams, SOC Race, Media & Communication professor, will moderate a panel of journalists to discuss the importance of The Kerner Report in both a historical and contemporary context. The government commission report indicted the media for enabling racism and rebellions to flourish through neglect and distorted reporting about Black America. Panelists scheduled include Richard Prince, a Washington Post reporter hired in 1968 (the year the Kerner Report was released), and publisher of Journal-isms; and Hannah Allam, BuzzFeed News reporter covering Muslim life in America.

Assassins

February 15, 16, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.; February 17 2 - 4 p.m., 8 - 10 p.m.
Greenberg Theatre

Stephen Sondheim's musical Assassins brilliantly exposes our nation's culture of celebrity and the violent means some will use to obtain it. Assassins bends time and space, taking the audience on a nightmarish roller coaster ride where assassins and would-be assassins from different historical periods meet, interact, and inspire each other to commit harrowing acts against U.S. presidents in the name of the American Dream. Tickets: $10-15. Due to adult themes and gunshots, discretion is advised.

Women's Lacrosse vs. University of Richmond

February 17, 12 - 2 p.m.
Jacobs Field

Women's Basketball vs. Lafayette College

February 17, 1 - 3 p.m.
Bender Arena

Wrestling vs. Ohio University

February 17, 7 - 9 p.m.
Bender Arena

Women's Basketball vs. College of the Holy Cross

February 21, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Bender Arena

Free Parking with Frank DiPerna

February 22, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Katzen AU Museum

This season's Free Parking, the salon-style conversation series at the Alper Initiative for Washington Art, features Washington artist Frank DiPerna in conversation with Jayme McLellan about his lifetime of photographic work. Free and open to all. Space is limited, so RSVP required: www.tinyurl.com/AlperTickets.

Boko Haram Documentary Film Screening and Discussion

February 22, 7 - 8 p.m.
Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater, McKinley Building

The documentary film screening will be followed by a discussion with VOA Executive Producer Beth Mendelson, and SOC Dean's Interns who worked as production assistants on the film. A reception will be held in the theater lobby with light refreshments served before the program begins. Free and open to the public. First come, first seated.

Women's Lacrosse vs. Central Michigan

February 23, 3 - 5 p.m.
Jacobs Field

Movement Speaks: Charles O. Anderson

February 23, 8 - 9 p.m.
Katzen Dance Studio

Movement Speaks is a discussion series featuring professional dance artists discussing their work as choreographers, researchers, scholars, and performers. As the culmination of a week-long residency with AU's Dance Program, guest artist Charles O. Anderson discusses the choreographic process and gives a sneak peek of new works with the AU Dance Company. Free and open to the public.

Men's Basketball vs. Bucknell University

February 24, 2 - 4 p.m.
Bender Arena

Screening of "The Brotherhood"

February 24, 7 p.m.
Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater, McKinley Building

The Brotherhood is a film about a teenage operative who struggles to build a life for his family, as he is pitted against the essence of what challenges his dreams and the security of his younger brothers. Free and open to the public. First come, first seated.

Women's Lacrosse vs. University of Detroit

February 25, 12 - 2 p.m.
Jacobs Field

Sneak Peek: 2018 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital

February 27, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater, McKinley Building

The Environmental Film Festival (EFF) in the Nation's Capital is the world's premier showcase of environmentally-themed films. In partnership with leading museums, embassies, universities, and theaters, the 26th annual festival, March 15-25, will present more than 100 films - documentaries, narratives, and animations, as well as shorts and experimental works - selected to advance public understanding and stewardship of the planet. This year's theme, From the Frontlines, will feature films and speakers that reflect the actions and the passions of those working on the ground. Whether it is their efforts for wildlife conservation, habitat protection, clean drinking water, or clean air, these heroes strive to protect and preserve the environment for us and for future generations. Join Festival Executive Director Maryanne Culpepper for a sneak peek at some of the most exciting new films to be shown during the 2018 Festival. A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. with food and drink. Free and open to the public. First come, first seated.

Women's Lacrosse vs. Howard University

February 28, 1 - 3 p.m.
Jacobs Field

The Vietnam War PBS Series - Film clips & discussion

February 28, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater, McKinley Building

Ron Elving moderates a Q&A with filmmaker of The Vietnam War series on the 50th anniversary of the TET Offensive. Light Refreshments will be served following program. Free and open to the public. First come, first seated.