Connecting with composers

CU Music presents two composers' forums, free and open to the public, Sept. 3 and Sept. 10, 1:25-3 p.m. in 316 Lincoln Hall (enter via the Music Library, 220 Lincoln Hall): The Sept. 3 forum will feature new works by graduate composers as well as reports of summer festival experiences; the Sept. 10 forum will feature guest composer Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann, who joined the Ithaca College faculty this fall.

Obtaining city permits

Herman Sieverding, board member of the Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services and Tompkins County Area Development, will speak on "The Municipal Permitting Process," Sept. 3, 12:30-2 p.m., 165 McGraw Hall. Sieverding is vice president of a real estate development company specializing in build-to-suit office buildings, medical offices and student housing. He served as deputy director of the City of Ithaca Department of Planning and Development for 12 years.

Haiti supply drive and benefit

On the first Saturday of each month, a salsa Latin dance party and Haiti benefit will be held at the Big Red Barn, beginning Sept. 4, 8:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m., with free salsa, Latin rhythms dance lessons at 8:45 p.m. and Latin dance party, featuring salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton, cha-cha and cumbia, beginning at 9:45 p.m. For those age 18 and over; admission $4 students/$6 non-students. Medical supplies and donations for Haiti will be accepted at the party. Information: http://palantetroupe.org/haiti.html.

2010 French film

A married man falls for his son's grammar school teacher, once a professional violinist, in "Mademoiselle Chambon," directed by Stephane Brize and starring Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain. The film shows at Willard Straight Theatre Sept. 4 at 9:15 p.m. and Sept. 5 at 7:15 p.m. and serves as a reminder that personal upheavals are "as consequential in people's lives as shattering world events."

Chinese art exhibit

"The Dharma Bums," an exhibit of the work of Chinese artist Jai Aili, curated by prominent Beijing-based art critic Feng Boyi, runs Sept. 6-17, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the John Hartell Gallery, Sibley Hall. Zhao Fang, director of the Fang Yin Gallery, will give a gallery talk about the exhibit Sept. 7 at noon.

Campus Club coffee

The Cornell Campus Club invites women in the Cornell community to the Fall Coffee Sept. 8, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Clarion University Hotel, 2310 N. Triphammer Road. Employees, graduate students, alumnae, retirees or wives/partners/family members are welcome to join any of nearly 30 social and educational activity groups, including hiking/cross-country skiing, gourmet cooking, book discussions, art and painting, birding, quilting, tennis and bridge. Information: http://www.campusclub.cornell.edu.

Floods, peace, Pakistan and India

A lecture and panel discussion, "Peace Postponed? Floods, Foreign Aid and Their Implications for Peace Between India and Pakistan," will be presented Sept. 8 at 5 p.m., Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall, featuring Durba Ghosh, associate professor of history and student representatives from various campus organizations. Ghosh will focus on the history of the peace process between India and Pakistan, recent developments and the possible effects of Pakistani flooding on negotiations. A moderated student panel discussion with representatives from the Cornell India Association, Islamic Alliance for Justice, Muslim Educational and Cultural Association, Pakistani Students Association, and the Society for India will follow.

A benefit concert, Hands for Health, to raise funds and awareness for flood relief in India and Pakistan will be Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. at Alpha Delta Phi, 777 Stewart Ave. Co-sponsored by organizations across campus, Hands for Health will feature music and dance performances by Collin McLoughlin, Attic Tones, Debbie's Granola, Cornell Bhangra, Big Red Raas and Sitara. All proceeds will go to NGOs Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/emergencies/asia/pakistan-floods-2010/) for their work in Pakistan and Health Inc. (ladakhrelief.org/) for its work in Ladakh, India.

Engineering in the real world

Each semester, the Cornell Engineering Alumni Association sponsors the Enterprise Engineering Seminar, a one-credit course in which Cornell alumni return to campus to talk to students about engineering in the real world. This year's free, public lecture, presented by Chris Mazzei '95, "Using Analytics in Corporate Strategy: Helping the Organization Make Better Decisions," will be held Sept. 8, 4:30-5:30 p.m., B17 Upson.

Puerto Rico revealed

The Latino Studies Program's Fall 2010 Film Series begins with an exploration of the complex history between Puerto Rico and the United States in "Yo Soy Boricua -- Pa'que tu lo Sepas!" Sept. 8 at 7 p.m., 253 Malott Hall. Directed by Rosie Perez and narrated by Jimmy Smits, MFA '82, this humorous film looks at the themes of family, language and racism from both historical and personal perspectives. Information: http://latino.lsp.cornell.edu/events.asp.

Author Alvarez reads poetry

Julia Alvarez, known for her novels "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" (1991) and "In the Time of the Butterflies" (1994), and her poetry collections "Homecoming" (1984), "The Other Side/El Otro Lado" (1995) and "The Woman I Kept to Myself" (2004), will read from her poetry Sept. 9 at 4:30 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. Born in New York City and raised in the Dominican Republic until age 10, Alvarez is an award-winning author of books spanning a range of genres, giving voice to the stories of Latina women. Information: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/english/creative/.

At the Johnson

Several museum talks and the opening reception for new museum exhibits will focus on "Tarjama/Translation: Contemporary Art From the Middle East, Central Asia and Their Diasporas," a recently opened visiting artists exhibit co-curated by Iftikhar Dadi, associate professor of history of art. On Sept. 9, Dadi will lead a tour of the exhibition during "Art for Lunch" at noon, and John Jurayj will discuss his work, included in the "Tarjama/Translation" exhibit, at 5:15 p.m. (co-sponsored by the Department of Art). Dadi will give a gallery talk Sept. 10 at 4:30 p.m., which will precede the opening reception that begins at 5 p.m. Free and open to the public.

The Visiting Artists series is funded by gifts from Gale and Ira '66, MEE '67, Drukier and Genevieve and Richard Tucker '50. Information: http://museum.cornell.edu/.

Community land trusts

Alumnus John Davis, M.S. '79, Ph.D. '86, will discuss the role of community land trusts in creating homes that last, regardless of fluctuations in the economy, Sept. 10, 12:30-2 p.m., at 165 McGraw Hall. Davis is a founding partner in Burlington Associates in Community Development LLC, a national consulting cooperative specializing in the development of permanently affordable housing. He has been a leader of the U.S. community land trust (CLT) movement, helping it to grow from a dozen CLTs in the 1980s to more than 240 today. Trained as a sociologist and city planner, he holds both a master of science and a doctorate from Cornell.